Behind The Book with Kaira Rouda 

It’s hard to believe 3 years ago in 2022 I started doing Q&As with authors and various people in the publishing industry and posting them to the blog. Where has the time gone? I’m happy to be reunited with Kaira Rouda for this Behind the Book Q&A discussing her upcoming suspense novel Jill Is Not Happy coming out on June 10! 

Q: Kaira, would you please give a brief description of Jill Is Not Happy? 

Bonfire of the Vanities meets War of the Roses in this latest thriller from the USA Today bestselling author of Best Day Ever and The Next Wife, in which an ill-fated road trip resurrects a married couple’s darkest secrets.

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.

Q: Where did the idea of Jill Is Not Happy come from? The introduction about them hitting someone in the darkness of night down a winding road almost gives the I Know What You Did Last Summer vibe without going all the way there. 

The idea for JILL IS NOT HAPPY started with a road trip my husband and I took during the pandemic to the Utah national parks. The stark, breath-taking beauty of those parks was incredible. They also, as a suspense writer, became an obvious setting for the book. Jill popped into my head next and the rest rolled out from there. I don’t outline, so I didn’t know what had happened in their past until it took place on the page. Chilling, wasn’t it?

Q: Without spoiling too much, which scenes were your favorite to create for Jill Is Not Happy? How long did it take you to write this book? I like that the chapters switched points of view and Jack finds out that what he thought he knew about his wife, he didn’t know at all. 

A: Thank you. I liked switching POVs, too. Several of my other marriage thrillers are from one spouse’s perspective — Best Day Ever and The Favorite Daughter — so I enjoy writing stories where both have a say, like in JILL IS NOT HAPPY. Favorite scenes include meals … Jill imagines herself as a traditional wife, a good cook, and an elegant hostess. She even created a Tip Book for other wives to keep their men happy at home. Free download here: https://kairarouda.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/JINH_BOOKLET.pdf

I also enjoyed writing the country club scenes when Jill appears when Jack least expects her. She’s like that. 

Q: What do you hope readers takeaway after reading Jill Is Not Happy? 

In my marriage thrillers, I try to walk the line between glamour and danger, between surface perfection and internal chaos. Whether it’s a sociopathic husband, a fed-up wife who will keep her husband no matter what, or a secret festering at the center of a family, I’m fascinated by the masks we wear — and what happens when they finally slip. I hope readers are entertained by JILL IS NOT HAPPY, and they’ll see of course that while the perfect marriage is the perfect illusion, the desire for it is very real. Maybe we like these stories because as we watch a fictional marriage fall apart, we can feel better: at least we’re not them.

Q: If you were to write a sequel to Jill Is Not Happy, what would the characters be doing right now? 

A: Jack would be trying to figure out how to move on, and Jill would be committed to making him stay. I don’t know the overall story yet, but that’s the overview. 

Q: Who is your dream cast for Jill, Jack and the other characters in Jill Is Not Happy? 

A: Jack: James McAvoy; Jill: Amy Adams.