A Reliable Wife - Robert Goolrick

Barnes and Noble synopsis

He placed a notice in a Chicago paper, an advertisement for "a reliable wife." She responded, saying that she was "a simple, honest woman." She was, of course, anything but honest, and the only simple thing about her was her single-minded determination to marry this man and then kill him, slowly and carefully, leaving her a wealthy widow, able to take care of the one she truly loved.
What Catherine Land did not realize was that the enigmatic and lonely Ralph Truitt had a plan of his own. And what neither anticipated was that they would fall so completely in love.
Filled with unforgettable characters, and shimmering with color and atmosphere, A Reliable Wife is an enthralling tale of love and madness, of longing and murder.

My two cents:
Yikes! I think that would be my synopsis in one word. There were various things in this book that disturbed me. Maybe not "disturbed" so much as bothered me.
It bothered me that 90% of the book took place in someone's mind. There was very little that actually happened "real time." Most of the book was set in one of the three main character's mind. That was different for me.
I totally get that this was a gothic novel. But, this too bothered me as I am not so much a gothic kind of girl. Now don't get me wrong, I loved Rebecca and Jane Eyre, but this book is no Jane Eyre.
I did however find it nifty that it FELT like this book was written in Charlotte Bronte's time. This is, I believe Robert Goolrick's first novel. I was very moved by the way he writes. His ability to describe is outstanding. He uses language very effectively, and I was very impressed by how he MADE the novel feel like it was 1908.
The way he wove the storyline was also very interesting. The many turns were much needed in this book that happened in the minds of crazies.
Although it was a HUGE part of the storyline, I did not like how everyone in this book viewed sex. That was very disturbing. In fact, on several occasions I thought to myself, "This cat's going to be on the evening news." It was very blatant and I found myself several times wanting to stop reading because of it.
I read this book because my book club picked it as the Jan. read. If not for the fact that I am supposed to be able to discuss it intelligently, I would probably not have finished it. Hopefully after the discussion I will have a richer view on the book. Because taking it at face value didn't really take me anywhere.