“Goolrick twists a familiar story, refashioning it into something completely original. . . . Few have permeated their narratives with gothic elements and suspense to such great effect. . . . The unforeseen conclusion provides a big payoff for readers of this tension-laden debut from a promising new talent.”—Booklist

“A Reliable Wife “generates some real suspense. . . . This darkly nuanced psychological tale builds to a strong and satisfying close.”—Publishers Weekly

“After breaking through with a disquieting memoir . . . Goolrick applies his storytelling talents to a debut novel, set in 1907, about icy duplicity and heated vengeance. . . . A sublime murder ballad that doesn’t turn out at all the way one might expect.”—Kirkus, starred review

Read full review here.

“I was totally captivated by A Reliable Wife. Raw and lyrical at the same time, Robert Goolrick’s wonderful novel grips the reader with its complex and beautiful story.”—Sandra Brown

“Astonishing, complex, beautifully written, and brilliant, A Reliable Wife is a nearly-forensic look at love in all its incarnations, with all its damages, deceptions, and obsessions, run through with points of light and pinned with ruinous truths.”—Sara Gruen, author of Water for Elephants

“A Reliable Wife burrows its way deep under the reader’s skin. It moves along like a tale foretold, with an energy that is impossible to resist and an almost mythic resonance. You begin reading this novel at your peril for it will keep you straining to know what happens next until you come to the last, redemptive sentence.”—Daphne Merkin, author of Dreaming of Hitler