John S. Fitzpatrick | Sherlock Holmes: The Montana Chronicles

Published: May 29, 2008

Helena writer John Fitzpatrick claims he found a long-lost manuscript, written by Dr. John H. Watson, that chronicles four adventures the good doctor had with the great detective Sherlock Holmes in the wilds of Montana.

Of course, Holmes is as unperturbed by frigid temperatures and frontier conditions as he is undaunted by reluctant witnesses. The intrepid duo keeps company with actors and railroad magnates, Copper Kings, miners and mill owners as they solve “The Opera House Murder,” save Marcus Daly’s prized racehorse in “The Tammany Affair,” head to a remote mining town to unravel “The Ghosts of Red Lion” and diagnose a case of sleep-walking in “The Mysterious Woman.”

Their travels take them from Anaconda to Philipsburg and Southern Cross, high above Georgetown Lake, and their adventures are dappled with historical tidbits about some of the region’s more notable characters and events.

Fitzpatrick — a fan of Holmes and a native of Anaconda — clearly relishes introducing the iconic British detective to 19th century Montana, where his uncanny observational skills find a new outpost in the frontiers of sleuthdom.

— Kristi Niemeyer