Thank you to the publisher for giving me the chance to read an early digital copy of The Laughing Dead by Jess Lourey. I have read quite a few books by Jess Lourey, but this was the first time I have read one of her books that was a part of a series. I haven't read any other books in the series, and I do not think that it affected my reading of this one in any way, so it can definitely be read as a standalone. This definitely had a true crime feel to it, and there were details that were grisly and the tension and suspense was emanating from the pages. Lourey does a fantastic job of creating this eerie atmosphere, and I really enjoyed this one!

Book three, I highly recommend reading the other two to understand the full story of Van and Harry.

When someone Van knows is found dead, with a strange grin on her face, and Vans ID on her body, Van finds a cold case from 1986 to try to link the two a prove her innocence. But when she has visions and nightmares and such a past as her, she’s unsure what’s the truth. Trying to track down her own past, as well as Harry’s sister, and the murderer from the 80s is a lot, even for Van.

I found this one to be less police procedural, and more Van just putting pieces of her past together to learn the truth. Enjoyable, and definitely kept me interested and up all night reading.

EASY 5⭐️ READ!! I finished it in under 24 hours ‘Cause I just couldn’t put it down.
I’ll never tire of this series I’ve genuinely loved every single one but this might just be my favourite. I could easily read ten more books about Van and Harry (hint hint, Jess Lourey). Their chemistry, banter & bond always hit the mark.
The storyline in this one was so satisfying it tied everything up beautifully with no loose ends. Full of twists, tension & clever reveals it keeps you completely hooked from the first page to the very last!
I adore Van’s character. She’s layered, sharp, funny, & resilient & I always find her upbringing so fascinating. It was great to see that explored more deeply here.
&of course LOVED THE ADDITION OF OWL 🐾🐶 such a small thing but brought so much heart.

This series just gets better & better. If you haven’t started it yet you’re in for an absolute treat.

Love, love this series!!!! These characters definitely have my heart. Although this wasn’t quite as perfect, for me, as the last installment, it is still a very solid and necessary book in this series.

We get a lot of backstory and time in Van’s head, which isn’t the most pleasant place to be. But this time really helped build her character and set her up to move forward. There was also a lot of work put into the relationships between our characters and I think we’re left in a very interesting place for book 4.

I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love how this book tied Van's past with her present. It helped us to better understand how she was raised and how that made her who she is today. I also love that Van was able to get some closure from her traumatic childhood. The ending was perfect.

This was a fast paced and gritty thriller that had me hooked from page one. I didn’t realize at first that it was part of a series, but it didn’t take away from my enjoyment. That said, I do recommend starting with the first two books to get the full experience—and I definitely plan to go back and read them myself. This was my first Jess Lourey book, and I absolutely loved her writing style. I flew through this one!

I loved this book! This was a great conclusion to some parts of the series, and tied up some lose ends. I cannot wait to see what comes next and I really hope there is more to it. I love these characters !

Cold case agent Van and forensic scientist Harry are back for another twisty mystery. The Laughing Dead is the name given to victims of particular gruesome murders. Twenty years later Van and Harry are on the case and this strange duo is particularly effective at finding clues and assembling forensic puzzles. This is an excellent mystery that will keep you turning pages. It's book three of a series and is evidently the final book. For character history, read the first two books, which are also very good.

This was a fast paced and gritty thriller that had me hooked from page one. I didn’t read the other books in this series but I hope to eventually. I found this was okay to be read as a standalone but I’m not sure if that’s how it’s intended so beware. This was my first Jess Lourey book and I loved her writing style and flew through this one!

The Laughing Dead is book 3 in the Steinbeck and Reed series by Jess Lourey. Evangeline Reid (Van) is a cold case agent and her partner is forensic scientist Harry Steinbeck. When Van and Harry are called to a murder scene they know something is off. Van is told she's there because her old police ID was found at the scene. She hasn't used that in years and it's been buried in a box in her closet ever since she moved to cold cases. How could it be at a murder scene now? Van is keeping secrets about her past from everyone, even Harry. She will do anything to keep those secrets from coming out. When she sees the dead girl, she can't believe what she's looking at. The girl has a huge grin like a clown on her face. What in the world? How could someone die like this?

As Van and her team investigate they find a link to a cold case from decades earlier. Three girls were killed and they all were found in bed with the same horrific clown grin on their face. Now Van could begin investigating that case looking for links to the current case. Will Van and Harry find anyone linked to the past case that could be the current killer? Will the witnesses from decades ago remember anything significant that could help them now? Can Van and Harry give the families of the 3 girls closure? As Van digs deeper she finds links that are all too familiar to her. Will Van be able to solve the case without giving away her secrets? Will Harry understand? The Laughing Dead is a fantastic thriller that you won't be able to put down. The ending had me in tears and I can't wait for book 4! I rate The Laughing Dead 5 stars with my highest recommendation. If you love a good thriller with twists, this book is for you! I'd like to thank NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an advanced copy of The Laughing Dead in exchange for a fair review. #TheLaughingDead

This is the best book in the Steinbeck and Reed series, hands down. It pulls together all the aspects of the previous two books and connects them, culminating in a really satisfying resolution for both Van and Harry. I felt like we really got to know Van in this one, and the twists and turns in the story were really intriguing.

The third book in a crime procedural series following cold case detective Van Reed and her partner, forensic scientist Harry Steinbeck, "The Laughing Dead" delivers in such a way that I found myself sleeping with the lights on...just for a little bit.

While you don't necessarily need to read the previous books in order to understand this next installment, it definitely helps to clarify things. The story takes place just weeks after the second book, "The Reaping" and deals with both the aftereffects of that mystery and the ongoing personal investigations of both Reed and Steinbeck in their own pasts.

Lourey paces this story very well in that it flows very well and leaves the reader feeling like the book is impossible to put down. The story is told in multiple points of view and from multiple timelines: Van Reed in present time, various girls who were abducted and killed in 1986, and Judy, who was kidnapped and forced into a commune. While the majority of the story falls in the present, these glimpses into the past slowly reveal answers that help bring today's mystery to it's final, chaotic conclusion.

The mystery was absolutely creepy. Lourey describes the deaths and terrifying moments so well that I couldn't get the images out of my head. The first 75% of the book was so well-paced and written that when the last quarter came to fruition, it all happened so much faster. In a way, it almost seemed unbelievable. But, we enjoy the ride and the mystery elements that create a compelling, yet terrifying, novel.

If you haven't jumped on this series, it is easy to read and flies by in a heartbeat. A quick and scary mystery? Sign me up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I LOVE Van Reed and Harry Steinbeck's characters! Please never stop writing this series :)

This one has a mystery about decades old murders by a (seemingly) serial killer. This is what Jess Lourey does -- blends a recent and past mystery storyline together so well. Van's past with her upbringing plays a big part in this story. The amount of uncertainty the author can build around the main character while still keeping me rooting for her success is amazing.

This is told in multi-timeline with some multi-POV. I didn't find it hard to keep track of at all. Also, when the twists start coming they don't let up! Some are easier to figure out before they are revealed and others left me totally surprised.

This is part of a series but I didn't feel like I was missing any information (I haven't read book 2 yet) as tidbits are shared and we get enough of a backstory of the characters to know most of the important parts of their characters.

Overall it's a winner for me. I'd recommend if you love: police procedural, multi-timeline, serial killers, flawed but likeable main characters with tough history to sort through.

Talk about a FIVE STAR banger of an opening! I was hooked from the very first page—an ‘80s slasher vibe, dark atmosphere, and occult undertones? YES, PLEASE. Once I started, I was totally reeled in!

I’ve read (and re-read!) every book in the Steinbeck and Reed series, including the prequel Catch Her in a Lie, and let me tell you: The Laughing Dead is my absolute favorite of the bunch. If I had to rank them, it would be this one at the top, followed by The Taken Ones, Catch Her in a Lie, and The Reaping.

While each book can stand on its own, I highly recommend reading them in order to appreciate the evolving character arcs—especially if you’re a Kindle Unlimited user, since you can read or listen to the entire series for free!

The real magic of The Laughing Dead lies in the continued character development. With each installment, Jess Lourey peels back more layers of Van and Harry, and this book delivers the most satisfying depth yet.

I was happy with the ending, but I’m crossing all my fingers that Lourey continues this series—and maybe even gives us that spark between Van and Harry I’ve been hoping for!

Huge thanks to NetGalley, Jess Lourey, and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC. This was a FIVE STAR, dazzlingly suspenseful read I wish I could experience for the first time all over again.

After thoroughly enjoying the first two books in this series, I was excited to get my hands on book three.
Jess Lourey is so good at keeping you interested the whole time and it was so well written and detailed.

👄 A L C / A R C • R E V I E W 👄
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Title: The Laughing Dead
Author: Jess Lourey
Rating: 4/5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Pub Date: 7/22
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The Laughing Dead is the third installment in the Steinbeck and Reed series. While they are all separate stories and can be read as a stand alone, I still recommend reading them in order in order to understand the dynamics between the two.
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As before, I love the camaraderie between Reed and Steinbeck. They have such a great chemistry and their bantering is perfection. This time they are following a case where the victim is left dead with a ghastly smile on their face. This is connected to cold cases from the past, which is what gave this story a dual timeline. The 80’s flashback timeline was superb, it really brought an eerie element to the story.
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As per the last two in the series, this is more of a slow burn. There is a lot of detective work but this one was just so interesting that it kept my attention the entire time. This just has that creepy mysterious atmosphere that I am always searching for in my mysteries/police procedurals. I really enjoyed this one.
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I listened to this via audiobook while I read along on my kindle. Carly Robins was fantastic. I love what she did with this audio and her narration really bought this one to life for me.
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This is a great series, I definitely recommend it!! Check this one out! Huge thank you to NetGalley, Jess Lourey, Brilliance Audio and Thomas and Mercer for the ALC and eARC in exchange for my honest review.
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Book review • four star book review • early released copy • audiobooks are books too • I listen while I read • recent book review • Steinbeck and Reed • police procedural • thriller • mystery • ghastly smile • book number three • books books books

5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Jess Lourey has done it again! The Laughing Dead is an absolute knockout and easily one of my favorite reads this year. From the very first page, I was completely hooked. The atmosphere is chilling, the pacing relentless, and the emotional payoff—wow. I’ve loved the Steinbeck and Reed series from the start, but this installment brings so much closure and depth, it genuinely left me stunned.

The dual POVs work brilliantly, with Lourey balancing darkness and hope, fear and grit. The character development is so strong—each moment with Steinbeck and Reed is earned and emotionally rich. Their bond, the tension, the backstories—it’s all woven into a heart-pounding, unforgettable thriller. This book doesn’t just entertain—it lingers.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to read an advance copy. I couldn’t put it down, and I’ll be recommending this series to everyone who loves smart, gripping thrillers with real heart.

The Laughing Dead is creepy, is thrilling and has lots of mystery. The story is told from two different timelines, in 1986 3 girls were found dead with a ghoulish grin on their faces and now Van is asked to check on a crime scene where another girl was found with the same disconcerting grin. The problem is that Van's old police ID was also found on the scene, is she being framed? Harry and Van will link the four cases and through her special skills and Harry's lab work they'll investigate and find their past is also tangled with the crimes. Will they be able to solve the cases without harming their carrers and themselves? I haven't read the previous books in this series but it did not impair my understanding of the story. As always, Ms. Lourey has delivered an intriguing and engaging story.
I thank the author, her publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC.

Book #3 in the series. Each could be read as a stand-alone, but together, they have built the layers of the principal characters and the community into a 3D mental movie. Jess Lourey adds small details into her stories that cumulatively have a huge influence on the reveal. There's enough of a creep factor built into the community that you view the supporting characters through a darkly tinted lens. Lourey is a prolific author who pens excellent stories across several genres.......I've read them all and recommend them often and loudly.

The Steinbeck and Reed series provides a close-up look at a small town that is determined to keep their past locked away from "outsiders". When a local woman is murdered, a cold case from decades prior suggests there is a serial killer among the citizens. With few clues and little help, Steinbeck and Reed are determined to stop this killer. This is an easy 5 star read for anyone looking for a thriller with that creep factor built into the story from page 1.

Review of The Laughing Dead by Jess Lourey
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4 out of 5 stars)

Jess Lourey does it again with The Laughing Dead, a chilling, twisty, and surprisingly emotional thriller that I absolutely tore through. This is the third book in the Steinbeck and Reed series, and while you could jump in here, I really recommend starting from the beginning to fully appreciate Van Reed’s wild journey. Trust me, it’s worth it.

This one opens with a new case that eerily mirrors a decades-old mystery—three girls found dead with eerie, fixed grins. Now, that same creepy smile has shown up again... along with Van’s police ID at the scene. Cue the chaos. As Van digs into the case (and her own very messy past), things spiral fast. Secrets are unearthed, trust is questioned, and Van’s own sanity starts to feel shaky.

There’s a dash of the supernatural here, Van has visions, but it’s more eerie than outlandish, and it really works in the story’s favor. The suspense is intense, but Lourey also weaves in real emotional depth, especially through Van’s dynamic with the steady, lovable Harry Steinbeck. And can we talk about the dog, Owl? Pure joy.

The pacing is fast, the villain is as unsettling as ever (Lourey has a real talent for that), and the plot twists kept me guessing—even when I thought I had it figured out.

If you love thrillers with creepy vibes, layered characters, and just a hint of the uncanny, The Laughing Dead is a must-read. Add it to your TBR, but start with the prequel if you want the full ride.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.