Review: The Laughing Dead (Steinbeck and Reed #3) by Jess Lourey

   

Print Length: 331 pages

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer (July 22, 2025)

From Goodreads.com: 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.

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 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.

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 Everything she has spent her life trying to hide is returning to haunt her.

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My Rating: 3 stars out of 5

Let me begin by saying that although this was the first novel in this series that I have read, I had absolutely no trouble understanding these characters or their complex histories. What I did have an issue with was the way I had to completely suspend disbelief in order to get through this one. Because there were times (to borrow a phrase from this story), "I rolled my eyes so hard, I saw yesterday." 

Here is the thing, when I read a novel that sounds like a police procedural, I do not expect there to be supernatural elements. AKA I don't expect the lead investigator to have "visions" of murders before they happen. Chalking this up to I might have known better had I read the other books first, I kept reading. 

And then it went completely off the rails with the introduction of a certain gene mutation. Yes. That mutation actually does exist and does result in bones having a higher density than what is considered "normal." And sure, it does make the person with this mutation less likely to break their bones. 

*** SPOILER ALERT ***

TO READ - HIGHLIGHT THE BLANK SPACE WITH YOUR MOUSE 

However, it does NOT mean that someone can leap off a third story roof and walk away completely unscathed. Nor does it mean that the beholder of this mutation can walk away from a plane crash with nothing more than "burn scars" on their skin. And then you add the same man having some kind of "gift" where he could "follow a girl with his mind's eye" while also "having visions"? I lost interest completely. 

Also, since we are in the spoiler zone, HOW did Reed NOT make the connection between a "man who looked like Tom Cruise", the posters on the dead girls wall and her own past? I would have thought, even if she hadn't known who Tom Cruise was back then (or even still didn't know who he was when she went to investigate) the THREE posters on the dead girls wall of the man should have been enough to make her pause and go huh... you know he kind of looks like someone I used to know....

*** END SPOILER ALERT***

Now if we had taken that out of the equation altogether? This would still have been a highly engaging novel. I enjoyed seeing the POV of "Just Judy" as she was the only one from the past who (in my opinion) actually moved the story forward. Even the chapters of the girls who ended up dead didn't seem to matter in the grand scheme of things because we learned about their final moments once Reed interviewed their friends and family.

The ending seemed to be tidy enough, but I've read enough novels like this to know there is potential for this not only to be the last of the series (it currently reads book 3 of 3), but also that there is the potential for some of those ..... flowers to not only blossom but grow, and show up in future books to cause trouble for Reed. 

And you know what? I would be interested to see if that happens and what form it takes. 

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.