Herrmann publishes "Everybody Comes to the Red Dog"

After 10 years of hard work, local author John Herrmann has published his second novel: “Everybody Comes to the Red Dog.”  

Herrmann’s first novel, “Murder at the Red Dog,” was published in 2001. Despite common belief, the second novel is not a continuation of the first, but a new story entirely.

The new novel is a suspenseful murder mystery that takes place in the Kootenai Valley area.  It is narrated through a woman named Madison, who came to Northwest Montana to conduct an ethnographical study on the small town community of Kootenai Falls (Libby). 

After a few years of small talk with the locals and constantly taking notes, Madison finds herself focusing on a missing person and changes the direction of her study. As time goes by, Madison learns of the discovery of a dead body in the woods just outside of town. 

As community members dig deeper for answers about a corporate jet crash that killed a manufacturing executive and his family, more people disappear and more bodies are found. The suspected sabotage of the jet calls for an FBI investigation that ultimately leads to the discovery of a strange connection between all the recent murders in the area.

Herrmann collected many ideas for his book from his own life-changing experiences, but the book is a fictional piece.

“There actually was a man who died in a plane crash many years ago. He and his whole family died in first class. I was acquaintances with him, and the whole thing just really moved me. So I wrote about it,” Hermann said.

After 15 years of journalism, Herrmann taught fiction-writing and literature at universities and colleges in New York, Pennsylvania and Montana. He was the founder and first director of the master of fine arts program at the University of Montana in Missoula and taught American literature in Iran and Germany. 

He has published six books and now spends his time writing, teaching at the Flathead Valley Community College and performing a radio talk show. 

“I have been a lot of places,” Herrmann said. “I have seen and heard about a lot of things. I think drawing from my personal experiences creates a sense of who I am as a writer. It’s just about how all the parts and pieces fit together.”

Bruce and Lisa Mohr, owners of the Red Dog Saloon on Pipe Creek Road, have known Herrmann for many years. He is a member of the Pipe Creek community and spends time at the their saloon, they said.

“John is a really great guy,” Lisa Mohr said. “It doesn’t hurt to have our saloon being represented by his novels. We were talking about maybe putting posters of his books in the Red Dog, so that people know about them.”

Herrmann’s novel is not structured like a traditional murder story because the reader knows who the killer is before the characters in the novel do. The reader joins the main character and her friends with their struggles of uncovering the truth behind the series of murders and providing evidence to condemn the murderer.

The characters in Herrmann’s novel represent the small-town demographics familiar to many people in Lincoln County. From everyday conversations at the Libby Café to evening drinks at the Red Dog Saloon, Herrmann shows the tendencies of a small town community to heavily center around fast-traveling gossip.

The Lincoln County Library will host Herrmann for a book talk and signing at 2 p.m. on July 12. He will read a selection from his novel, explain more about how his novel came to be, answer questions and sign copies.