A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick

 

Summary (from the publisher): Robert Goolrick's riveting debut novel is both foreboding and sensual. When a wealthy man first meets his mail-order bride in 1907, he realizes this statuesque beauty is anything but a "simple missionary's daughter." But he doesn't know of her devious plan to leave Wisconsin as a rich widow. Nor does she know of the furious demons he longs to unleash during the lonely months of snowbound isolation.

Review: Set in 1907 Wisconsin, wealthy businessman and mine owner Ralph Truitt has lived alone for twenty years since his first wife died. Now, he anticipates the arrival of his mail-order bride. When Catherine steps off the train, he is stunned to discover a beautiful woman who is far different than the simple missionary's daughter that he was expecting. But what he doesn't know is that she has arrived with a scheme to leave Wisconsin as a rich widow and her past is dramatically different from the tale she presents. Nor does Catherine know the extent of the demons that exist in Ralph Truitt's past. 

The twists in this novel are dramatic and dark. Set against the snowy backdrop of snowy Wisconsin at the turn of the century, the wealth and excess of the characters is keenly felt. Both Ralph Truitt and Catherine are complicated characters who never reveal their full hand to the other. At heart, Truitt is a lonely man trying to atone for the sins of his past. And Catherine is a desperate woman seeking security and some semblance of love. 

This novel is certainly damning of poor and absent parenting and insinuates that it always leads to doomed and sinful adults. There is a lot of sexual tension in this novel, as well as sexual betrayal. Sexual desire is portrayed as sinful and to be resisted and giving in as the downfall of the individual who fails to remain pure. All three of the main characters in this novel reinvent themselves and their stories multiple times and their story presents an interesting look at personal identity and the power of perspective and what we perceive to know about individuals in shaping our opinion of them. 

That said, many of the plot points in this novel were too over the top to me. I had a lot of stunned moments when reading this at the abrupt twists in the narrative. Some of the plot developments seem very difficult to believe in an almost soap opera way. I do think this would make a very visually stunning and captivating movie. 

Stars: 3