Acclaimed novelist and historian William Elliott Hazelgrove, author of Dead Air and Madam President, delivers a gripping narrative nonfiction with Evil on the Roof of the World (Bloomsbury, November 13, 2025). The book details the harrowing true story of Lauren Geoghegan and Jay Austin, two young Americans who quit their jobs in Washington, D.C., to cycle across the globe in search of adventure and wonder. Their journey ended tragically in 2018 when they were murdered by ISIS-affiliated terrorists in Tajikistan.
Drawing from the couple's personal blog, their own words, and extensive interviews with friends and family, Hazelgrove paints a vivid portrait of two dreamers who pedaled through Africa, Europe, and Central Asia, encountering elephants, harsh landscapes, and bureaucratic hurdles. Their path led them to the Pamir Mountains, known as the "Roof of the World," where their idealism collided with radicalized young men seeking to make them martyrs for the Islamic State.
The book has drawn comparisons to Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild, with Doug Kari, author of The Berman Murders, calling it a "gripping account" that chronicles the couple's journey toward a terrorist encounter. Cory Mortensen, bestselling author of The Buddha and the Bee, notes that it is "a sobering, gut-punch reminder that even the boldest dreams aren't safe from the darkness we pretend doesn't exist." Publishers Weekly praises Hazelgrove's prose for letting "the facts of the case carry the narrative forward," lending the account an unsettling air.
Hazelgrove, the national bestselling author of ten novels and twelve nonfiction titles, has received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, and Booklist, and his works have been featured on NPR's All Things Considered and in The New York Times. Evil on the Roof of the World serves as both a cautionary tale and a testament to the risks of wonder-seeking in a dangerous world. More information can be found at www.williamhazelgrove.com.
