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Muzzle the Black Dog by Mike Cobb

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Muzzle the Black Dog

After a mysterious stranger appears at his isolated cabin door, Jack’s life is forever changed. The stranger’s cryptic message sets off a chain of events that lead Jack on a harrowing journey to uncover the true meaning of his own existence.

As a series of unexplained fires threaten to consume everything he holds dear, Jack is forced to confront his deepest fears and question everything he thought he knew about himself.

Set in the aftermath of the Centennial Olympic Park bombing, Jack’s search for the truth takes him to the edge of sanity and puts him on a collision course with a dark and powerful force that has been lurking in the shadows.

Join Jack on a gripping and thought-provoking quest for answers in this thrilling and suspenseful tale of self-discovery and redemption.

Praise for MUZZLE THE BLACK DOG:

“Muzzle the Black Dog takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions and family secrets. The slow reveal is creepy many times but you still want to read page after page. I loved the combination of thriller, drama, history and mystery.” ~ Erik S. Meyers, author of The Sally Witherspoon Mystery Series

“A mystery whose plot will transfix you and whose finish will stun you, Muzzle the Black Dog is simply superb. A stranger enters narrator Jack Pate’s life and proceeds to upend it through his bizarrely intimate knowledge of Jack’s past. In determining the identity of the visitor, Jack solves a deeper mystery within himself, but doing so provokes demons in his soul, demons he’d been holding at since childhood. Author Mike Cobb provides that rare combination of masterly prose, passion, and insight, in an atmosphere dark and chilling as a Georgia winter.” ~ Charles Philipp Martin, author of the Inspector Lok novels Rented Grave and Neon Panic

“The pages just fly by in this quick-moving, compelling and stunningly unique psychological thriller about a man searching for answers to a deadly crime who uncovers long-buried secrets about himself and his own troubled past. Muzzle the Black Dog takes the reader on a wonderfully wild roller coaster of a ride filled with plenty of twists, thrills and tension. Mike Cobb has written a terrific book – read it!” ~ R.G. Belsky, author of the Clare Carlson mystery series

“Mike Cobb’s Muzzle The Black Dog, is a fast-paced, unputdownable thriller that will leave you guessing until the very end.” ~ Westley Smith, author of Some Kind of Truth and In The Pale Light

“Intriguing doesn’t begin to describe the appeal of this book’s premise: a mysterious stranger on the doorstep of recluse Jack Pate, offering friendship and help. Despite Jack’s surprise (he has no need of aid) and suspicion of the disheveled man—who looks more like a vagrant than any friend he would choose—Jack is fascinated. Who is this man, and how did he find Jack’s secluded cabin? And why does he seem to know things about Jack’s uneasy past? Just as suddenly as the stranger appears, he vanishes, leading Jack on an odyssey, beginning as a physical search but quickly morphing into self-preservation as reports of heinous local crimes trickle in. Arson and murders begin to stain the remote countryside, and the suspects are few and far-between. Sneaky clues, well-drawn characters, and swift plotting propel the story forward as the author deftly explores the many ways the past affects the present—and how it might endanger the future. I highly recommend this one.” ~ Jennifer Sadera, author of I Know She Was There

“A slow burn of a story revealing the power of deeply held secrets. Secrets so earthshaking that Jack Pate questions everything he believed when a mysterious stranger knows everything about him. Moody and atmospheric.” ~ James L’Etoile, award-winning author of River of Lies and the Detective Nathan Parker series

Book Details:

Genre: Crime, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction
Published by: Waterside Productions
Publication Date: April 15, 2025
Number of Pages: 184

To purchase a copy of Muzzle the Black Dog click any of the following links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads

Guest Post from Mike Cobb

Pushing the envelope: Why I wrote Muzzle the Black Dog

After publishing three long works of historical fiction, I wanted to challenge myself with something different—something leaner, more immediate, and psychologically intense. That’s how this novella, a psychological whodunit, came to life. Instead of immersing readers in the layered past, I set out to explore the intricate workings of the mind—how memory, perception, and the experiences of a dysfunctional childhood shape the way we understand crime—and our potential complicity. And how unexpected encounters can lead to self-discovery, redemption, and the hope of reunification with those most dear to us. 

The shift wasn’t just about format but also about focus. My prior historical novels required deep research, anchoring characters in a time and place that felt authentic. While Muzzle the Black Dog incorporates that, it strips away the excess, forcing both the first-person protagonist and the reader into a confined, pressure-cooker narrative where every detail matters. The tension isn’t drawn from a sweeping historical backdrop but from the unreliable nature of truth itself.

At its core, the story still aligns with what drives my writing: uncovering hidden motivations, peeling back layers of deception, and understanding how past events—whether personal or collective—haunt the present. This time, though, I wanted to immerse the reader in a puzzle where nothing is quite what it seems. The result is a taut psychological mystery that unfolds in a way I haven’t explored before—one that keeps the protagonist and the reader questioning everything until the end.

While the novella is set amidst the backdrop of the 1996 Atlanta Centennial Olympic Park bombing, a tragic episode in the city’s history that is indelibly seared in my memory, the real story is that of Jack Pate, a man who is estranged from his family and living in the woods in North Carolina. A chance—or not so chance—visit by a seeming stranger one night sets Jack on a journey that will forever change his life. I loved writing this book because it allowed me to get deep inside Jack’s head and mine his innermost thoughts and fears without focusing too much on historical events. 

That said, historical details do play an important role in the book. These include not only the Olympic bombing almost three decades ago, but also events in and near Atlanta that occurred when Jack was a child. I enjoyed researching these details and incorporating them into the story.

People have asked about the title. While my own black dog Bella was by my side during the writing of much of this book (she has now passed on, and I miss her dearly) the book’s title is not about her. The Black Dog in this book is a metaphor for something deep and haunting in Jack’s being, something that he must confront and understand if he has any hope of getting on with his life.

What’s next for Jack and Muzzle the Black Dog? Acting on the advice of several people whose opinions I hold in high regard, I am working on a screenplay based on the book. I’ve acquired a keen appreciation for the challenge of effectively conveying what’s going on in Jack’s mind primarily through dialogue and action. Stay tuned for more about that.

Muzzle the Black Dog Author Mike Cobb

 Mike’s body of literary work includes both fiction and nonfiction, short-form and long-form, as well as articles and blogs.

He is the author of three published novels, Dead Beckoning, The Devil You Knew, its sequel You Will Know Me by My Deeds, and Muzzle the Black Dog, a novella. He is also working on Kathleen, a fictionalized account of a cold case murder from 1970.

While he is comfortable playing across a broad range of topics, much of his focus is on true crime, crime fiction, and historical fiction. Rigorous research is foundational to his writing. He gets that honestly, having spent much of his professional career as a scientist.

A native of Atlanta, Mike splits his time between Midtown Atlanta and Blue Ridge, Georgia.

To learn more about Mike, click any of the following links: 

MikeCobbWriter.com Amazon Author Profile Goodreads BookBub – @cobbmg1 Instagram – @cobbmg X – @mgcobb Facebook – @MGCobbWriter YouTube – @mikecobbwriter Waterside Productions

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