The Laughing Dead -- Jess Lourey

<p><b>Two murder investigations, decades apart, threaten to expose a cold case agent's darkest secrets in a pulse-pounding thriller by the Edgar Award-nominated author of <i>The Taken Ones</i>.</b></p><p>The bodies of three teenage girls are found in central Minnesota--each 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.</p><p>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: Van's police ID has turned up at the scene, making her the prime suspect. It's not that outlandish, considering her secrets--ones she's never even told her partner, forensic scientist Harry Steinbeck.</p><p>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.</p><br><br><b>Author:</b> Jess Lourey<br><b>Publisher:</b> Thomas & Mercer<br><b>Published:</b> 07/22/2025<br><b>Pages:</b> 331<br><b>Binding Type:</b> Paperback<br><b>ISBN:</b> 9781662514166