"A Reliable Wife" Review

A Reliable Wife

By Robert Goolrick

10/10

My Synopsis:

Ralph Truitt is a man.  He is rich.  He is influential.  He is unhappy.  His grief over the past is overwhelming and loneliness seems to be his fate.  Then Ralph takes matters into his own hands.  He places an ad in a Chicago newspaper stating that he is seeking a wife.  His request is answered and after exchanging a few letters, Catherine Land sits in Ralph’s private train car on her way to rural Wisconsin to become Mrs. Ralph Truitt.  But all is not as simple as it seems.  Catherine is more than the plain woman she claims to be and Ralph has ulterior motives of his own.  Why has Catherine answered Ralph’s ad for a wife?  What is in store for her when she reaches her destination?  Will Ralph find what he is looking for?  The times are different in the very early 1900’s but what people long for is universal and transcends time.   Love, family, wealth, and loyalty are all at play in Robert Goolrick’s story. 

My Opinion:

I can’t remember the last time I read a book classified as historical fiction.  I’m more of a contemporary kind of girl.  I was apprehensive not being a huge history buff but I was pleasantly surprised.  After a slow start, I became completely enamored with this book.  It was all I could think about.  Reading it was all I wanted to do.  I was delightfully obsessed.  There were twists and turn around every corner and I didn’t see a single one coming.  It was enough to make your head spin.  The characters were vivid and unable to be slotted into stereotypical boxes.  One minute I loved Catherine, the next minute I hated her.  She was a mystery to me.  It was the same with Ralph.  It is an intricate web of three lives drawn together by need, desire, and revenge.  It is a tale of family ties gone awry and the consequences that follow.  The descriptions of the barren Wisconsin winter countryside were so detailed, so spot on, I felt like I was there.  (Though reading it in December in the Midwest was helpful.)  A better cozy winter day read than a summer beach book.  A fireplace, a warm drink, and falling snow will really transport you there.  It’s like seeing a movie in your brain. It took me a while to realize that it was just like a favorite book of mine from my childhood – “Little House on the Prairie” – only with deceit, lust, and intrigue.   A “Little House” for the adult set.  It is a tale of excess and conspiracy.  The author kept me guessing right up until the final page.  I had seen this book in a “Hot Reads” section of a popular magazine and really just wanted to see what it was that was so captivating.  What I had thought might be an interesting book turned out to be an amazing thriller that is now one of my favorites.  I was sad that it was over but fully satisfied with the end.  10/10