A Reliable Wife - Robert Goolrick

Every six months or so, I receive a package from Powells Books as part of their subscription club called Indiespensable. I get a new and noteworthy book, along with other little treats - some times chocolate from a local Portland artisan, seeds to plant in a garden, little notebooks for joting down thoughts, or short stories published on fun fine paper. It's like have a literary Christmas and I'm so excited everytime I open up the box. I get my book recommendations from a variety of sources, but sometimes it's nice to just have someone send you something and say "Read this. We thought it was good, you should too." In A Reliable Wife, Ralph Truitt, a wealthy widower in 1909 seeks a reliable wife through a newspaper advertisement. Catherine appears by train from Chicago to marry him, pretending to be a simple but loyal companion. But, both Ralph and Catherine have ulterior motives. Ralph wants Catherine to lure his estranged son back home. Catherine hopes to murder her husband and inherit all his wealth. As their pasts catch up with them, the two share secrets and hide even more, as they learn to survive together in the bitter rural Wisconsin winter. A Reliable Wife is finely written, and the story moves at a compelling pace. It would be a great book club book - lots to discuss about relationships and the nature of love, obsession, and the need for control. A very welcome gift from Powell's - I look forward to review a couple others I have on my nightstand, and to receiving a few more of these literary gifts in the mail!