Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Review of A Reliable Wife

A Reliable Wife
A Reliable Wife
Author: Robert Goolrick
Genre: Literature & Fiction
Book Type: Paperback
rubberducky avatar reviewed on + 79 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3


A decent, engrossing read, but it's really not anything unique. It's a little bit Michael Lesy's Wisconsin Death Trip (which Goolrick cites as the inspiration), and a lot Cornell Woolrich's Waltz Into Darkness, which inspired the 2001 film Original Sin with Antonio Banderas and Angelina Jolie. If you're acquainted with any of these works, you'll be in familiar territory here.
Just cutting to the chase - the storyline is predictable and the ending a little unsettled. It's not wholly without merit, however. Goolrick's prose is very vivid, but somewhat repetitious at times, and I found myself skimming a little too frequently. There are no admirable characters here to identify with & care about, so the overall feel of this book is one of voyeurism; watching them wreak havoc on each other & generally make a muck of their lives, and the ending more a trailing off, or closing of the curtain, than a resolution. I gave it a B-.