Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I learned about this book while listening to NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday. As the interview with Goolrick unfolded, I was shocked to hear him relate the basic plot and themes of Cornell Woolrich's brilliant and beautifully written (and out of print) Waltz into Darkness. I have since read A Reliable Wife and am convinced that the plot and themes were either directly lifted from Waltz Into Darkness or indirectly from movies based on the book (Truffaut's Mississippi Mermaid and/or Original Sin) or both. In addition, there are subplots and scenes borrowed from Jane Eyre, Rebecca, and Anna Karenina. This is indeed the most derivative piece of writing that I have ever read. For a really great read about turn-of-the century sexual obsession, madness, and murder; get a hold of Woolrich's Waltz into Darkness and don't waste your time on A Reliable Wife.