Muzzle the Black Dog by Mike Cobb

MUZZLE THE BLACK DOG

by Mike Cobb

May 12 – June 6, 2025 Virtual Book Tour

Synopsis:

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

Read an excerpt:

Author Bio:

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.

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