A Girl from Ohio is a star-crossed bittersweet love story wrapped around a cold-case by Peter Golden. Released 27th Oct 2026 by Amazon on their Lake Union imprint, it's 381 pages and is available in hardcover, paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links throughout. For Kindle+ subscribers, this book is currently included in the K+ subscription library to borrow and read for free.
Well written and engaging as well as bittersweet, the author explores lost chances, lost love, youth (and the arrogance and often bewildering emotions that come with it), and how choices indelibly mark our lives. The main character is an intelligent professor of journalism who is drawn into an investigation when "the one that got away", his long-ago love comes back into his life tangentially. The story is told through a dual-timeline third person perspective.
He's tenacious, resourceful, moral, and compassionate, and as the story unfolds and he uncovers more of the bigger picture from decades ago and its impact on the current time, the story does become quite convoluted, so readers should be prepared to bring a healthy suspension of disbelief. A lot of the character motivations are questionable, and the denouement and resolution were surprising.
Clearly the author is intimately familiar with the setting, and for readers familiar with the area (Northern Ohio, including OU and surrounding areas) it will add depth and interest. Content warnings for domestic violence, financial coercion, controlling behavior, financial crime and murder.
The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 9 hours 34 minutes and is capably read by Paul Heitsch. He has a well modulated, neutral, professionally trained voice for the read and does a good job delineating the small cast of characters. Some of his female character voices are a bit breathy/whispery, but not egregiously so. Sound and production quality are high throughout the read.
Three and a half stars. It woulld be a good choice for public or home library acquisition, or possibly as a book club selection or buddy read.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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