The Books List Top Picks for Book Club & Beyond

Mysterious Journey - In Heartwood by Amity Gaige (Sea Wife), 42-year-old Valerie is nearing the finish line of her Appalachian Trail hike when she disappears in the Maine wilderness.

- BY KRISTYN KUSEK LEWIS

Beverly, the law enforcement officer directing the search, grows increasingly worried as the days slip by without any clues. A few hundred miles south, Lena, a 76-year-old in a Connecticut retirement community, becomes enthralled by the case. Both a suspenseful page-turner and a poignant exploration of human connection and bravery, this powerful book is unputdownable.

Tale of True Grit

When NBC News correspondent Vicky Nguyen was an infant in 1979, her family made a harrowing escape from Communist Vietnam across the South China Sea, where they were attacked by pirates. This scene in