Buckeye

Set in the fictional town of Bonhomie, Ohio, Patrick Ryan's historical novel follows two married couples from the Second World War to the end of the 20th century. On VE Day in May 1945, Margaret Salt walks into the hardware store where Cal Jenkins works. Her husband, Felix, is serving in the navy; Cal's wife, Becky, is a spiritualist in contact with the dead. Ryan drew partly on an affair his grandmother hid for decades in small-town Ohio, and names secrets and forgiveness as his themes. It is his first novel for adults, after short story collections and young adult fiction.

Jenna Bush Hager included it on her Read With Jenna book club list for the Today Show.