Robert Goolrick‘s debut, A Reliable Wife, became a word-of-mouth hit when it was published in 2009. The story of a woman who arrives in Wisconsin in the winter of 1909 to marry a man she’s never met—and turns out to have, shall we say, ulterior motives for doing so—was chilly, twisted and downright gripping.
On June 12, we’ll see if Goolrick will once again capture readers’ imaginations with his second novel, Heading Out to Wonderful (Algonquin). This one also features the mysterious stranger trope—but this time, it’s 1948 Virginia and the stranger is a man, Charlie. Despite the fact that one of the two suitcases he arrives with is full of cash, Charlie takes a job at the butcher shop. But it isn’t until he strikes up a romance with the wife of the richest man in town that things really get complicated.
Did you read A Reliable Wife? How do you feel about the premise of Heading Out to Wonderful?
reliable wife was one of my favorite reads &his new book is something i will definetely read.
I didn’t love A Reliable Wife. I found it inconsistent and relentlessly dramatic… not my kind of book, I think. I will probably avoid this one.
I diffently will read his newest book,loved the Reliable Wife. Sorry to have to wait until June, the anticipation builds.
I loved Reliable Wife. See my review on Goodreads (http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/95489763).
I think the premise of Goolrick’s second book is interesting and I can’t read it to see what he does with it.