USA Today Bestseller

Best Day Ever

The perfect marriage is the perfect illusion.

Paul Strom has the perfect life: a glittering career as an advertising executive, a beautiful wife, two healthy boys and a big house in a wealthy suburb. And he’s the perfect husband: breadwinner, protector, provider. That’s why he’s planned a romantic weekend for his wife, Mia, at their lake house, just the two of them. And he’s promised today will be the best day ever.

But as Paul and Mia drive out of the city and toward the countryside, a spike of tension begins to wedge itself between them and doubts start to arise. How much do they trust each other? And how perfect is their marriage, or any marriage, really?

Forcing us to ask ourselves just how well we know those who are closest to us, Best Day Ever crackles with dark energy, spinning ever tighter toward its shocking conclusion. In the vein of The Couple Next Door, Kaira Rouda weaves a gripping, tautly suspenseful tale of deception and betrayal dark enough to destroy a marriage…or a life.

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Praise & Reviews

“FABULOUS.”
~ B.A. Paris, New York Times bestselling author of Behind Closed Doors and The Breakdown

“This latest psychological thriller from bestselling Rouda is destined to fly off the shelves, enticing readers to ride along as this multifaceted day in the life of the Stroms unfolds.”
~ Library Journal *STARRED REVIEW*

“A tensely written, shocking book that will hold readers on the edge of their seats to the very last page.”
~ Publishers Weekly

“Darkly funny, scandalous, and utterly satisfying.”
~ Kirkus Reviews

“Rouda keeps the pace taut, the action spare, and the characters intense as she takes readers on an hour-by-hour recounting of the couple’s fateful getaway.”
~ Booklist

“It’s clear from the beginning that something sinister is going on in this novel, which will cost you sleep as you race through its pages. Chilling, satisfying suspense.”
~ Good Housekeeping

“Best Day Ever is a deconstruction of the aspects we’ve been conditioned to think go into an aspirational life on the surface, and an examination of the darkest betrayals we perpetrate on those closest to us.”
~ Brit + Co

Best Day Ever by Kaira Rouda asks us just how well we know those who are closest to us.”
~ Hypable

“The narrator of Best Day Ever, Paul Strom, is one of the creepiest protagonists I encountered this year.”
~ Lit Hub

“Rich with jealousy and rage, deception and betrayal, BEST DAY EVER is a fast-paced page-turner that will keep you on the edge of your seat as you drive with Paul and Mia mile by mile away from their home toward its gripping conclusion.”
~ BookReporter.com

“This book builds like all dark thrillers should, so be prepared for a wallop of an ending.”
~ BELLA New York Magazine