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A review by lilylanie
A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick
2.0
This is a bit of an odd book, about a wealthy man who advertises in the classifieds for a simple and reliable wife, only to get instead someone whose motives are shady and get much murkier before the truth is told. Set in 1909, the story and the setting had many of the characteristics that never fail to lure me in.
I found the story of the woman quite interesting - from her messy past that brought her to enter into such an arrangement, to how she decides to handle the situation once she questions how devious she can really be - but the husband and his past were rather more tiresome. None of the male characters were appealing or terribly sympathetic. The plot twists added a great deal of interest for a while, though the truth became clear well before the author fully revealed it.
A Reliable Wife was an absorbing read - I liked Goolrick's writing style and didn't take long to power through it - but I didn't love it as much as the reviews lead me to believe I would.
I found the story of the woman quite interesting - from her messy past that brought her to enter into such an arrangement, to how she decides to handle the situation once she questions how devious she can really be - but the husband and his past were rather more tiresome. None of the male characters were appealing or terribly sympathetic. The plot twists added a great deal of interest for a while, though the truth became clear well before the author fully revealed it.
A Reliable Wife was an absorbing read - I liked Goolrick's writing style and didn't take long to power through it - but I didn't love it as much as the reviews lead me to believe I would.