From the Bookshelf of Reading List 2009…
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Even though I have alredy sent this, I am updating for my Best of 2009 list:
This was a terrific novel with the gothic feel of past novels such as REBECCA and the recent THIRTEENTH TALE. In 1907 Catherine Land answers an ad for a “reliable wife” to the wealthy businessman Ralph Truitt. He knows nothing of her sordid past nor does he have any idea of her plans, which is to leave rural Wisconsin a wealthy widow (in her suitcase is a small blue bottle filled with a nasty substance). But what gets in ...more
This was a terrific novel with the gothic feel of past novels such as REBECCA and the recent THIRTEENTH TALE. In 1907 Catherine Land answers an ad for a “reliable wife” to the wealthy businessman Ralph Truitt. He knows nothing of her sordid past nor does he have any idea of her plans, which is to leave rural Wisconsin a wealthy widow (in her suitcase is a small blue bottle filled with a nasty substance). But what gets in ...more
This book, the #1 IndieNext list pick for April 2009, is an infinite loop of love turning to hate and hate turning to love and what all that kinetic passion does to the people who experience it. Set mainly in rural Wisconsin in the depths of the winter of 1907, this is a story of a wealthy man and his mail-order bride at it's very basic root. Both of these people have dark histories that they are trying to forget--or are they? They are strangers to each other--or are they? All that is true in th
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i liked the idea of this book, and the characters were vivid, but the story seemed kind of choppy (though it was a review copy, so who knows.)
This was a very good read, with an interesting plot. There were a few twists and turns and unlike many books, the obvious questions of 'Why didn't they do this?' or 'How could he not know?' were eventually answered. It was a nice change from the 'fairy tale' endings I've been encountering in the Dean Koontz books I've been reading lately. The only reason I didn't give it a 4 star rating is because I'd occasionally get dismayed by the wordiness in describing things the author would use as a way o
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This book grabbed me from the first sentence and I had a hard time putting it down. There were times when it veered towards the predictable, but it usually ended up surprising me. Goolrick's descriptions in general are excellent, although some of the racier scenes felt a bit repetitive. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
**Audio Review: The narrator did a perfectly fine job. There were a few times when I felt that his voice had a gruffness to it that wasn't warranted by the dialogue, but he ...more
**Audio Review: The narrator did a perfectly fine job. There were a few times when I felt that his voice had a gruffness to it that wasn't warranted by the dialogue, but he ...more
Really more a 3 1/2 ....
Feb 11, 2009
Christy Trever
marked it as wish-list
Mar 11, 2009
Julie
marked it as to-read
