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What book did you just start?
By Stephanie · 3501 posts · 467 views
By Stephanie · 3501 posts · 467 views
last updated Feb 27, 2024 08:11PM
What Members Thought

I read this novel in one day, my first novel of 2010, and I could not put it down. It is the type of novel that gets under your skin and is difficult to shake for several days. It was a unique story, the characters were extremely compelling, and the atmosphere was very dark and Gothic. If this novel was ever made into a movie, I would expect it to be set in perpetual snow and gray fog.
Other reviewers here have set forth the main story here so I won't reiiterate it. I agree with those who said t ...more
Other reviewers here have set forth the main story here so I won't reiiterate it. I agree with those who said t ...more

Although I can see why this is not a book that would be enjoyed by everyone, I really did enjoy every moment of reading it. It was very dark, very twisted and relatively sexual but it was really well written with interesting characters that leapt off the page for me. The writing just pulled me into each and every scene, the author made the places he described come alive. I found the story itself riveting, sad and very suspenseful. I love that the novel was so accessible yet very suspenseful. I d
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The Boston Globe described A Reliable Wife as "a historical potboiler, an organic mystery rooted in the real social ills of turn-of-the-century America." Certainly, the novel's characters have their share of secrets and motives while illuminating the social milieu of early 20th-century rural Wisconsin and Gilded Age St. Louis. Psychologically driven, the novel boasts an unusual depth of characters and hypnotic, if at times overly sensuous, prose. Indeed, noted the Washington Post, it is "a gothi
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While I was enjoying the book from the start, I had some problems with it. There was almost no action (I mean NONE) for the first half of the book. It was entirely narrative descriptions, some few internal musings, etc. Just SOOOOO much. Like the author was terrified of dialogue or any kind of action scene. He had mastered one way of writing and he was sticking to it. Eventually, some things happened, there was more going on, and it got much better. I ended up really liking it. A pretty novel wa
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I do not like this book very much. The characters are not very sympathetic - not people I am very interested in spending time with. Also, it is kind of slow. Lastly, I am listening to it on my iPod and for the second time I find the narrator to be almost to aggravating to listen to.
In the end I really did not enjoy this novel> There was a lot of atmosphere, but the characters did not come alive for me and the plot was uninteresting.
In the end I really did not enjoy this novel> There was a lot of atmosphere, but the characters did not come alive for me and the plot was uninteresting.

I had such high hopes for this book but was really disappointed. A mail-order bride travels to Wisconsin in 1907(?) with intentions to murder her husband but he also is not exactly what he seems. It sounds so intriguing but this book fell flat for me. I didn't care for any of the characters; they were cold, awful people. And the characters (and author's) obsession with sex drobe me crazy. All of the characters had an unhealthy obsession with sex or used sex to manipulate people. Okay fine but th
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This book was a bit twisted..but in a very good way. Some of the things I just didn't see coming til they were right in front of my face. This book was just shocking...again, in a very good way.
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Meh...It just didn't do it for me. I had no problem with the sexual content of the book, I just wasn't enamored with the story. Goolrick's writing was fine... as I said before, it was interesting the way it all unfolded.
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Mar 24, 2009
Laura Ellis
marked it as to-read

Jun 13, 2009
Kristina
marked it as to-read

Jun 26, 2009
Gabby
marked it as to-read

Aug 14, 2009
Nancy Motto
added it

Jan 18, 2010
Beth Knight
marked it as to-read

Jan 23, 2010
Karen
rated it
really liked it
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review of another edition
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Feb 16, 2010
Belinda Burkhart
marked it as to-read