Buckeye is proof that a depressing novel can still be well written. I read misleading reviews: “Captivating,” “A once-in-a-decade-novel,” and downloaded the Audible version because I was between assignments. A more honest review states that the book is an LGBTQ-adjacent historical novel because it focuses on themes of sexuality, repression, and hidden identity. The author, Patrick Ryan, seems to make the point that gay men in the pre-WWII era had to hide who they were.
The other aspect of this work is the theme of spiritualism, seances, communication with the dead, and psychic events. It added very little to the book, and I found it a distraction. Interestingly, the psychic character (Becky) was an appealing person who did not charge for conducting seances in her home. I guess the point is that she may have been a lost soul, fooling herself and her clients, but she was not cheating them financially.