A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick

I’m afraid I can’t say any good things about “The Reliable Wife.” I did finish the book – I don’t like to quit – but I felt it was time wasted. The book was depressing. It also skipped into so many different time periods, with no explanations, that it became confusing. It was not good confusion.

The story is about a mail order bride who arrives in a Wisconsin town intent on marrying a wealthy businessman, Ralph Truitt. Right from the beginning, a sense of calamity prevails. There is something amiss in the intentions of the mail order bride, Catherine Land. Catherine wishes to do away with Richard and become a rich widow. Richard is a figure of complexity in his own right. The story takes us through a multitude of twisted and questionable scenarios; none of them caught my fancy. Things do come together in the end but the process of getting there is dismal and perverse.

I would not recommend this book; although I know there is a market for this kind of fiction. You might have to read it to see if you agree or disagree with my take on this book. Just remember my perverse comment if you start the read.