Mr. Monk and the Three Pies

The series follows Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub), a private detective with obsessive–compulsive disorder and multiple phobias, and his assistant Sharona Fleming (Bitty Schram).

At a fair in Tewkesbury, a woman wins a cherry pie, and Pat van Ranken (Holt McCallany) kills her and steals her car.

While Captain Stottlemeyer (Ted Levine) dismisses it as a carjacking gone wrong, Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub) remains suspicious.

Later, Sharona Fleming (Bitty Schram) gets a call from Monk's brother Ambrose (John Turturro), an agoraphobic who has not left his house for thirty-two years.

The next day, van Ranken deliberately finishes second in an event so as to win another cherry pie, and Adrian and Sharona see him rooting through it.

Later, Adrian and van Ranken each separately reenact the murder, simultaneously realizing that the shell casing is in the bag of flour in Ambrose's house.

Ambrose gives Stottlemeyer the last shell casing, having found it in the flour, and the reconciled brothers visit Trudy's grave.

[2] Responding to a question about the possible return of Ambrose, Shalhoub said Turturro would accept it, "especially if I don't have to have a complete emotional breakdown.

[10] DigitallyObsessed's reviewer Rich Rosell called it "one of the series' best-written episodes", remarking "Turturro and Shalhoub are excellent together".

Robinson added that Ambrose "makes Monk look like a normal person", saying of the story: "it's diabolically fun to watch these two neurotic brothers solve a murder mystery.

"[12] It was said that "the comedy here has more than a hint of pathos" by People, with the writer declaring "It's rare to see brothers portrayed so convincingly, particularly on a show in the field of light entertainment.

The real reason to watch it, however, "is to see Shalhoub and Turturro get on each other's nerves, and to witness Monk revisiting his childhood home", according to Sepinwall.

[13] The Sydney Morning Herald's Michael Idato called Turturro "a great addition to the dynamic" and appreciated the possibility of his return later in the series.