History Recap / MonkS7E2MrMonkAndTheGenius

* ExactWords: When Stottlemeyer realizes that Monk is planning on FramingTheGuiltyParty, he brings him into a room telling Monk there is something crooked. When Monk states he doesn't see anything crooked in the room, Stottlemeyer replies with "I hope there isn't".

* GracefulLoser: Kloster congratulates Monk for finding proof against him, stating that he plays a brilliant end game. However, this further disgusts Monk, as Kloster treats human lives as mere pieces in a game.

* FramingTheGuiltyParty: Patrick Kloster has practically admitted to killing his own wife, and the alleged poison matched that which could be extracted from oleander flowers in Patrick's garden. Unable to find adequate evidence and driven to his wits' end, Monk steals some of the flowers, extracts the poison, breaks into Patrick's house to leave it in plain sight on a shelf, and only gets caught when he went back to retrieve the planted vial after his conscience got the better of him, as Patrick had apparently anticipated to try this move.

* ItsPersonal: Although Monk doesn't have a personal connection to Kloster's wife, he can't turn down her pleas to protect her. Because her desperation reminds him of how Trudy was when she was dying. The rest of the episode about how driven Monk is to put Kloster behind bars when he somehow ''does'' kill his wife.

* NiceJobFixingItVillain: Kloster himself tips Monk off on what "Castling" means, which is exactly what Monk needed to nail him in the end.

* WhatTheHellHero: Stottlemeyer gives Monk a stern talking to when the latter reveals he plans to illegally acquire evidence on Kloster.

* WhatYouAreInTheDark: Monk, desperately wanting to get Kloster, goes as far as FramingTheGuiltyParty by making the poison and planting it in his house. Just before he leaves the house, he can't go through with it and goes back to retrieve it.

Monk gets a visit from Linda Kloster (Creator/ElenaEvangelo), wife of chess grandmaster Patrick Kloster (Creator/DavidStrathairn). Linda knows Patrick is planning to kill her and wants Monk to convict him for it after the fact. She gives Monk a check as a sort of retainer.

However, while Monk knows the culprit, obtaining enough evidence for a conviction may prove more difficult, as Linda's husband, chessmaster Patrick Kloster, seems to stay one step ahead of him the whole time.

Monk gets a visit from a woman named Linda Kloster, who knows her husband is planning to kill her and wants Monk to convict him for it after the fact. She gives Monk a check as a sort of retainer.

The case is made more difficult by the fact that Linda dies while Patrick is playing TabletopGame/{{chess}} in Canada. Furthermore, Patrick has Linda's remains cremated promptly, preventing an autopsy.

Monk gets a visit from a woman named Linda Kloster, who knows her husband is planning to kill her and wants Monk to convict him for it after the fact. However, while Monk knows the culprit, obtaining enough evidence for a conviction may prove more difficult, as Linda's husband, chessmaster Patrick Kloster, seems to stay one step ahead of him the whole time.

* BatmanGambit: Patrick Kloster poisons his wife with a "poison pawn" - a trap that is impossible for the victim to resist. In this case, this involves him discovering her secret stash of liquor, poisoning that, then counting on her to hide the bottle herself so he wouldn't have to.

** While Natalie and Monk are staking out Patrick's house, he offers them lemonade. Natalie starts to drink hers, until Monk muses out loud that they could probably nail Patrick if he poisoned Natalie's drink. [[SpitTake She immediately spits it out.]]

* ItsPersonal: Although Monk doesn't have a personal connection to Kloster's wife, he can't turn down her pleas to protect her. Because her desperation reminds him of how Trudy was when she was dying.