A Reliable Wife

by Robert Goolrick

On Sale: 08/03/2010

A Reliable Wife

by Robert Goolrick

On Sale: 08/03/2010

Format:

About the Book

Set in a small Wisconsin farming town crumbling under the impact of the troubled economic times of the 1890s, A Reliable Wife tells the story of Ralph Truitt, a wealthy businessman who advertises for “a reliable wife” in a Chicago newspaper. The woman who answers, Catherine Land, describes herself as “a simple, honest woman,” but in truth she is both complex and devious -- not the missionary’s daughter she describes in her letter but a courtesan of great beauty, kept by men and haunted by a terrible past. Her plan in accepting the marriage offer is simple: she will win this man’s devotion and then, over time, poison him and leave Wisconsin a wealthy widow. What she has not counted on, though, is the passion she finds in this seemingly solid, forthright man -- a man who also harbours secrets and whose past is far from pure.

Filled with remarkable characters and drenched with colour and atmosphere, A Reliable Wife is a story of love and madness, longing and murder, played out in a world that seems to have gone temporarily off its axis.

Critical Praise

“A glittering, poisoned ice cube of a tale . . . eminently readable.” — Christian Science Monitor

“A weighty psychodrama laced with Hitchcockian suspense.” — Time Out New York

“[A] beautifully written, beautifully dark book. Goolrick is a superb writer.” — Chicago Sun-Times

 “A killer debut novel . . . suspenseful and erotic . . . [A] chillingly engrossing plot . . . good to the riveting end.” — USA Today

“A gothic tale of . . . smoldering desire . . . The novel is deliciously wicked and tense, presented as a series of sepia tableaux, interrupted by flashes of bright red violence . . . Once you’ve fallen into the miasma of A Reliable Wife, it’s intoxicating.” — Washington Post

“This engrossing and addictive novel will leave you both chilled and satisfied.” — NPR

“A thrilling, juicy read . . . The writing is beautiful and the story is captivating. It’s a real page-turner.” — Today Show

“A tantalizing pace that will have you flipping faster and faster through the pages . . .  A beautiful and haunting read, a story about all the different manifestations of love―a story that will stay with you.” — Minneapolis Star Tribune

“Completely original. . . .The unforeseen conclusion provides a big payoff for readers of this tension-laden debut from a promising new talent.” — Booklist

“A sublime murder ballad that doesn’t turn out at all the way one might expect.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

This darkly nuanced psychological tale builds to a strong and satisfying close.” — Publishers Weekly

“I was totally captivated by A Reliable Wife. Raw and lyrical at the same time, Robert Goolrick’s wonderful novel grips the reader with its complex and beautiful story.” — Sandra Brown

“A rousing historical potboiler, an organic mystery rooted in the real social ills of turn-of-the-century America. . . with characters as sensitive, as tortured as any contemporary souls. . . . As surprising, and as suspenseful, as any beach read.” — Boston Globe

“Psychosexual, psychopathic, psycho-everything: Goolrick is out to thrill.” — Independent (UK)

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Resources

Product Details

  • ISBN: 9781554685042
  • ISBN 10: 1554685044
  • Imprint: Harper Perennial
  • On Sale: 08/03/2010
  • Pages: 320
  • List Price:17.99 CAD
  • BISAC1 : FICTION / Literary

A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick

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