'Delightfully Wicked Fun:' OC Author Promotes Newest Book 'We Were Never Friends'

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — It's a busy January for Orange County author Kaira Rouda. She is preparing for the February release of her psychological thriller "We Were Never Friends," while launching the next episode of her Killer Author podcast with fellow thriller authors.

"We Were Never Friends," by Kaira Rouda, (publisher Poisoned Pen Press/SourceBooks), releases on February 3, 2026.

The book is another tautly wound thriller featuring beautiful people in beautiful places attempting to obscure their flaws, faults, and truths, told as only Rouda can. In her latest novel, she continues her signature razor-sharp wit and wicked sense of humor that readers expect, this time against the backdrop of an engagement.

The novel follows Roxy Callahan Gentry, who calls her former sisters of the Theta Gamma Mu sorority back to her Palm Springs vacation home to celebrate her son’s engagement.

There’s Amelia, an old money widow who brings her uninvited boyfriend to the reunion; Jamie, a cardiologist with a bad habit; Sunny, the carefree member of the group and Beth, whose daughter is engaged to Roxy’s son.

But Roxy’s estate is more than just a fun gathering place: it’s also eerily similar to a hotel that the sorority sisters visited decades ago during spring break, when tragedy struck. Over the course of the weekend get-together, simmering tensions and secrets will resurface for them all.

Kaira Rouda discussed the ideas that led to her latest work.

“As with all my novels, the idea starts with a character and in this case, two women popped into my head: Roxy, the ruthless former sorority president, and Beth, the scholarship student who never quite fit into the sorority life," Rouda said.

The idea came organically after seeing two of her children through their weddings, and her third became engaged.

"Because two of my kids recently got married, and another just got engaged, the idea of a wedding between Beth’s daughter and Roxy’s son was irresistible," she said.

Rouda has set her books from the mountains of Colorado to the beaches of Southern California. In the latest book, Palm Springs was her featured setting.

"Palm Springs is a spectacular place to visit, and with its Hollywood history and stunning architecture, I felt like it was a great setting for my sorority sisters to have the reunion nobody wants, but fate has put in motion," she said.

See an exclusive cover reveal and excerpt on People.com.

Upcoming Booksignings:

Jan 28 / 11 AM
Carlsbad City Library Adventures By the Book / Carlsbad, CA
Jan 28 / 6 PM
Coronado Public Library Adventures By the Book/ Coronado, CA
Jan 29 / 7 PM ~ with Lian Dolan
Vroman’s / Pasadena, CA
Jan 31 – Feb 1
Palm Springs Readers’ Festival / Palm Springs, CA

Other books by Kaira Rouda include:

• We Were Never Friends
• Jill is Not Happy
• What the Nanny Saw
• The Second Mrs. Strom
• Under the Palms
• Beneath the Surface
• The Widow
• Somebody’s Home
• The Next Wife
• The Favorite Daughter
• Best Day Ever
• All the Difference
• The Goodbye Year
• In the Mirror
• Here, Home, Hope