Jill Is Not Happy

Judith D Collins
Jun 11
7 min read

Updated: Jun 10

By: Kaira Rouda

Narrator: Marnye Young

Highbridge Audio

ISBN: 978-1613166765

Publisher: Scarlet

Publication Date: 6/10/2025

Format: Other

My Rating: 5 Stars (ARC)

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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.

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My Review

The queen of thrills and dark humor, Kaira Rouda (favorite), author of the popular Best Day Ever, The Next Wife, The Second Mrs. Strom, and The Favorite Daughter, returns with another deliciously wicked, sinister, and twisted domestic thriller, JILL IS NOT HAPPY.

Prepare for a thrilling roller coaster ride as you embark on an entertaining game of cat-and-mouse to discover which spouse will outsmart the other. My bet is on Jill, a woman who always gets what she wants, no matter the cost.

About...

Jill and Jack met in college. Jill was immediately drawn to him and was determined to make him hers, even if it meant resorting to manipulation, blackmail, and even murder. Her happiness was all that mattered to her.

However, they are now married, years later, and their daughter, Maggie, is away at boarding school. Jill still loves Jack, but it has become complicated.

However, she will fix them. She always does. She lets everyone believe they are the perfect couple. The perfect family. The charming home.

Jill is a freelance writer. Jack is a skilled communicator both with his small law firm and as a politician. Everyone at the magazine loves her stories. But Jack lost the election. There was a scandal.

But behind closed doors, Jill is NOT happy. He is not the Jack she fell in love with. They are good at getting themselves out of trouble. Jack is misbehaving. She is always one step ahead of them. She will fix this.

She is planning a road trip to Utah. They will rekindle their love. Right?

However, Jack has something else in mind. He wants nothing more than to leave the marriage and not go to Utah. With Daddy's girl safely tucked away in Santa Cruz, Daddy has turned back into Jack. Jack has drifted, and that drives Jill crazy.

Jill needs to ensure that Jack reverts to the person she fell in love with in college. They have been married for 21 years. The love of her life. Not someone else.

After all, he is the only man she has ever loved or will love. Jill dislikes anyone who conspires against her. She will not allow him to step outside the marriage. Does he realize what she has done for him?

Jill manipulates. She controls. Jack must find that notebook that could ruin him. He must be able to video record her admitting her deceit and misdeeds.

Let the unpredictable, sinister games begin. How will this trip, filled with twists and turns, conclude?

My thoughts...

A captivating page-turner! Kaira Rouda, you devil, how you skillfully capture the devious minds of the most scandalous and troubled marriages. From past to present, we hear from the perspectives of Jack and Jill, as they unravel their journey from courtship to marriage, revenge, and the tumultuous present.

A slick, edgy, sinister game of cat and mouse, and Rouda pulls out all the stops with her dark, sinister humor that will keep you entertained between this husband and wife duo.

Dark and satisfying, fans of Gone Girl (vibes), you better get JILL IS NOT HAPPY on your list. Neither party is especially likable, but naughty and witty. I do believe Jill is the worst, and I'm not sure Jack can get one over on his psycho wife.

A read-in-one-sitting, you will be assured to keep the pages turning to find out what surprises Jill comes up with next to keep Jack in line. But Jack does have some secrets of his own.

A massive fan of the author, I have read all her books. She never ceases to come up with another brilliant plot and characters you love to hate.

You must sign up for Kaira's newsletters. I get the biggest kick out of reading, and you'll laugh out loud as the characters take over the newsletter. Bonus: We also hear from her dog.

Another fabulous popcorn psychological thriller from the queen of dark humor, domestic conflict, and dysfunction in a marriage. I love her style! I hope we hear from the duo again.

Audiobook...

I had the pleasure of reading the e-book and listening to the audiobook narrated by the fabulous Marnye Young, who did a great job with the crazy Jill, which I enjoyed; however, I think it would have been better with two narrators (male and female) for Jack's portion.

Recs...

JILL IS NOT HAPPY is for fans of the author, Gone Girl, Liv Constantine, Frieda McFadden, Jenova Rose, Victoria Helen Stone, and Kimberly Belle. The last part reminded me a little of Blake Crouch's Letty Dobesh in Good Behaviour (loved).

Thanks to Scarlet and NetGalley for a gifted advanced review copy, and to Highbridge Audio for an advance listening copy, in exchange for my honest opinion.

@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks

Pub Date: June 10, 2025

My Rating: 5 Stars

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Praise

"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

"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

"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

"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

"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

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. Her novels of domestic suspense include The Widow, Somebody’s Home, The Next Wife, The Favorite Daughter, Best Day Ever, All the Difference. Her latest, Beneath the Surface, has been optioned for a feature film. Her next novel, Under the Palms, is out in May 2024, followed by The Next Mrs. Strom in August 2024, and Only the Nanny in 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 named a Suspense Magazine’s Best Book of 2021 Award, and a 2022 Silver Falchion for Best Suspense Novel and a 2022 Silver Falchion first runner-up for Best Book of the Year.

She is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, Women’s Fiction Author Association, and the International Thriller Writers Association. She served as a committee chair for the Edgar Awards 2024, and frequently appears on panels at conferences across the country. Active in the areas of homelessness, food security, and empowering women and girls, in her twenties, as a volunteer, she created the first walk-in emergency shelter for homeless families in Central Ohio. Kaira has received numerous awards for her community service, including the national Kiwanis Service to Mankind Award, the Ohio Sertoma Service to Mankind Award, and Kick Ass Woman of Orange County by Orange Coast Magazine. Kaira was appointed by Governor Gavin Newsome to the California Volunteers commission. Kaira lives in Southern California with her family. WEBSITE