About this Event
ABOUT THE BOOK
"Tara Laskowski gives readers their very own slasher movie! With one diabolical twist after another, The Cold Read will keep you guessing until the very last page."
—Alma Katsu, author of Fiend
They're there to make a sequel. But someone came for revenge.
A decade ago, the release of the horror film No One Can Hear You Scream catapulted a young no-name cast into Hollywood fame. But below the surface, they were dealing with the fallout of their friend’s tragic death on set.
Now the cast is reuniting at the remote ski resort where the movie was filmed to announce the sequel and get a first glimpse of the screenplay. Cassidy, Jake, Ben, and Ruby—they’ve all followed different paths over the years, and each has their own reason for agreeing to return to a place they had sworn to leave behind.
At first everyone works hard to ignore the shadows of the past and focus on the opportunity ahead. But the reunion takes a dark turn during the midnight announcement to fans when a disturbing incident stirs up a long-buried secret.
Each of them has something to lose. Each of them has something to hide. And if they want to survive the weekend, they'll have to deliver the performance of a lifetime…
“A witty, wicked thriller packed with juicy secrets.” —Andrea Bartz on The Mother Next Door
“Will keep you obsessively reading well past your bedtime.” —Paul Tremblay on One Night Gone
“A riveting puzzle for fans of Lucy Foley and Ruth Ware.” —Hank Phillippi Ryan on The Weekend Retreat
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Tara Laskowski is the author of The Weekend Retreat, The Mother Next Door, and One Night Gone, which won an Agatha Award, Macavity Award, and Anthony Award, and was a finalist for the Mary Higgins Clark Award, Left Coast Crime Award, Strand Critics' Award, and Library of Virginia Literary Award. She is also the author of two short story collections, Modern Manners for Your Inner Demons and Bystanders, has published stories in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine and Mid-American Review, among others, and is the former editor of SmokeLong Quarterly. Tara earned a BA in English from Susquehanna University and an MFA from George Mason University and currently lives in Virginia. Find her on Twitter and Instagram, @TaraLWrites.
Lina Chern’s debut novel Play the Fool won the 2024 Mary Higgins Clark Award and was nominated for the Anthony and Lefty Awards. Its follow-up, Tricks of Fortune, has been nominated for an Anthony Award. Lina’s shorter work has appeared in Mystery Weekly, The Marlboro Review, The Bellingham Review, Rhino, Black Fox Literary Magazine, and has been shortlisted for the TriQuarterly Fiction Prize. She lives in the Chicago area with her family.
Event venue & nearby stays
Partners in Crime Bookshop, 4105 North Lincoln Avenue, Chicago, United States
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