A Reliable Wife by Robert GoolrickRural Wisconsin, 1909. In the bitter cold, Ralph Truitt, a successful businessman, stands alone on a train platform waiting for the woman who answered his newspaper advertisement for "a reliable wife." But when Catherine Land steps off the train from Chicago, she's not the "simple, honest woman" that Ralph is expecting. She is both complex and devious, haunted by a terrible past and motivated by greed. Her plan is simple: she will win this man's devotion, and then, ever so slowly, she will poison him and leave Wisconsin a wealthy widow. What she has not counted on, though, is that Truitt---a passionate man with his own dark secrets---has plans of his own for his new wife. Isolated on a remote estate and imprisoned by relentless snow, the story of Ralph and Catherine unfolds in unimaginable ways. With echoes of Wuthering Heights and Rebecca, Robert Goolrick's intoxicating debut novel delivers a classic tale of suspenseful seduction, set in a world that seems to have gone temporarily off its axis.
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Page 4:
He had ordered punctuality the way another man might order a steak cooked to his liking.
Page 5:
Ralph checked his silver watch. The train was late.
The trick, Ralph knew, was not to give in. Not to hunch your shoulders in the cold or stamp your feet or blow warm breath into cold palms. The trick is to relax into the cold, accept that it had come and would stay for a long time.
Page 15:
Cathryn liked the beginnings of things. The pure white possibility of the empty room, the first kiss, the first swipe of larceny....and endings, too. The drama of the smashing glass, the dead bird, the tearful goodbye, the last awful word which could never be unsaid or unremembered.
Page 21:
"Reliable wife." That was new, and she smiled.
I am thrilled about this book and I look forward to our walk and discussion tonight!
Week 1- Chapters 1-8
Week 2- Chapters 9-18
Week 3- Chapters 19-end.
Hello Walkers,
I am looking forward to tomorrow's discussion. Finally a fun and twisted book that kept us walking, talking and guessing!
I know we all are wondering when we can get stepping outside, Spring walking route will be back soon. The nice weather is bringing back some of our dormant members and new ones are arriving! This means we may have to break-up into 2 groups again (big groan, but we've grown!).
Angle of Repose
The Space Between Us
I will check the catalog and bring some information.Have a great day!
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