In July 2018, Jay Austin and Lauren Geoghegan left successful careers in Washington, D.C., to cycle the world in search of a different kind of American dream. Their journey ended tragically on a remote highway in Tajikistan when they and two fellow cyclists were murdered by ISIS terrorists. The attack drew international headlines from outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, and BBC, capturing global attention for its brutality and the couple's hopeful worldview.
Now, bestselling author William Elliott Hazelgrove delivers the definitive account of this tragedy in his forthcoming book, Evil on the Roof of the World, to be released November 13, 2025 by Bloomsbury. Through meticulous research and narrative storytelling, Hazelgrove pieces together the events that led Austin and Geoghegan from Georgetown University classrooms to a fatal stretch of highway in Central Asia. The book is already being compared to Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild and will resonate with readers of true crime and adventure.
"This was one of the most widely covered murders of the decade, but no book has ever fully explored what happened, why it happened, and what it means," Hazelgrove says. "Their story is both heartbreaking and profoundly important." Hazelgrove, the national bestselling author of over twenty books including Madam President and The Pitcher, is known for blending investigative depth with novelistic storytelling. With Evil on the Roof of the World, he provides not only a harrowing true-crime account but also a meditation on risk, adventure, and the enduring clash between hope and hatred.
Evil on the Roof of the World is the only book to cover the highly publicized murder of Jay Austin and Lauren Geoghegan, making it a landmark work for readers of true crime, international affairs, and narrative nonfiction. The book's importance lies in its comprehensive examination of an event that highlighted the global reach of extremism while telling the complete story of two idealists whose journey ended in tragedy. For the publishing industry, the book represents a significant contribution to true crime and narrative nonfiction, coming from an author whose work has received starred reviews from Publisher's Weekly, Kirkus, and Booklist, and has been featured on NPR's All Things Considered.
The book will be available in hardcover, eBook, and audiobook on November 13, 2025. Readers can learn more about the author through his website at http://www.williamhazelgrove.com.
