Ralph Truitt, a wealthy middle-aged widower, employer of most of the workers in a small northern Wisconsin town just after turn of the twentieth century, advertises for "a reliable wife" and selects a plain woman from Chicago, 20 years his junior. However, the woman who gets off the train is not the same woman whose picture he received in the mail. The beautiful woman standing in front of him admits to sending a friend's picture, thinking that it would be more appealing to him than one of herself, but insists that it was she who wrote the letters. Catherine has reasons why she wanted to be admitted into this man's life. And it seems Ralph has reasons of his own, other than loneliness, for wanting a new wife.

I thought this book was a disappointment. I was expecting a very sweet romance after reading the synopsis of a well-to-do man living in a remote area advertising for a wife. This book is not sweet. It is dark, almost sinister at times. The story takes place over the course of a single winter, beginning on the day of the first snow storm in October, 1907 and ending in early spring 1908. In the meantime, we learn the story of Ralph's first marriage, and the children born to him. We learn about his own youth with his father and mother. We learn a little about Catherine, and her background. In short, we learn about all the experiences both these people have had with love - in all its myriad forms. It is a tragic tale all around. Which is the reason the book doesn't work for me - I am rarely able to appreciate tragedies. It is well-written, the sense of darkness and despair are palpable. I just didn't like it. ( )

From Publishers Weekly
Set in 1907 Wisconsin, Goolrick's fiction debut (after a memoir, The End of the World as We Know It) gets off to a slow, stylized start, but eventually generates some real suspense. When Catherine Land, who's survived a traumatic early life by using her wits and sexuality as weapons, happens on a newspaper ad from a well-to-do businessman in need of a "reliable wife," she invents a plan to benefit from his riches and his need. Her new husband, Ralph Truitt, discovers she's deceived him the moment she arrives in his remote hometown. Driven by a complex mix of emotions and simple animal attraction, he marries her anyway. After the wedding, Catherine helps Ralph search for his estranged son and, despite growing misgivings, begins to poison him with small doses of arsenic. Ralph sickens but doesn't die, and their story unfolds in ways neither they nor the reader expect. This darkly nuanced psychological tale builds to a strong and satisfying close. ( )

Page turner with many unexpected twists and turns. Dark, but an enjoyable read. ( )

This is not written like contemporary fiction. Upon finishing it I thought: "It's like D. H. Lawrence writing Ethan Frome."
Reliable Wife is a dark, cold love story set in a northern Wisconsin winter at the beginning of the 20th century. There is much lust, remorse, betrayal, and heart break....then finally, love. ( )

Starts well and goes down hill fast. Great set-up wasted. Pointless and contrived.