$7.50

Used Trade Paper

Ships in 1 to 3 days

Qty	Store	Section
2	Beaverton	Literature- A to Z
1	Burnside	Literature- A to Z

More copies of this ISBN

• Used, Trade Paper, $7.95
• Sale, Trade Paper, $7.98

This title in other editions

• Used, Hardcover, $10.50
• Used, Hardcover, $30.00
• Used, Trade Paper, $8.00
• Used, Trade Paper, $5.95
• Used, Hardcover, $9.95
• Used, Hardcover, $7.95
• Used, Trade Paper, $6.50
• Used, Hardcover, $7.50
• Used, Trade Paper, $8.95
• Backorder, Hardcover, $43.25
• Used, Trade Paper, $6.95
• Sale, Hardcover, $7.98
• New, Trade Paper, $14.95
• Used, Trade Paper, $7.50
• Used, Trade Paper, $7.95

A Reliable Wife

by Robert Goolrick

Average based on 1 comment. Synopses & Reviews Customer Comments (1) ISBN13: 9780349122366 ISBN10: 0349122369 Condition: Standard All Product Details Only 3 left in stock at $7.50!

 

Synopses & Reviews

From Powells.com:

1. Featured in Indiespensable Volume 10!
2. Powell's subscription club offers signed first editions, exclusive content, and unique handpicked gifts.
3. Read about this shipment on our blog!

Publisher Comments:

Rural Wisconsin, 1907. 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.

With echoes of Wuthering Heights and Rebecca, 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.

Review:

"Set in 1907 Wisconsin, Goolrick's fiction debut (after a memoir, The End of the World as We Know It) gets off to a slow, stylized start, but eventually generates some real suspense. When Catherine Land, who's survived a traumatic early life by using her wits and sexuality as weapons, happens on a newspaper ad from a well-to-do businessman in need of a 'reliable wife,' she invents a plan to benefit from his riches and his need. Her new husband, Ralph Truitt, discovers she's deceived him the moment she arrives in his remote hometown. Driven by a complex mix of emotions and simple animal attraction, he marries her anyway. After the wedding, Catherine helps Ralph search for his estranged son and, despite growing misgivings, begins to poison him with small doses of arsenic. Ralph sickens but doesn't die, and their story unfolds in ways neither they nor the reader expect. This darkly nuanced psychological tale builds to a strong and satisfying close." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Review:

"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

Review:

"A Reliable Wife is eminently readable and should delight fans of old-fashioned Gothic romances....Goolrick is a solid wordsmith, and he handily manages the impressive task of making readers care about a woman bent on cold-blooded murder. And generating the proper Gothic ambience in Wisconsin is no mean feat." Christian Science Monitor

back to top

What Our Readers Are Saying

Add a comment for a chance to win!

Average customer rating based on 1 comment:

---

Anna Shumaker, March 1, 2012 (view all comments by Anna Shumaker)
Unexpectedly loved it. I don't know what I was expecting when I started this book but it blew away all expectations. I had not anticipated a mystery involving the complexities of love and individual histories. At points Goolricks insights into human nature reminded me of East of Eden by Steinbeck which is one of my favorite books so that is a huge accomplishment. I frequently felt like I knew what was coming and loved I was always surprised.

Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No

report this comment

back to top

Product Details

ISBN:

9780349122366

Author:

Goolrick, Robert

Publisher:

Algonquin Books

Binding:

TRADE PAPER

back to top

Other books you might like

1. 
   Alight in the Attic Shel Silverstein Used Book Club Hardcover $12.95
   
2. 
   Butcher's Crossing (New York Review... John Williams

   

   Used Trade Paper $8.00
   
3. 
   Little Bee Chris Cleave

   

   Used Trade Paper $3.95
   
4. 
   A Primate's Memoir: A... Robert M. Sapolsky

   

   Used Trade Paper $5.95
   
5. 
   The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and... Timothy Egan

   

   Sale Trade Paper $7.98
   

Related Subjects

A Reliable Wife Used Trade Paper Robert Goolrick

0 stars - 0 reviews

$7.50 In Stock

Product details pages ABACUS SOFTWARE - 2011-12-03 English 9780349122366 Reviews:

"Publishers Weekly Review" by Publishers Weekly, "Set in 1907 Wisconsin, Goolrick's fiction debut (after a memoir, The End of the World as We Know It) gets off to a slow, stylized start, but eventually generates some real suspense. When Catherine Land, who's survived a traumatic early life by using her wits and sexuality as weapons, happens on a newspaper ad from a well-to-do businessman in need of a 'reliable wife,' she invents a plan to benefit from his riches and his need. Her new husband, Ralph Truitt, discovers she's deceived him the moment she arrives in his remote hometown. Driven by a complex mix of emotions and simple animal attraction, he marries her anyway. After the wedding, Catherine helps Ralph search for his estranged son and, despite growing misgivings, begins to poison him with small doses of arsenic. Ralph sickens but doesn't die, and their story unfolds in ways neither they nor the reader expect. This darkly nuanced psychological tale builds to a strong and satisfying close." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"Review" by Sandra Brown, "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."

"Review" by Christian Science Monitor, "A Reliable Wife is eminently readable and should delight fans of old-fashioned Gothic romances....Goolrick is a solid wordsmith, and he handily manages the impressive task of making readers care about a woman bent on cold-blooded murder. And generating the proper Gothic ambience in Wisconsin is no mean feat."