SAXTON B. LITTLE FREE LIBRARY
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Saxton Reads! & Reviews

We invite the public to post reviews to our catalog by logging into our online catalog. Reviews will then be posted to this blog. Comments can be added to existing posts or may be added as separate reviews on our catalog
MAY 3, 2009
The Reliable Wife ~ Robert Goolrick

*****bas bleu

When I was a teenager and first read Wuthering Heights, I was immediately captivated by its dark power: obsessive love and unbridled passion; cruelty and madness; a dark and brooding hero. Even the setting itself was brutal and violent. It is no wonder, then, that when I read A Reliable Wife, it evoked the spirit of that great novel. For an in-depth and spot-on review of the book, follow this link: http://www.amazon.com/Reliable-Wife-Robert-Goolrick/product-reviews/1565125967/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1


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Comments

CarolK said, on May. 3 at 9:04AM
The very day you posted this review, librarians across the country started talking about it on our listserv. Your review hooked me! It's circulating, I have myself on reserve and can't wait to read it.

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bas bleu said, on May. 6 at 1:32PM
CarolK, I know how you like to savor an author's words, phrases, and sentences. Prepare for the feast that Goolrick provides for his readers! I can't wait to hear what you think after you read the novel. It's a difficult one to categorize...

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CarolK said, on Jun. 1 at 11:08AM
5 star writing, 4 star plot... A truly compelling debut, this psychological read will stay with me for a long time. Highly sensuous and filled with brooding passion, there are many passages I could write in a journal and keep but to quote them here reveals too much of the story. Desire, passion, obsession are all themes that are explored beautifully. Goolrick can write. He knows that erotica is not just about the sex. Set against the chilling landscape of early 1900's Wisconsin, Goolrick's story is haunting. Ralph Truitt, the wealthy owner of an iron foundry, seeks a new wife and bedmate 20 years after the death of his first wife. That relationship alone is complicated and draws much of who Ralph Truitt is. Catherine Land, a woman with a questionable past, answers his ad and in the opening scenes is on a train to meet the man who will become her husband. Each of the main characters harbors secrets that twist the story with wrenching intensity. Both Truitt and Catherine have agendas, his to have Catherine find his son and Catherine's to become a rich widow. Shortly after the wedding, Truitt sends Catherine to St. Louis on a mission to bring his long-estranged son home. This is where the real story begins. Sounds simple, but it surely is not. There's a murder plot, affairs, lying, lust, evil, suspense and love in this well told story. So what keeps me from giving Reliable Wife 5 stars? Though most of the book is pitch perfect and tightly written, I did find a small portion of the story tedious and caught myself saying, get on with it. I did not like part of the wrap-up but without adding a spoiler I'll have to leave that for book discussion. The ending line was superior!

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bas bleu said, on Jun. 1 at 5:49PM
CarolK, I just knew you'd savor Goolrick's writing! And I found myself nodding after reading every sentence of your review!

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