Tucson Festival of Books

Kaira Rouda (she/her)


Kaira Rouda is the USA Today and No. 1 Amazon bestselling author of "We Were Never Friends." Her novels have been selected by Library Reads, Amazon and Apple books editors as Best Books of the Month, Most Anticipated by Zibby Media, and Strand magazine’s and Suspense magazine’s Best Book of the Year. She lives in California.

Visit website | Facebook Twitter Substack Instagram YouTube TikTok

Awards: Silver Falchion for Best Suspense Novel of the Year 2022; Zibby Award for Best Beach Read 2023


Scheduled events:
Getting Away with Murder?
How do regular people go down such dark roads? In this session, authors Alissa Lee, Kaira Rouda and Marisa Walz will discuss how they create such disturbing characters.

The Commons Room 105 (Seats 217, Wheelchair accessible)  View this venue on the Festival map
Sat, Mar 14, 11:30 am - 12:25 pm
Mystery / Thrillers
Signing area: Sales & Signing Koffler/Commons (following presentation)

Panelists: Alissa Lee, Kaira Rouda, Marisa Walz
Moderator: Marty McCune
Sponsors: Session made possible courtesy of City of Tucson, Visit Tucson, Melissa M. Vito
No Amateurs Allowed
Linda Castillo, James Byrne and Nick Petrie have come to the festival with protagonists who are pros ... investigators who know what they're doing. How do the authors keep current with modern techniques and protocols? Let's ask.

UA Campus Store Stage (Seats 250)  View this venue on the Festival map
Sun, Mar 15, 10:00 am - 10:55 am
Mystery / Thrillers
Signing area: Sales & Signing Area - UA Campus Store Lower Level (following presentation)  View this venue on the Festival map

Panelists: Linda Castillo, James Byrne, Nick Petrie
Moderator: Kaira Rouda
Sponsors: Session made possible courtesy of Pi Beta Phi Fraternity - Arizona Alpha Chapter, UA Campus Store, Cameron and Cara Graham
The Truth Will Out
Secrets and lies are never buried so deep you can’t dig out the truth. Just ask Julie Clark, Amy Meyerson and Kaira Rouda, whose characters just won't take no for an answer.

Koffler Room 204 (Seats 300, Wheelchair accessible)  View this venue on the Festival map
Sun, Mar 15, 11:30 am - 12:25 pm
Mystery / Thrillers
Signing area: Sales & Signing Koffler/Commons (following presentation)

Panelists: Julie Clark, Amy Meyerson, Kaira Rouda
Moderator: Shannon Baker
Sponsors: Session made possible courtesy of Judith Wood, Long Realty, Cinda M. Conroyd

Books:
We Were Never Friends
A Novel
Mystery / Thrillers
Sourcebooks, Incorporated
January 2026
ISBN 9781464244995
288 pages
Buy now

Jill Is Not Happy
Mystery / Thrillers
Penzler Publishers
June 2025
ISBN 9781613166079
312 pages
Buy now