Popular fiction, but of a high order?: Reliable Wife

I've only read a little further in "A Reliable Wife," but I can see that it will be a very kinky, creepy novel - popular fiction, but of a very high order. Not too many books fit that niche : A Secret History is one that I loved. Lots happening in first few chapters : horse-drawn carriage (this is set in 1907) nearly overturns, the horses panic, one breaks a foreleg, the "reliable wife" (catherine) steadies the team, her new "husband" (Ralph Truitt) has been tossed from the carriage, huge gash in his head, fierce snowstorm, they arrive at the house, meet the elderly and suspicious caretakers, Catherine has to stitch Ralph's wound with her sewing kit, no anaesthetic, and he never touches alcohol. Sound like a movie? This verges on the edge of trash fiction, and I was initially skeptical of the whole mail-order (male order?) bride premise, which has been used a lot, both for serious and comic effect, but Goolrick has serious literary intentions here, too. He's really giving us some access to the scheming minds of the characters, both of whom seem, so far, perverse and cruel: Ralph literally hated by everyone in town, a nasty man with (barely) repressed sexual fantasies - why did he "order" this bride? - and Catherine, we know, is not the person she's pretending to be. Did she kill the intended bride? Or did she pretend to be another person right from the outset? We suspect that she's hoping to become a rich widow, but lots left to be revealed.