This series should really be read from the first book, I believe the name is "The Face of a Stranger" It tells the beginning of the Monk series, how he wakes up in a hospital room and doesn't know who he is. It is the journey he makes re-discovering himself, when he never does get his memory back, he has to build anew.
All these books are a wonderful mood and history into the Victorian age. The plots are quick and complex and pull you right in from the first page. The only problem is once you have read many, they are all similar, but that is the way of most series. Still well worth looking into.