false 4929705 11 Rural Wisconsin, 1909. In the bitter cold, Ralph Truitt, a successful businessman, stands alone on a train platform waiting for the woman who answered his newspaper advertisement for "a reliable wife." But when Catherine Land steps off the train from Chicago, she's not the "simple, honest woman" that Ralph is expecting. She is both complex and devious, haunted by a terrible past and motivated by greed. Her plan is simple: she will win this man's devotion, and then, ever so slowly, she will poison him and leave Wisconsin a wealthy widow. What she has not counted on, though, is that Truitt — a passionate man with his own dark secrets —has plans of his own for his new wife. Isolated on a remote estate and imprisoned by relentless snow, the story of Ralph and Catherine unfolds in unimaginable ways. <br><br>With echoes of <i>Wuthering Heights</i> and <i>Rebecca</i>, Robert Goolrick's intoxicating debut novel delivers a classic tale of suspenseful seduction, set in a world that seems to have gone temporarily off its axis.<br> 4995331 book 7 4 2009 A Reliable Wife total:1667|5:20|4:71|3:62|2:19|1:12| 1667 5647 3593 638 4 3 false false Tue Apr 07 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 03 14:38:36 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 08 18:48:42 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 5 false false Wed Dec 24 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Dec 16 08:18:02 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 25 13:24:42 -0800 2008
This was a terrific novel with the gothic feel of past novels such as REBECCA and the recent THIRTEENTH TALE. In 1907 Catherine Land an...more...]]> 5 1 false false Sat Nov 29 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 07 11:11:01 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 07 11:50:21 -0800 2008
ISBN 9781565125964, Algonquin Books

$23.95, March 2009

With A Reliable Wife, Robert Goolrick has given us a rare treat, a story so good we are loathe to start another book for fear it will fail utterly in comparison.

...more...]]> 3 7 false false Thu Apr 16 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 25 12:57:20 -0700 2009 Sat Apr 18 08:31:01 -0700 2009
There were certain parts that I thought warranted five stars, but others that I simply didn't care for. ...more...]]> 3 1 false false Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 05 04:57:46 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 04 17:43:40 -0700 2009
The desperation of the pe...more...]]> 3 5 false false Wed Apr 15 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 01 09:29:47 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 20 13:19:16 -0700 2009 goodreads.com contest. I was very excited to recieve this book, as the story sounded unique and interesting.

Overall, the story was good. The intertwined relationships between the characters was surprising and a unique twist to the story. Unfort...more...]]> 4 5 false false Fri Dec 26 11:57:47 -0800 2008 Sat Dec 27 22:45:00 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 2 false false Fri Apr 03 07:55:36 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 30 18:38:16 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 03 07:55:36 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 4 false false Tue Mar 31 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 31 12:29:08 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 31 12:32:33 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Oct 14 18:19:59 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 14 18:39:46 -0700 2009 more...]]> 1 2 false true Sun Sep 20 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 21 13:14:14 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 21 13:54:27 -0700 2009
Appearances are definitely deceiving in this mediocre, Great-Gatsby wannabe. The book probably does not even warrant the one-star! Set in 1907 in small town northern Wisconsin, the three main characters, Ralph Truitt, Catherine Land and Tony Moretti do nothing...more...]]> 1 0 false true Sun Sep 13 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 13 09:18:14 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 13 09:34:08 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Aug 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 04 06:32:28 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 04 06:40:05 -0700 2009 huge surprise to me. If I could use only one word to sum it up, it would be: SEX.

Sex is everywhere in this book, from the first pages to the very end. I don't know what I was expecting from a book that described itself as being the story of a middle-aged man in turn-of-t...more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Aug 12 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 12 06:36:16 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 12 06:46:06 -0700 2009 more...]]> 1 6 false false Tue Aug 04 13:51:00 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 04 17:38:31 -0700 2009 more...]]> 0 0 false false Fri May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 25 08:42:54 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 25 08:43:40 -0700 2009
This is a debut novel and with a very interesting plot, slightly gothic in nature. A lonely man in a small town in Wisconsin, 1907, the benefactor of everyon...more...]]> 5 1 false false Mon Jun 15 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 15 05:25:45 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 15 05:26:03 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 3 true false Wed Jun 03 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 03 17:34:41 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 03 18:36:28 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Jun 01 05:55:22 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 01 11:05:54 -0700 2009 A truly compelling debut, this psychological read will stay with me for a long time. Highly sensuous and filled with brooding passion, there are many passages I could write in a journal and keep but to quote them here reveals too much of the story. Desire, passion...more...]]> 4 1 false true Thu May 28 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu May 28 06:24:47 -0700 2009 Thu May 28 06:26:35 -0700 2009
When Catherine Land comes into the mix I found myself with nothing but hope for these two lo...more...]]>