Best Day Ever by Kaira Rouda is a domestic thriller that takes readers on a wild ride of secrets, betrayal and deceit. Readers witness one full day in the lives of Paul and Mia Strom as they set off on a short holiday that they expect to be the ‘best day ever’. As the minutes and hours tick by, readers are privy to the main character’s innermost feelings and motivations and witness their idyllic holiday spin out of control.

The beginning of the book has a slower pace than I had expected and I’ll admit that it took me awhile to feel invested in Paul and Mia’s lives. But if readers are patient they’ll enjoy the slow building of tension as the author reveals, in wee doses, the cracks in her main character’s perfect veneer.

You never know what goes on behind closed doors and Rouda brings this idea home by giving her readers a chilling, bird’s eye view of a dysfunctional and toxic relationship that appears perfect to those who know the Stroms. Best Day Ever is a story of a sociopath who has manipulated people and events to build a perfect life. This character will easily go down as one of the least likable yet compelling characters I can remember reading. You can’t help but be mesmerized and a little bit fearful of their narcissism, sense of entitlement and total lack of empathy.

The story has a slow build and while some of the plot was predictable to this well-read suspense reader, overall this was a good creepy page turner that readers will have a hard time putting down. It has a memorable evil character and I enjoyed how the simple plot is slowly infused with a sinister feel as Rouda unfolds her story and reveals her characters’ true natures to her readers.

-Laurie P.