Jenna Bush Hager’s fall Read With Jenna picks: four cozy, spooky, and page-turning reads

Jenna Bush Hager curated several Read With Jenna picks that fit a fall reading mood: atmospheric settings, suspense or family drama, and characters whose pasts surface as leaves change. The recent September selection and earlier club choices emphasize mood and storytelling you can settle into on crisp evenings.

Cambridge — Alice Hoffman (Sept. 8, 2026)

Set in 1950s Massachusetts, this new Alice Hoffman novel follows Ava in her first year of college. She meets Lauren and the two are drawn into the Lilith Society, which ties them to hidden legacies and growing dangers. Jenna's take: "I cannot think of a more perfect book to welcome us to fall. It's a novel about love, friendship and finding your power." Early readers cited intertwined past-and-present stories and said the setting and characters invite re-reading.

All the Colors of the Dark — Chris Whitaker (July 2024 Read With Jenna pick)

This small-town mystery, set in 1975 Missouri, follows a series of disappearances that unsettle the community. When a wealthy family's daughter becomes a target, a local boy named Patch steps in and triggers wide-reaching consequences. Jenna said she read it in a weekend and that it stayed with her. Readers call it fast-paced, emotionally resonant and memorable.

The Cloisters — Katy Hays (2022 Read With Jenna pick)

A New York Museum of Medieval Art setting anchors this suspenseful novel. Ann Stilwell takes a curatorial job at the Met Cloisters and becomes involved with researchers studying divination. She discovers a 15th-century tarot deck that spurs obsession and dangerous secrets. Jenna recommended it widely, comparing its mix of ambition and suspense to other psychological mysteries. Readers praised its historical detail, gothic tension and satisfying ending.

The Irish Goodbye — Heather Aimee O'Neill (Oct. 2025 Read With Jenna pick)

This family saga centers on three estranged Ryan sisters reuniting for Thanksgiving after a decades-old tragedy involving their brother. The novel explores memory, grief and the uneasy dynamics of returning home for the holidays. Its Thanksgiving setting and focus on family make it an explicitly autumnal pick for the Read With Jenna audience.

• Seasonality: Each book leans into cooler-weather moods—fog, nostalgia, reunions or creeping dread.
• Character-driven plotting: The selections prioritize characters whose secrets or ambitions drive the narrative.
• Accessible pacing: Jenna highlighted at least one title she finished in a weekend, signaling readable momentum.

• If you want a new release steeped in folklore and female friendship, pick The Witches of Cambridge.
• If you prefer a small-town mystery with a haunting aftermath, try All the Colors of the Dark.
• If museum settings, historical artifacts and slow-burn obsession appeal, read The Cloisters.
• If you want a fall family drama set around Thanksgiving, choose The Irish Goodbye.

Jenna's fall selections offer mood-driven reads that suit quiet afternoons and evening reading routines. Each choice leans into atmosphere—whether supernatural, mystery-based, museum Gothic, or familial—so pick by the tone you want to sit with this season.