An all-new thriller centered on the cast of a cult-classic slasher film who reunite for the sequel 10 years later, only for the past to come back to haunt them.
Intrigued? Read on to discover the synopsis and an excerpt from The Cold Read by Tara Laskowski, which releases on November 10th 2026.
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…
EXCERPT
PROLOGUE
Saturday, January 10, 12:01 a.m., PST
The live feed starts off shaky. A glimpse of a flickering fireplace, dark wood paneling. Then an adjustment, and Izzy Bingham’s face appears, close to the lens, cheeks pink from the heat of the fire, blue bangs peeking out under the knit cap on her head.
The tiny red icon blinks in the corner of the screen as thou-sands of viewers flood into the feed.
“Horrified fans!” Izzy says. “Have I got the most terror-ific treat for you today!”
She grins, the camera’s speaker catching a slight tremor in her voice.
She zooms out to reveal the setting behind her: the Frostmourne Lodge’s lobby. The famous plaid couches. Antique skis mounted on the wall. Rustic wooden table lamps, the shades stamped with bears and eagles, casting a dull orange glow over the room.
Large windows like dark, gaping mouths.
“I know you can all guess where I am.” She pauses for dramatic effect, letting the silence stretch. “That’s right. The setting for one of the scariest horror films of the twenty-first century.”
She pulls the camera close again. “It’s been nearly ten years since the Lumberjack hacked his way into all our hearts . . . and spleens . . . and the backs of our heads.” Izzy’s grin widens. “Leaving his impression, if you know what I mean.”
She raises her eyebrows, as if teasing her audience.
“My fiendish friends, you of course are familiar with the most horrifying movie written and directed by Esme Duncan. A simple, but harrowing premise—five college students on New Year’s Eve, stuck in a blizzard on the way to their rental cabin. The creepy old ski resort they stumble upon and an even creepier lodge owner who makes all their nightmares come true.
“Well, now I’m here at Frostmourne Lodge for a very special announcement. But I’m not alone. Oh, no, freakish friends, I’m not at all alone.”
Izzy pauses and zooms the camera out to show the cast seated on a long couch next to a blazing fireplace.
“I’m here with our original cast members. Our favorite scream queen, Cassidy White, world-famous model and actress Ruby Morales, action-star heartthrob Jake Abbot, the elusive but smoldering Ben Hartman, and of course David Belfardy—the Lumberjack himself. Say hi, everyone!”
A chorus of hellos crackles through the feed.
The camera pans over the cast. Cassidy, perched on the edge of the couch, grips her knees tightly. Ruby, next to her, leans back, one leg crossed over the other, stiletto boots swinging in a rhythm. David, seated near the fire, narrows his eyes dramatically toward the camera, clearly trying to channel his iconic killer character. Ben stands behind the couch with Jake, hands buried deep in his pockets. Only Jake gazes directly into the camera with a dazzling grin, wearing a dark T-shirt that shows off his well-defined biceps.
Izzy swings the camera back to herself, the red light of the live feed reflecting faintly in her eyes. “And now, my friends, it’s midnight. A new day has begun. And we have the incredible news that you have been begging for. As fans of No One Can Hear You Scream, you have been waiting nearly a decade for this moment—”
The words hover in the air. The viewer count ticks upward. Thumbs-up emojis and heart icons fill the screen. The comment section scrolls by, almost too fast to read.
Lumberjack is my favorite monster ever.
I want to go to Frostmourne! No fair.
It’s haunted AF, I swear.
Get on with it already!
Izzy sweeps her bangs from her eyes. “As you know, Esme
Duncan purchased this land last year, and rumors have been circulating ever since about what she’s going to do here.
“Well, I’ve got the deets.”
Izzy holds the camera out so the viewers can see both her and the cast. The actors stand poised, their faces now plastered with rehearsed smiles, waiting—
And then the screen jerks.
Izzy’s face changes. Her smile drops.
Behind her, the cast looks at something off camera. Ben stands, rushes out of the frame.
“It’s opening,” Ruby shouts, her voice rising.
The camera jerks again, focuses on Izzy’s face, while behind her the lobby swirls. The sound muffles, as if someone’s hand is over the microphone.
Jake’s voice cuts through the noise. “What the hell is that?” Static. Hiss.
The blinking red icon dies.
The feed cuts to black.
For those watching, there’s a collective intake of breath, a silence that stretches too long.
Then the sound kicks back in—low at first, barely there, like something scraping against ice. The stream crackles back to life for a heartbeat. There’s a brief flash of Izzy, but her face is distorted, frozen in an expression of shock.
“Oh, shit,” Izzy says.
“Shut it down.” The voice is tense. “Now.”
A hand hovers over the screen. The feed cuts out.
A minute passes. The viewers wait. Confusion builds. Some think it’s a technical glitch, others feel the first prick of unease.
Where did they go?
What happened?
Is this part of the announcement?
But the screen stays black, hissing faintly, the sound like a distant, unsettled breath.
Excerpted from The Cold Read. © 2026 by Tara Laskowski, used with permission from Park Row Books, an imprint of HarperCollins.
