Jill Is Not Happy

by Kaira Rouda

Overview

Instant USA Today Bestseller

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781613166079
Publisher:	Penzler Publishers
Publication date:	06/10/2025
Pages:	312
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

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. She is a founding member of the Killer Author Club, a bi-monthly live show supporting authors. She is also a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, Women’s Fiction Author Association, and the International Thriller Writers Association. She lives in Southern California with her family.

Read an Excerpt

I wake up to my husband thrashing in bed, hands in fists punching at the same invisible enemy his feet are kicking.

“Jack, my gosh, wake up!” I leap out of bed for safety’s sake and call his name again. He hasn’t had a nightmare like this in a long time. He stops kicking and punching and begins to moan.

“Teddy,” he says.

“Jack, shhh, it’s ok,” I say, rubbing his shoulder. “I’m here.

Everything is fine.”

Jack’s eyes blink open. “Where am I?”

“On a romantic trip with your wife,” I answer with a smile. Poor guy. So stressed. “Clearly, you needed the vacation.”

“I had the nightmare again, didn’t I?” He sits up. His hair is wild, like he’s been through a storm. And I suppose he has, in his own mind.

“It hasn’t happened in a long time, so don’t beat yourself up. Usually, these sorts of episodes need a trigger. What’s the trigger this time, do you think?”

I haven’t done anything to cause it, not this time. I’ll admit, there have been a few instances when I’ve wanted to remind Jack of all we’ve been through. You know, to help him remember all he had to lose if he were to turn his back on us. I have a great photo of Ted and Jack, fall of senior year, standing side by side in front of the fraternity house, matching grins on their handsome, perfect faces. Whenever I pull that photo out of the closet and display it with the rest of the photos on the dresser in our bedroom, nightmares are sure to follow. Jack’s so sensitive sometimes. I don’t even have that photo with me on this trip. Of course, I have other things.

“I have no idea.” Jack shakes his head.

At least the color has returned to his face. He climbs out of bed and walks past me without as much as a kiss. Rude. He really does need to work on us. It cannot be one-sided all the time.

While Jack is using the bathroom, I decide to check in on Maggie. I won’t call her, no; she was out late at the bars in Laguna Beach, I happen to know. I grab my phone and open the home security app. I find it amusing Jack thinks he can outmaneuver me. Inviting Maggie and her gang of Banana Slug hippie friends to come home and mess up our house while we’re gone. He knows I wouldn’t allow it, would hate it in fact, so that’s why he told her yes. Or is there more to it?

Two of Maggie’s friends are asleep on my white living room sofa. I push a button. “Grrrrr.”

When Jack opens the bathroom door, I slip my phone into my bathrobe.

“What were you just doing?” he asks. Did I seem suspicious?

“Nothing. How are you feeling? Up for a big hike today?” I ask.

Jack exhales. “Not sure that’s a good idea. I’m exhausted. A short hike, and then we hit the road. What’s the next stop?” “The hoodoos of Bryce Canyon.” I love the wide-eyed look

on his ashen face. “What are those?”

It appears he has seen enough ghosts for one morning. “Hoodoos are the bright orange and pink, gravity-defying limestone totem poles that are the reason everyone goes there. That and the great air quality and stargazing, as long as it isn’t snowing.”

“I didn’t pack for snow,” Jack whines, rummaging in his suitcase.

“I brought a puffer coat for you. And some boots. You’ll be fine,” I say. “It’s only supposed to be a dusting, but we’ll see. It’s going to be great. And another lodge to stay in tonight.”

I watch Jack scan our small room. “Great. Sounds great. Um, Jill?”

“Yes?”

“This isn’t working,” he says.

“What?”

“Us.”

“Yes it is. Get dressed. They serve breakfast downstairs and then we’ll go for a short hike, get some steps in.” I ignore his head shaking as I close myself inside the bathroom.

We’ve always had an intense love, a unique and enviable love, since the very first moment we met. And it’s only gotten stronger. My understanding was that we were a team, bonded for life, by shared experiences, both good and bad. For better or worse, richer or poorer, all of that. Jack’s understanding seems to have shifted lately. As if his vows don’t matter anymore. He seems to believe that he can walk away and I’ll be fine with it. He seems to think his actions don’t have consequences.

Poor Jack. He’s misreading the situation. It’s a bad habit, one I intend to break this weekend, one way or another.

Editorial Reviews

"Rouda spins a dark, deliberately paced tale of matrimonial hell . . . the plot’s unanswered questions and Gone Girl–style marital insights hold the reader’s interest."— Publishers Weekly

"Rouda makes Jill a genuinely chilling narrator. . . . Fans of unreliably narrated thrillers will enjoy."— Booklist

"Nobody does twisty revenge like Kaira Rouda—and her trademark dark humor and deviously toxic characters are always deliciously entertaining. Fans of Freida McFadden will gobble up this pacey page-turner—and hope that someone like the uniquely unhappy Jill never crosses their paths. Kaira has done it again!"— Hank Phillippi Ryan, USA Today bestselling author

"No one crafts a character quite like Kaira Rouda. In Jill is Not Happy, Rouda brings us Jill Tingley, a wife with a seemingly perfect life—and a sinister agenda. As Jill and her husband embark on a road trip, dark secrets unravel and the journey becomes a wickedly suspenseful game of cat and mouse. Readers will be captivated by Rouda’s signature blend of charm and chilling suspense."— Liv Constantine, New York Times bestselling author of The Next Mrs. Parrish

"Mix one part family dynamics and Rouda’s trademark dark humor, and you get the heady cocktail that is Jill Is Not Happy. A revenge thriller at its best, who knew til death do us part was so literal for some people? A clever spin on the glue that keeps marriages together, I devoured this in one sitting."— Kimberly Belle, USA Today and internationally bestselling author of The Paris Widow

"I love everything Kaira Rouda writes and Jill Is Not Happy is no exception. Jill isn’t just not happy, she’s creepy!"— Robyn Harding, bestselling author of The Haters

"This tightly woven story is evocative and chilling and kept me compulsively reading until the clever, twisty end. You won’t want to miss this deliciously dramatic and suspense-filled thrill ride."— Seraphina Nova Glass, Edgar Award-nominated author of On A Quiet Street

"A cat-and-mouse psychological thriller of the highest literary standards, that will leave you breathless until the last deviously twisted pages."— A.M. Strong, Amazon bestselling author of Gravewater Lake

"An ingenious twist on a noir classic, about the hell that awaits Jack and Jill after they become a 'happy' married couple. Rouda’s masterful prose kept me riveted. Brilliant!"— Elise Hart Kipness, Amazon bestselling author

"Literary psychological suspense at its best. A layered masterpiece full of secrets with a cunning protagonist, twists you won’t see coming, and a killer conclusion!"— Sonya Sargent-Strong, author of The Last Girl Left

"Rouda’s new thriller is a perfect summer thriller: a husband and wife road trip that stirs up old secrets and pins the spouses against one another in a dangerous game."— CrimeReads

"Kaira Rouda has crafted a chilling, spine-tingling novel of domestic suspense. Jill Tingley is one of the scariest characters of the year."— BookReporter

"This is bold and bracing writing, and Rouda is to be celebrated for maintaining suspense and pacing with really only two characters, and their respective maneuvers and manipulations, to follow. Truly great stuff that leaves you in awe of Rouda’s talent and daring. Jill may not be happy, but you will be for digging in."— Jon Land BookTrib

"Each couple is a universe full of things, and sometimes those things include dark secrets and constant tensions. Rouda, who developed her chops for characters in turmoil writing romance before successfully making the move to thrillers, understands this deeply, and her works show it. A perfect book for anyone craving a deep dive into an extremely toxic relationship."— Gabino Iglesias CrimeReads

"Riveting and provocative, fast-paced, dark, and slightly disturbing, you won't be able to put this book down until its jaw-dropping ending. Rouda kept me glued to my seat. Absolutely brilliant. A literary masterpiece."— Kerry Lonsdale, Wall Street Journal bestselling author, on Best Day Ever

"Chilling, satisfying suspense...it will cost you sleep as you race through the pages."— Good Housekeeping on Best Day Ever

"Perfectly plotted and devilishly dark, Kaira Rouda's Best Day Ever won't let you go until that last page is turned. Entertaining and provocative, I could not put this one down! Genius."— Karma Brown, international bestselling author, on Best Day Ever

"One of the most insidious, compulsive books I’ve read recently. Kaira Rouda has a way of drawing you in with great characters, fast-paced writing, and a story that won’t let you go. Brilliant, dark, and dazzling."— Samantha Downing, USA Today bestselling author, on The Next Wife

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Add another scorned woman and you have the ingredients for one firestorm of a novel…Bring the popcorn for this high-noon of a novel, replete with deliciously snarky dialogue and a satisfying twist"— Library Journal on The Next Wife

"Kaira Rouda balances the sassiness and wit of Real Housewives with the suspense and excitement of a Hitchcock film, creating a true page-turner that is sharp and fun while still gripping and tension filled. The Next Wife is almost impossible to put down! Brilliant."— The Nerd Daily on The Next Wife

"The Next Wife is trademark Kaira Rouda with its deliciously devilish women and inherently ignorant men, but this might be one of her most villainous novels yet. Masterful."— BookReporter on The Next Wife

"A carefully crafted domestic and psychological thriller of a novel by [an] author with a genuine flair for originality and the kind of narrative storytelling style that fully engages the reader’s attention from first page to last, The Next Wife by Kaira Rouda will prove to be an immediate and enduringly welcome addition to community library collections."— Midwest Book Review on The Next Wife

"Smart, surprising, and 100% satisfying. Masterful."— Kimberly Belle on The Favorite Daughter

"Intense, creepy and an instant classic. A chilling story, told so well!"— J.T. Ellison on The Favorite Daughter

"Alfred Hitchcock meets Patricia Highsmith in this masterful novel of psychological suspense. Quietly horrifying, tightly wound and diabolical, The Favorite Daughter is a stunning page-turner."— A.J. Banner on The Favorite Daughter

"Original, clever, deftly crafted, and featuring the author's distinctive and narrative driven storytelling style."— Midwest Book Review on Beneath the Surface

From the Publisher