CHICAGO, IL, October 14, 2025 /24-7PressRelease/ -- In 2018, the world was horrified when news broke that two young American cyclists, Lauren Geoghegan and Jay Austin, were murdered by ISIS radicals on a remote highway in Tajikistan. The attack made international headlines, symbolizing the collision between youthful idealism and violent extremism. Now, bestselling author William Elliott Hazelgrove reveals the full, untold story in Evil on the Roof of the World (Bloomsbury Academic, Nov. 2025).

Drawing on the couple's journals, blog posts, and extensive interviews with their friends and families, Hazelgrove takes readers beyond the headlines to explore who Lauren and Jay really were—what drove them to leave Washington, D.C. and set out to bike the world, and how their journey of wonder and discovery ended in tragedy on the Pamir Highway, the fabled "roof of the world."

Booklist calls the book "a story of searching humanity," praising Hazelgrove's portrait of "a couple in search of something bigger than the everyday, who became victims of an ideological war." Reviewer Jeff Connelly adds that "fans of Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild will appreciate this story of searching humanity."

Publishers Weekly likewise praises Hazelgrove's "chilling true crime tale," writing that his "utilitarian prose...lets the facts of the case carry the narrative forward" and concluding, "Readers will be aghast." The review highlights Hazelgrove's ability to illuminate the beauty and peril of the couple's global journey, from encounters with elephants in Africa to suspicion and hardship across Europe and Central Asia.

Hazelgrove, a novelist and historian known for Hemingway's Attic and Madam President: The Secret Presidency of Edith Wilson, brings his signature narrative depth to a story that captivated the world—and now finally reveals the truth behind it.

Evil on the Roof of the World
By William Elliott Hazelgrove
Nov. 2025 | 296 pages | Bloomsbury Academic | $27 hardcover (ISBN 9798881800383) | eBook (ISBN 9798881800390)

For review copies or media inquiries, please contact:
Bloomsbury Academic meghan.mcdonagh@bloomsbury.com

William Elliott Hazelgrove is the National Bestselling author of ten novels and twelve nonfiction titles. His books have received starred reviews in Publisher Weekly Kirkus, Booklist, Book of the Month Selections, ALA Editors Choice Awards Junior Library Guild Selections, Literary Guild Selections, History Book Club Selections, History Book Club Bestsellers, Distinguished Book Award. and optioned for the movies. He was the Ernest Hemingway Writer in Residence where he wrote in the attic of Ernest Hemingway's birthplace. He has written articles and reviews for USA Today, The Smithsonian Magazine, and other publications and has been featured on NPR All Things Considered. The New York Times, LA Times, Chicago Tribune, CSPAN, USA Today, World News Tonight have all covered his books with features. His book Madam President The Secret Presidency of Edith in development He has two forthcoming books. Hemingways Attic Hell and Glory in Cuba and the Writing of Old Man and the Sea and Capones Vault. More information can be found at www.williamhazelgrove.com.

This contant was orignally distributed by 24-7 Press Release. Blockchain Registration, Verification & Enhancement provided by NewsRamp™. The source URL for this press release is Booklist and Publishers Weekly Praise William Elliott Hazelgrove's Evil on the Roof of the World — The True Story Behind the ISIS Murders That Shocked America.