Description

Two murder investigations, decades apart, threaten to expose a cold case agents darkest secrets in a pulse-pounding thriller by the Edgar Award-nominated author of The Taken Ones.

The bodies of three teenage girls are found in central Minnesotaeach with her mouth fixed in a ghoulish grin, smiling at a deadly joke no one can hear. But authorities eventually close and forget the curious case, dubbed the Laughing Dead.

Decades later, cold case agent Evangeline Van Reed is called to the scene of a crime where the victim wears that same horror-movie smile. But this time someone seems to be sending a message: Vans police ID has turned up at the scene, making her the prime suspect. Its not that outlandish, considering her secretsones shes never even told her partner, forensic scientist Harry Steinbeck.

As she feels others closing in, Van reopens the mystery of the Laughing Dead, hoping to find a connection to clear her name. But the search only gets darker. Because the more Van digs backward in time, the closer she comes to a terrible truth: Everything she has spent her life trying to hide is returning to haunt her.

Author: Jess Lourey
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Published: 07/22/2025
Series: Steinbeck and Reed #3
Pages: 331
ISBN: 9781662514166
Language: English