The Husband

by Dean Koontz

Book Overview

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER We have your wife. You get her back for two million cash. On an ordinary afternoon, an ordinary man, a gardener of modest means, gets a phone call out of his worst... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0553804790
• ISBN13: 9780553804799
• Release Date: May 2006
• Publisher: Bantam
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.7" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

Twister from start to end

This was the first mystery that I read by Dean Koontz and if his other mysteries are as good as this, I'm buying all of them. This was a twisty, had you guessing mystery from start to end. If you like to read books with an "unpredictable" ending, I recommend this one. Great book.

Immature

This was not the first Koontz thriller I've read but it it did seem the most immature. Did he write this for young adults or slow adults?

Full of never-ending surprises.

Hadn't read Koontz for many years, and this was a great way to enjoy his writing once again! Full of twists and turns on every single page. If you enjoy nail-biters, I highly recommend!

intense and exciting

great page turner

page turner! couldn't put it down!

The life and times of Mitch Rafferty

Dean Koontz's latest novel is a great thriller that I found myself not wanting to put down. Like Stephen King, I feel some of Dean's best writing is when he is not involving the supernatural playing card in the deck. The characters seem a little deeper, the story very plausible, and the tasks, tragedies and triumphs a bit more heartfelt, making you, the reader, care that much more about the outcome. The journey to that outcome centers on a man named Mitch Rafferty. Mitch lives a simple life with his wife in Southern California (if that is even possible, but bear with me here). He owns a small landscaping company, while his wife is a secretary at a Real Estate firm. Mitch and Holly enjoy the simple things in life, and dream of raising a family of their own soon. One day while on a job site, a call on his cell phone changes his life forever. On the other end, he realizes his wife is in danger, and she is not alone. A man tells him that they want 2 million dollars raised in ransom for her release, or she will be killed. He is given only 3 days to accomplish this seemingly impossible task. The confusion and terror start here; Mitch doesn't even have $100,000 in the bank let alone 2 million. They seem to know how much he does have in the bank, right down to the penny. They also seem to have an eye on him at all times, audibly telling him in real-time to watch a man across the street right before he is killed by a long range rifle. They do this to tell him they mean business, and that if he goes to the police, they will slowly cut his wife up into pieces. Mitch loves Holly more than anything in the world, but don't think for a second that Koontz saturates us in the meaning of family, love and life. We get that description in good doses, but the theme here is all about surprises, shock value and the continual tests and tasks Mitch must face in order to bring Holly home safe. The novel is a thriller to say the least. From the first page to nearly the last, Mitch Rafferty suddenly has to become something different in order to do anything for love. More of his family becomes involved, though at first indirectly, and this is when we are introduced to his brother Anson, who ultimately plays a bigger part in the whole thing than we can imagine. Koontz does an excellent job of developing the characters of Mitch and his older brother, who are different in more ways than one. Last but not least is Holly, the loving wife of Mitch who has found herself in a dark place and has to spiritually and cunningly try to outwit one very psychologically profound abductor. Detective Taggart is another character that adds a whirlwind of suspense to the overall setting. Taggart is good at his job, so good in fact, that he quickly finds holes in Mitch's story regarding the day the pedestrian was gunned down near his job site. As Taggert begins to pursue Mitch with guarded skepticism, Mitch realizes that his bloody and harrowing journey to save his wif

Dean "The Ratchet" Koontz

As I read this novel I just kept thinking to myself that no one takes a bad, awful situation, and then makes it shockingly worse, better than Dean Koontz. When you think things are as bad as they can get, he ratchets down and you realize just how wrong you are. Things can get much worse, oh indeedy. Then, of course, he defies your comprehension and makes it worse again, and then again. Koontz does escalating tension and events better than anyone, and does it with such deceptively simple writing that his stories feel like terrifying roller-coaster rides: the hair curling build-up of tension, the shrieking plunge into depths of despair and hopelessness, then the shocking, violent twists and turns, and finally, heart-pounding and breast heaving, you safely glide to a controlled stop and the safe normal world you are accustomed to can resume again. In The Husband, a simple gardener is interrupted while working by a cell call. His wife says she loves him and then abruptly screams in pain. A merciless voice comes on and informs him that they have his wife and they want $2 million. He only has $11,000 in his checking. Events unfold rapidly from there, and, as I said above, things slide from awful and impossible, to horrfyingly worse, through many lightning quick, and equally shocking, plot twists. Details about the kidnappers and Mitch's strange family are parceled out in tantalizing bits and pieces which make the bizarre and incomprehensible beginnings finally make sense. Mr. Koontz has focused on themes of love, goodness, family, and kindness confronting evil, despair, and self-interest in many of his recent books and this one is no exception. A good man, who truly loves his wife, is called upon to face the unthinkable, contend with evil more complex than simple kidnappers, and confront his past in a haunting, complex story that is a well-told, lovingly crafted page turner. This is a story of goodness, love, and hope, beset on all sides by evil, deceit, maliciousness, and despair and a couple who must persevere and face these things head on in order to triumph. I really enjoyed this novel as I have many of his previous ones like the Odd Thomas duo and Life Expectancy. This is in the same vein as those novels. I didn't much like Intensity, perhaps because it didn't follow the same formula as these other novels. If you enjoyed Life Expectancy and Odd Thomas though you'll be sure to enjoy this one from Koontz too.

HIGH CONCEPT

Dean Koontz's latest is a classic example of the high concept thriller--indeed, it's already headed to theater screens. Mitchell Rafferty is a perfectly average California landscaper until May 14th at 11:43 in the morning when he receives a cell phone call from his young wife: "Mitch, I love you," Holly said. "Hey, sweetie." "Whatever happens, I love you." She cried out in pain. A clatter and crash suggested a struggle. Then her kidnappers come on the line and demand a $2 million ransom from this fellow with a few thousand dollar in savings and, to demonstrate how serious they are, the person walking his dog across the street from Mitch is felled by a single sniper shot. Thus, the concept, and Mr. Koontz never takes his foot off the gas pedal thereafter. The first half of the book consists of Mitch unraveling why the men who have Holly would imagine that he could get his hands on this kind of money. Before he does there are moments when we're not only as bewildered as Mitch but eager to say how Mr. Koontz writes his way out of the mystery. The plot twist with which he does so is tremendously satisfying, so much so that it hardly matters that from there on in the wrap up is somewhat formulaic. It obviously helps that the formula happens to be in the hands of a very capable veteran novelist who knows how to keep us on the line once he's set the hook. Fans of Mr. Koontz won't be disappointed and for those who've never read him this would be a perfect place to start.

Always a good read

Once again, Mr. Koontz has given us a wonderful rollercoaster ride of action and suspense. The story opens with an outstanding scene in which an ordinary, nice man, owner of a small two-man landscaping business, is called on his cell and told that his wife has been kidnapped. A bystander is shot to show that the kidnappers are watching and mean business. And they expect Mitch, the main character, to obtain 2million dollars within a few days to get his wife back. It seems an impossible task. Along the way, Mitch meets with terrible betrayals as we learn his compelling family history, while his wife deals with strange, strange kidnappers. I don't want to say much more, lest I give away too much. But I do recommend this book highly. I bought it at 6pm last night and couldn't go to bed till I was finished reading it! It will keep you turning the pages anxiously trying to find out what will happen next!

Whoa Nelly, another disturbing read from Koontz...Yeah!

What a start to this book. Mitch Rafferty is mindlessly working away planting red and purple impatiens for his client. Life is good and Mitch is an optimist. Then his world goes down the toilet. His cell phone rings. His wife Holly has been kidnapped. The caller tells Mitch he has 60 hours (not even three days) to raise $2 million dollars or his wife is a goner. To prove the will to kill, an innocent walking his dog is shot through the head. What an opening scene. Stephen King in Cell might have beaten Koontz on openings for stories but not by much. The Husband reminded me a lot of his novel Velocity. Both grab the reader early. Both seem to be endlessly suspensful (a good thing). Both seem to have the protagonist is a situation that is hopeless. The Husband is its own story however and is worth you while to read. Koontz has evolved as an author over the years. He is often unfairly maligned because of this evolution by readers that want the same dose of Koontz each time. His novels stand a lone as do his characters. The Husband will twist you in knots and that is a good thing. Up and down, in and out, Mitch is forced to deal with the reality of what is happening. Damn, how would I raise $2 mil? You'll love the book.