1--What is the title of your latest release?
JILL IS NOT HAPPY. I love this title!
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
Some secrets keep a couple together.
If you ask Jill Tingley, she’ll tell you she and her husband Jack are college sweethearts living the dream in Southern California. Wealthy, popular and genetically blessed, theirs is an enviable life, though they’ve grown distant in recent years. Newly empty nesting with their daughter Maggie away at college, Jill suggests a road trip to reconnect.
Jack would rather do anything else than drive to Utah with his wife. He’s only stayed in this marriage because of a shared secret, a tragedy in the past he wanted to keep buried. And for his daughter’s sake. But Jack is finished with the charade of his marriage. He’s filing for divorce as soon as they return, no matter what.
But he doesn’t realize what else Jill is hiding.
So begins a cat-and-mouse road trip as a cunning wife—think Ripley in yoga pants—and a reluctant husband match wits and drive each other to the edge. But everything will be fine. Jill still loves Jack and believes he’s the only one for her. She’ll do anything to keep him. Anything. She always has.
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
My husband and I took a road trip to the Utah National Parks during the pandemic. I was mesmerized by the beauty – and inspired by the number of ways you could, um, kill people there. Fictionally speaking, of course.
4--Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
No way. I do love playing pickleball, as does Jill, but you really can’t trust her. She would be fun to meet, perhaps, at a party. A brief encounter would be all I’d recommend with Jill.
5--What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Cunning, driven, and darkly funny (sorry, that’s four)
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
I learned a lot about Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks. I loved learning about how the sandstone hoodoos were formed. They are majestic. You should visit. Not with Jill, though.
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I’m a pantser, so I write a draft all the way through, no outline. Then the edits come.
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Cheese fondue
9--Describe your writing space/office!
My office is the top floor of our home, with a view of the ocean. I love it.
10--Who is an author you admire?
Recently I’ve been reading the poetry of Dorothy Parker. Her style, and how she delivers a gut punch with few words, it’s brilliant. What a national treasure.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
I still remember reading The Lottery by Shirley Jackson for the first time. My jaw dropped.
12--Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
JILL IS NOT HAPPY sold at auction – a first for me! That was an exciting call!
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
Thrillers
14--What’s your favorite movie?
I don’t have just one.
15--What is your favorite season?
summer
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
Quietly, without a fuss.
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
White Lotus is the best.
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
I really enjoy a wide variety of cuisines.
19--What do you do when you have free time?
Hang out with my husband and two dogs, usually on the beach.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
My next novel, WE WERE NEVER FRIENDS, will be out in February of 2026. I’m excited for that one, too!
An ill-fated road trip resurrects a married couple’s darkest secrets in this new thriller from the USA Today bestselling author of Best Day Ever and The Next Wife.
Some secrets keep a couple together.
If you ask Jill Tingley, she’ll tell you she and her husband Jack are college sweethearts living the dream in Southern California. Wealthy, popular and genetically blessed, theirs is an enviable life, though they’ve grown distant in recent years. Newly empty nesting with their daughter Maggie away at college, Jill suggests a road trip to reconnect.
Jack would rather do anything else than drive to Utah with his wife. He’s only stayed in this marriage because of a shared secret, a tragedy in the past he wanted to keep buried. And for his daughter’s sake. But Jack is finished with the charade of his marriage. He’s filing for divorce as soon as they return, no matter what.
But he doesn’t realize what else Jill is hiding.
So begins a cat-and-mouse road trip as a cunning wife—think Ripley in yoga pants—and a reluctant husband match wits and drive each other to the edge. But everything will be fine. Jill still loves Jack and believes he’s the only one for her. She’ll do anything to keep him. Anything. She always has.
Thriller Psychological | Thriller Domestic [Scarlet, On Sale: June 10, 2025, Paperback / e-Book , ISBN: 9781613166079 / eISBN: 9781613166086]
Kaira Rouda is an award–winning USA Today and Amazon Charts bestselling author of contemporary fiction that explores what goes on beneath the surface of seemingly perfect lives. Her novels of domestic suspense include The Widow, Somebody’s Home, The Next Wife, The Favorite Daughter, Best Day Ever, All the Difference, Beneath the Surface (optioned for a feature film), Under the Palms, The Next Mrs. Strom, and What the Nanny Saw (November 2024). To date, Kaira’s work has been translated into more than a dozen languages. Three of her novels have been named Amazon Editor’s Picks for Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense. The Next Wife was one of Suspense magazine’s Best Books of 2021 and won a 2022 Silver Falchion for Best Suspense Novel. It was also a 2022 Silver Falchion first runner-up for Best Book of the Year.
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