{"product_id":"the-laughing-dead-9781662514166","title":"The Laughing Dead","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTwo 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 \u003ci\u003eThe Taken Ones\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDecades 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Thomas \u0026amp; Mercer\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 07\/22\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781662514166\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 331","brand":"Jess Lourey","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45418989781173,"sku":"9781662514166","price":14.44,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_44746ab5-4541-4a71-8071-53edac0ada2e.jpg?v=1748390524","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-laughing-dead-9781662514166","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}