When we last saw the fictional Jake Crosby, he and his daughter, Katy, had narrowly survived a harrowing nightmare in the Alabama woods, hunted by drug runner Moon Pie Daniels and his band of thugs. Jake, a stockbroker and hunter, was forced to kill two of his pursuers. Moon Pie had vowed revenge.
Little did author Bobby Cole of West Point know at the time, that nail-biting story told in his first novel, “The Dummy Line,” in 2008, wasn’t finished.
Jake’s saga continues in Cole’s second book, “Moon Underfoot,” which will be released Tuesday by publishers Thomas & Mercer. Like “The Dummy Line,” this book has plenty of references to locations in the Golden Triangle and surrounds to give area readers a “hometown” rush.
“I never had it in my mind that the story would continue,” Cole said.
The author actually penned an entirely different novel intended to be his sophomore release, with new characters and plot. But his publishers, and readers clamoring to know what happens to Jake, convinced him to pen a follow-up to “The Dummy Line,” one that brings Jake and Moon Pie to a gripping denouement in a cold, dark river swamp.
“So many people wrote, ‘What’s going to happen to Jake?'” said Cole. “They really pushed me to do a sequel.”
The plot thickens
The second novel introduces new characters in passages sprinkled with local spots like Anthony’s Market, Proffitt’s Porch and Old Waverly Golf Club. Most significant among the cast is a band of well-meaning seniors who live at the Henry Clay Retirement Center in West Point and misguidedly rob a Columbus grocery chain.
The writer creatively weaves their plot line into Moon Pie’s and Jake’s, keeping readers on their toes with developments.
Cole, who is president of Mossy Oak Biologic, continues to find writing (his “side gig”) a stimulating thrill.
“I’ve always likened it to a lot of guys who play golf in the summer time; this is kind of my recreation,” said the avid outdoorsman who creates his narratives primarily on late nights and weekends.
“But it can be anywhere. I can go on a trip and just sneak away some place; as long as it’s quiet, you can get into the story and write,” he shared.
“The Dummy Line” reached No. 1 in Germany in Kindle books and has done well as a Kindle buy also in the U.S. and Great Britain, according to Cole, who hopes as many or more readers will enjoy the new offering.
“Moon Underfoot,” which is dedicated to the “fine folks of West Point,” may be purchased in West Point at Mossy Oak and Rose Drug Co., in Columbus at Reed’s, and in Starkville at the Book Mart. It can also be found online at major booksellers’ sites, such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Jan Swoope is the Lifestyles Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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