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What Members Thought

Wow. This is the first book published this year that I could not put down! Oh, gosh, it's such a good story. What a revelation this story was to me and I had seen a lot of buzz about this book so I wasn't sure whether this book would be any good. But it's a book that I stayed up until midnight reading and for those who know me, I am usually early to bed and most nights I fall asleep reading. This is not a book that I fell asleep reading. I woke up and kept reading in the morning! (Please note th
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The Reliable Wife is a gothic and dark novel,. The setting of Wisconsin during the winter of 1907 is perfect. A dark and gothic place with tragedy surrounding all. The book is very Shakespearian. ***Spoiler***The wife loving the son, then falling for the father; the son hating his father and wanting his wife; the father wanting redemption, even to the extreme of letting himself be poisoned.
I didn't really like tis novel. I wonder as time passes if I will come to like it better. The characters ar ...more
I didn't really like tis novel. I wonder as time passes if I will come to like it better. The characters ar ...more

This book was okay. I skimmed through most of it because it just didn't hold my attention. I only finished it to "see what happens". On the other hand, the detail in the book was good. I didn't "learn" anything or "walk away" with anything....it was just okay.
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A Reliable Wife is a beautifully written tale of three souls - ralph, catherine and antonio - linked for eternity by rage, love, greed and yes, passion. there are more than a few surprises, and goolrick does a wonderful job of presenting the barren and maddening landscape. it was interesting and painful to be inside his character's heads...which is where we spend most of the book. there's little dialogue here. it's well worth reading, the ending brought closure for me that was comforting. i just
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I was intrigued by the premise: mail-order bride with murder in her eyes who does the unthinkable -- falls in love with her husband! Yet every time I thought I had something figured out something else would happen to make me rethink all my assumptions. None of the characters are what they seem, and while I found some believable I just can't believe that Truitt could be so endlessly forgiving. Could one small town really have that much insanity? It does make one wonder what is really going on in
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I started out really liking this book--it was compelling, it provided a great sense of the time period (turn of the 20th century, a period I love to read about for some reason), and the "real" story behind each character was revealed in an interesting way.
By the end, I thought the book got a bit too dramatic, but it still held my interest and I would recommend it as an entertaining read. ...more
By the end, I thought the book got a bit too dramatic, but it still held my interest and I would recommend it as an entertaining read. ...more

Good for a book club discussion because of differing opinions but otherwise I wouldn't recommend it.
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I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't this. The subject caught me off guard and I think it made me not enjoy it as much. Plus the fact that it took place in the dead of winter in Wisconsin (burrrr). There were some odd twists and some parts that were difficult to read (how can she be doing that???). But at least the ending wrapped things up nicely and didn't piss me off.
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Good premise - didn't like the way it developed.
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Mar 26, 2010
Jenni
rated it
liked it
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review of another edition
Shelves:
50-books-in-2011,
bookclubreads

Oct 15, 2011
Nancy
marked it as to-read
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review of another edition
Shelves:
to-read-added-fall-2011