02E07 - Mr. Monk and the Sleeping Suspect

In a new twist on the "how could he (or she) possibly have done it" theme that we saw first in "Dale the Whale," Monk suspects that the man responsible for the mail bombing murder of rich and beautiful Amanda Babbage is the victim's brother, Brian--who has been in a coma for four months after attempting to lure Stottlemeyer and Disher into a car chase and crashing into two cars. Since the package was postmarked three days before the bombing, Stottlemeyer is naturally skeptical, but he prefers siding with Monk to tagging along behind Agent Grooms of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, who suspects the victim's other brother, Ricky. Monk, meanwhile, has other problems. Dr. Kroger is leaving for a three-week vacation, Sharona's ex-husband wants her to come back to him and leave her job, and he temporarily loses most of his hearing after being caught in the explosion of another bomb. Depressed and lonely, Monk confides his woes to the comatose suspect--and makes a near-fatal blunder which, ironically, leads to the solution of the case.