Laughing in the Dark
Book Summary
When Malik “Mack” Freeman returns to his strange hometown for Grandma Ruby’s funeral, he expects grief, awkward family conversations, and maybe a house he can sell to fix his broken life. Instead, he inherits the old Freeman home on Mercy Lane, a house the locals swear has been “resting” for years and should never be entered after midnight.
Malik laughs off the warnings, because joking is how he survives fear. But the house begins to speak. A locked room laughs upstairs. A basement door breathes. Family portraits change faces. Bibles turn blank in church. And across Freeman Crossing, people begin laughing uncontrollably before vanishing into the darkness below town.
With the help of fierce Aunt Pearlene, dramatic but faithful Deacon Leroy, and Tasha Reed, his old flame and a determined detective, Malik uncovers the truth: the town made a terrible bargain generations ago, and his family has been guarding the secret ever since. But Grandma Ruby’s hidden diary reveals something deeper. The Freemans did not cause the curse. They were chosen to stop it.
As Mr. Grin, the terrifying spirit with too many teeth, spreads fear through the town, Malik must face the grief he has hidden behind jokes his whole life. To save Freeman Crossing, he must reclaim his laughter, name the truth, free the missing, and break the evil buried beneath Mercy Lane before midnight takes them all.