Chance of a Lifetime

Pappano’s haunting fifth Tallgrass novel (after A Promise of Forever) explores the bittersweet joy of love tempered by loss. Nursing student Benita “Bennie” Ford grew up in Tallgrass, Okla., with two best buddies who together joined the army: J’Myel Ford, whom she married and buried, and Calvin Sweet, whom she shunned after he and J’Myel had a falling-out. Bennie’s doing all right thanks to a supportive group of fellow military widows, but Calvin is struggling with a monster case of survivor’s guilt, compounded by PTSD. When their families (including their wonderfully nosy grandmothers) insist on helping them reconcile, Calvin realizes he’s fallen hard for his childhood friend, but he’s worried that she’ll run when she learns his secret: that in the depths of depression, he attempted suicide. Pappano doesn’t flinch from realistically portraying the visible and invisible wounds inflicted on servicemembers in the hell of war, and she helps readers believe that love can help those wounds begin to heal. Agent: Melissa Jeglinski, Knight Agency. (Jan.)