Leave This Book on the Shelf

Ellen is beautiful but evil, Richard is stupid and thinks with his penis, and this book is nearly 200 pages too long.

I was excited to find out that this was a book, I only have the vaguest of memories of the 1945 movie and the 1988 made for TV remake, Too Good to be True, starring Patrick Duffy and Lonnie Anderson and those memories are only of Ellen sitting in the boat while Danny drowns and throwing herself down the stairs to miscarry. I remember enjoying both movies, but this book eh.... I didn't enjoy it. 

Firstly Richard really is a dumb fuck, shortly after meeting Ellen on a train to New Mexico he discovers that they're both staying at the ranch of a mutual friend. From the moment he steps off of the train there are red flags and warning bells everywhere to stay the hell away from Ellen. Her own mother seems to hate her and even says to a bunch of strangers that her daughter was so possessive of her recently deceased father that she wouldn't have been surprised if she found out Ellen had slept with him. This is coming from her own mother, her own mother. How much more of a warning does one need that this bitch is damaged and just aint right in general? 

Ellen plays it cool and aloof to pique Richard's interest and it works, then she somehow manipulates Richard into marriage. The honeymoon is a short one for Ellen as she quickly remembers that Richard has a disabled little brother named Danny whom he adores, she decides she hates his guts even before meeting him because Richard not only loves him but he also knows Richard better than she does. Get this, Ellen tells Richard several times that she doesn't like Danny and that she's jealous of him. Richard doesn't seem troubled by this confession, he just takes in stride and laughs it off. 

Goodbye Danny, we hardly knew ye.

After Richard witnesses her allowing Danny to drown, she lies and tells him that she's pregnant to keep him from ratting her out. And that's when this story completely lost me. What fun is there when Richard knows what she did instead of just merely suspecting it? The rest of the story comes hurtling at you like a freight train at a car stranded on the tracks. It's predictable and boring, so very boring. Save yourself the trouble and watch the movie.