Jenna's Book Club: Thriller And Mystery Picks That Will Keep You Hooked

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Jenna Bush Hager has been recommending her favorite monthly reads ever since she began her book club, Read with Jenna, in March 2019. Many of the "Today" host's picks are coming-of-age stories and historical fiction, but Bush Hager also has several thrillers and mysteries that are sure to keep you on the edge of your seat. As an avid reader, it's no wonder Bush Hager has such a variety of tastes. In fact, her love of books stems from her parents, the former POTUS George W. Bush and his wife Laura Bush. "Most often, my parents would read to us in their bed. The four of us would all be in there together while my mom and dad took turns reading out loud. That gave us such a cozy, secure feeling," she told Parents (via People).

While rom-coms and feel-good books are great beach or airplane reads, novels with spine-tingling plots are perfect for long, lazy weekends in bed wearing your favorite jammies. There's nothing more enthralling than a whodunnit, and if you like being spooked, you'll be sure to love our picks from Bush Hager's book club. The best Read with Jenna book club pick of all time may be Mary Oliver's poetry collection, but if you're ready for fright night or want to live out your childhood fantasy of being the next Nancy Drew, immerse yourself in one of these gripping tales.

Missing women stories are nothing new in the mystery and thriller genre, but "Heartwood" by Amity Gaige takes you beyond the familiar trope of a detective trying to solve the case. Wildlife officer Lieutenant Bev Miller's search for Valerie Gillis, who is lost near the Appalachian Trail in Maine, is what drives the plot. However, readers also get a glimpse into Gillis' struggle to survive in the woods through diary entries that she writes to her mom, which act as a lifeline while she's alone and on the brink of starvation. As the search grows, miles away, a recluse named Lena Kucharski takes an interest in the case and eventually becomes key in helping find Gillis.

"Heartwood" isn't Gaige's first novel, and this time, she chose a highly dense forest as the backdrop that almost becomes one of the main characters. "I love writing novels with atmospheric settings that have a strong sense of place," she said on "Jenna & Friends." The author continued, "This one, I wanted to write set in the woods, but not just any woods. Not the tidy, neat woods, but the kind of densely forested woods in a place like Maine ... I thought that would be a perfect place to set a kind of mystery." The varying viewpoints also provide fresh takes on the thrilling hunt, and it wasn't just the missing person's case that connected the three women, but also the theme of motherhood that ran through "Heartwood." Although Miller, Gillis, and Kucharski are wildly different, readers will connect with all three characters.

Chris Whitaker's "All the Colors of the Dark" is one of Read with Jenna's highest-rated books, and it's no surprise given the epic tale that spans decades. Jenna Bush Hager's July 2024 pick begins in 1975 with a 13-year-old boy named Patch saving his schoolmate Misty Meyer from abduction. He is taken instead, and his friend Saint uses her detective skills to find him at a local photographer's house. After his escape, Patch recalls being tended to by a girl named Grace, and he's sure that the man, who he learns is Eli Aaron, has abducted her as well. Meanwhile, another young girl goes missing, and over the years, Patch's obsession with finding Grace takes over his life. As Saint joins the police force, she's at odds with her childhood friend, who has run-ins with the law, and must do everything in her power to uncover what happened to the missing girls.

"All the Colors of the Dark" is a rich and complex saga that'll have you rooting for Patch, even when his actions are questionable at times. At the heart of it, he's trying to right a wrong by saving a person when he couldn't save himself during his kidnapping. Readers on Goodreads gave the novel a collective 4.27 rating, with a fan declaring, "One of the best books I've read in a long time." And so if you like the Reese's Book Club pick "The Nightingale" by Kristin Hannah, and you're wondering what to read next, this is it.

If you're a fan of the Y2K film "The Skulls," you'll love "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt. The story takes place in the early '80s at an elite college in Vermont. Richard is a young man with humble means who got lucky enough to get accepted into an exclusive program headed by Professor Julian Morrow. The group only consists of five other students: Henry, Bunny, Francis, and twins Charles and Camilla, who are all well-to-do. As Richard tries to fit in with his new classmates, he realizes that they're holding onto secrets that soon turn deadly. Packed with murder, blackmail, and strange ritualistic ceremonies, "The Secret History" is a thrilling ride up until the very end.

Whether you're reading "The Secret History" for your book club or simply for pleasure, it'll leave you with a lot to think about. "The writing is beautiful, the imagery so detailed, and the characters meticulously crafted. The story is relatable, yet dark and horrifying. The parallels between ancient cultures and the struggles of the modern group are so well created. It's a longer read, but well worth the investment," a reviewer shared on Amazon. Another wrote, "I'm mind-blown. The author's writing is so compelling with its eerie and mysterious tone and setting. I envisioned the atmosphere of the college and town perfectly as it was quite descriptive." Many readers compared "The Secret History" to a Greek tragedy, so if you're a student of the classics, you'll enjoy picking out familiar themes scattered throughout.

Sometimes you want to read some juicy domestic noir with a spicy mystery woven in, and that's where "Happy Wife" by Meredith Lavender and Kendall Shores comes in. The rags-to-riches story follows Nora Davies, 28, who marries a successful lawyer named Will, 18 years her senior. Set in the prominent Winter Park, Florida, the seemingly happy couple's lives are upended when Davies' husband goes missing after his birthday bash. Of course, fingers point to the young wife, and it's up to her to find out just what happened to Will before it's too late.

The whodunnit aspect, combined with the backdrop of an elite society, makes "Happy Wife" the perfect beach read. You'll get to experience glitz and glamour while getting a peek into the lives of the wealthy as Davies provides more of a fresh, down-to-earth perspective. It's a great book if you want to get whisked away for a short time, with one reviewer writing on Goodreads, "I inhaled this book! It was so fun and twisty and suspenseful and perfect for summer! It had short chapters, a current timeline and a past timeline, a very likable FMC, and lots of rich, secretive characters. The atmosphere and the plot had me so INVESTED." Going on vacay or just need a brain break? Get your hands on "Happy Wife" for a juicy, suspenseful read.

Jenna's Book Club currently has a limited number of books in the mystery and thriller genre, so we chose the four that had the best ratings across Amazon and Goodreads. We considered how many stars each had and carefully perused the reviews to determine which storylines appealed to readers. We noted remarks about how suspenseful the story was, and which ones left them thinking about the book for days. There's also a wide range of characters within our list, from a 40-something-year-old woman to a college-aged man, to make our list well-rounded. If you love a good heart-racing thriller or a mysterious caper, these Jenna Bush Hager picks will have you turning pages until the very end.