Rave Publishers Weekly Review of Evil on the Roof of the World

Novelist and historian Hazelgrove (Hemingway's Attic) recounts the fate of American cyclists Lauren Geoghegan and Jay Austin, who were slain by terrorists in Tajikistan in 2018, in this chilling true crime tale. Drawing from the couple's blog and interviews with their friends and family, Hazelgrove portrays Jay as a charismatic idealist who convinced Lauren to give up her job to follow him on a four-year bike trip around the globe, beginning in South Africa and ending in South America. In Africa, they faced charging elephants, flies, and malaria; in Europe, they dealt with suspicious officials and a few gnarly crashes. Still, they pushed forward for two years, winding up in Central Asia's Pamir Mountains (nicknamed the "Roof of the World"). In Tajikistan, a group of young men radicalized by ISIS stalked and ambushed the couple after encountering them on a highway; four were then killed by local police, while the ringleader died in an American prison. Hazelgrove's prose is utilitarian ("Jay and Lauren ride on into Botswana, which proves to be flat, arid, wild, and hot"), letting the facts of the case carry the narrative forward. For the most part, the approach pays off, lending the account an unsettling air. Readers will be aghast. Photos. (Nov.)

Bloomsbury to Pulblish William Elliott Hazelgrove's Gripping New Nonfiction of Cycling Couple Murdered by ISIS

CHICAGO, IL, August 29, 2025 /24-7PressRelease/ -- On November 13, 2025, Bloomsbury Publishing will release Evil on the Roof of the World, the latest book from acclaimed author William Elliott Hazelgrove. This harrowing true account follows the journey of two young American dreamers whose search for adventure ended in tragedy on one of the most remote highways in the world. On a bleak stretch of road in the mountains of Tajikistan, known as "the roof of the world," in July 2018, Lauren Geoghegan and Jay Austin—along with two other cyclists—were brutally murdered by five ISIS terrorists. Both Georgetown University graduates, Lauren and Jay had left behind promising careers in Washington, DC, to pursue a bold vision of the American Dream: biking around the globe in search of connection, beauty, and meaning. Drawing from their Simply Cycling travel blog, social media posts, intimate interviews with friends and family, and worldwide media coverage of the murder, Hazelgrove reconstructs the arc of their story. From hopeful beginnings to the challenges and triumphs on the road, from the haunting foreshadowing of danger to the devastating attack itself, Evil on the Roof of the World presents a deeply human narrative of love, adventure, and vulnerability in the face of extremism. "This book is about more than a single act of violence," Hazelgrove says. "It's about what it means to chase a dream into the unknown—and how that dream collided with the darkest forces of our time." Like Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild, Hazelgrove's book explores the intersection of youthful idealism, risk, and fate. Blending travel adventure with true crime, it offers a sensitive yet unflinching look at how Jay and Lauren lived, what they hoped to find, and how the world made sense of their loss. William Elliott Hazelgrove is the award-winning author of more than a dozen books of fiction and nonfiction. Known for his fast-paced narrative style and deeply researched storytelling, Hazelgrove's work often explores the intersection of history, culture, and the human spirit. His nonfiction titles include Madam President: The Secret Presidency of Edith Wilson, Sally Rand: American Sex Symbol, Greed in America: The Real Story of Our Century, and Evil on the Roof of the World (Bloomsbury, 2025). His fiction works include the bestselling novel The Pitcher, along with Tobacco Sticks, Real Santa, and Rocket Man. Hazelgrove's books have been widely reviewed and featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, People, Chicago Tribune, and on NPR's All Things Considered. He has appeared on NBC, CBS, PBS, and C-SPAN, and his works have been optioned for film and television. A Chicago native, Hazelgrove was formerly the Writer-in-Residence at the Ernest Hemingway Birthplace, where he worked in Hemingway's attic writing studio. His writing has earned critical acclaim for blending historical depth with the compelling drive of fiction, often compared to the works of Erik Larson and Jon Krakauer.

Is the World too Dangerous to Travel Now?

My book Evil on the Roof of the World is about Jay Austin and Lauren Geohegan who decided to travel around the world in 2017. They quit their jobs and for a year planned their trip. They checked the State Department travel advistories that said the places they were planning to bike thorugh were safe. They paid close attention to the advisory on Tajikistan which borderes Afghanistan. Still the State Department advisory said it was safe. So they biked through Africa and Europe and had a few problems but nothing life threatening. Lauren felt that New York City was just as dangerous or more so than Tajikistan. When they entered the Pamir Mountains known also as The Roof of the World they were excited. This scenic route through the clouds was a the high point of their trip and again when they checked the State Department site there were no new warnings. On July 29 2018 they were spotted by ISIS terrorists who followed the couple then mowed them down with their car and attacked with butcher knives. When I was researching the book with friends and family I asked many times if Jay and Lauren were concerned about the risks of their trip. Jay blogged about the risks before they left saying without risk there is no adventure. When they stopped and stared across a river at Afghanistan Lauren expressed her fear to a fellow cyclist,Kim Potsma. She was scared but they had been biking a full year and while they had some dangerous encounters they had managed to stay on course and nothing had really threatened their lives. But now they had been killed at the hands of ISIS and social media went wild on how foolish, stupid, and arrogant these two millenials were to belive they could bike anywhere they wanted in the world. Many people took offence and saw the two Georgetown Graduates as emblematic of an entitled generation that felt the rules did not apply to them. Some people who posted were gleefully cruel. The Washington Post examined Lauren and Jays decision to bike through Afghanistan and asked the question if they were niave in their view of the world. Jay had famously said he did not belive in evil as a concept. Many in the blogosphere roasted him for this assertion. The Post concluded they were not niave and knew the risks and had taken all precautions. Their deaths were a large part due to bad luck. Destiny is a lonely word and to say they were destined to meet up with terrorists is a hard thing to get our heads around. I go back to Jays assertion that without risk there is no adventure. The State Department after the attack elevated the risk level on Tajikistan. Still, thousands of people bike the Pamir highway every year. It is a great adventure. Evil on the Roof of the World is due out in November

Early Reviews for Evil on the Roof of the World Compare to Krakauer Into The Wild

“Lauren and Jay chased wonder on two wheels across continents, only to meet evil face-to- face—Evil on the Roof of the World is a sobering, gut-punch reminder that even the boldest dreams aren't safe from the darkness we pretend doesn't exist.” —Cory Mortensen, bestselling author of The Buddha and the Bee “A compelling investigation of both the liberating triumph and ultimate tragedy of Lauren and Jay’s cycle adventure. Evil on the Roof of the World sensitively explores the open-heartedness, courage and complicated motivations of two promising twenty-somethings and poses profound questions about the world we live in and the nature of risk and reward.” —Charlie Walker, award-winning British explorer, author of Through Sand & Snow and On Roads That Echo, and keynote speaker “Propelled by idealism and determination, Jay and Lauren set out to cycle around the world. Believing in the essential goodness of humanity, the couple find kindness and hospitality while slogging through desert sand in Namibia, fleeing an enraged elephant in Botswana, and enduring freezing rain in Spain. William Elliott Hazelgrove’s gripping account, reminiscent of Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild, chronicles Jay and Lauren’s epic journey toward an encounter with terrorists who decide that slaughtering these youthful seekers will serve ISIS’s cause.” —Doug Kari, author of The Berman Murders

A Couple Who Wanted a Different American Dream....Evil on the Roof of the World

On a bleak highway in the mountains of Tajikistan known as "the roof of the world", in July of 2018, Lauren Geoghegan and Jay Austin along with two other cyclists, were brutally murdered by five ISIS terrorists. They were both Georgetown University graduates who had quit their well-paying Washington, D.C. jobs to pursue a bike trip around the world, looking for a different kind of American Dream. Pieced together from Jay and Lauren's Simply Cycling travel blog and social media posts, interviews with their friends and family, and media coverage of their murder, author William Elliott Hazelgrove creates a complete, narrative retelling of Jay and Lauren's story. Evil on the Roof of the World combines biking and travel adventure with true crime elements, sensitively presenting the trajectory of Jay and Lauren's hopeful beginnings; the difficulties and meaningful experiences they found on their journey; the foreshadowing leading up to the attack; and the way they, their loved ones, the media, and the perpetrators made sense of this violent encounter. Like Jon Krakauer's Into The Wild, this is a story of a couple who went off the grid to find the great adventure of life.

Make Assault Weapons part of a Terrorist Act

Look we all know an assault weapons ban is DOA. Congress will not let it pass. Make that the NRA wont let it pass and we all know they represent the will of the people. So instead of going through that tired exercise that will result in a watered down  bill that will mean nothing, lets cut to the chase and get assault weapons classified as a weapon of terrorism. We already interpret threats and bombs and plans to kill people  as acts of terrorism. Is this really such a leap?

First of all assault weapons are a terrorist dream. They kill in large numbers. Look at Sandy Hook. If killing children is not an act of terrorism then I don't know what is. Of course it is. It goes to who we are. Terrorists know this. And so we had a brutal act of terrorism committed with a brutal weapon of terrorism. An automatic weapon designed to fire so fast that people are not hit with just a few bullets but upwards of ten or eleven. It is a killing machine.

And if terror is our criteria then go back and look at Aurora movie theatre shooting. Listen to the testimony of the officers on the scenes. The one cop driving with blood sloshing around in the back of his car. The first responders to Sandy Hook who will never ever be the same. They have been terrorized as much as anyone who was at Ground Zero. Killing in large numbers is an act of terrorism. It has always been an act of terrorism. So logically you have to make it illegal to own the tools of the trade.

Again. The exercise in congress is futile. We know this. The NRA will block anything. We are not the NRA. The American people deserve to be protected from assault weapons. They deserve to be protected from Terrorists. Ergo. Make the owning and the use of  assault weapons an act of terrorism.

www.billhazelgrove.com
 

Include Assault Weapons Under the Terrorist Act

There was a strategy in WWII called island hopping. Basically the Japanese occupied many islands across the Pacific and the United States saw it would take months to take every island on their way to Japan so they decided to just go around the islands. To leave the Japanese in place and go after the main target which was Japan. That is what we have to do now. We have to go around the islands and forget about negotiating with the blood soaked stooges of the NRA and pass an  executive order. That order would include assault weapons under the Terrorist Act.

Assault Weapons are weapons of terror. That is what they were designed for. Killing on the scale these weapons perform on is terrorism. Killing multiple adults is terrorism. Killing children is an  act of terrorism. Killing people in movies theatres is an act of terrorism. Killing people at political events is an act of terrorism. Automatic weapons are the tools of terrorists. They are designed to murder humans as fast as possible. They are the modern terrorists weapons of choice. No different than a bomb or a man with a box cutter.

For what is more of an act of terrorism than killing our children. There can be nothing more that strikes fear and terror into the hearts of Americans. We have outlawed carrying weapons on planes because they are interpreted as possible tools of terrorists. Certainly the only difference for assault weapons is they are not on a plane but are in our schools and theatres our churches our political venues.

So lets side step the islands of the NRA. Four million members don't compare to the three hundred and fifty million other people. We are being governed by a minority that is making  the gun industry rich. The President should declare all assault weapons as tools of terrorism. And we can then go after the real target of getting rid of guns.

www.billhazelgrove.com