The Husband

By: Dean Koontz

Narrated by: Holter Graham

Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

With each and every new novel, Dean Koontz raises the stakes—and the pulse rate—higher than any other author. Now, in what may be his most suspenseful and heartfelt novel ever, he brings us the story of an ordinary man whose extraordinary commitment to his wife will take him on a harrowing journey of adventure, sacrifice, and redemption to the mystery of love itself—and to a showdown with the darkness that would destroy it forever.

What would you do for love? Would you die? Would you kill? We have your wife. You can get her back for two million cash. Landscaper Mitchell Rafferty thinks it must be some kind of joke. He was in the middle of planting impatiens in the yard of one of his clients when his cell phone rang. Now he’s standing in a normal suburban neighborhood on a bright summer day, having a phone conversation out of his darkest nightmare.

Whoever is on the other end of the line is dead serious. He has Mitch’s wife and he’s named the price for her safe return. The caller doesn’t care that Mitch runs a small two-man landscaping operation and has no way of raising such a vast sum. He’s confident that Mitch will find a way. If he loves his wife enough. . . Mitch does love her enough. He loves her more than life itself. He’s got seventy-two hours to prove it. He has to find the two million by then. But he’ll pay a lot more. He’ll pay anything.

From its tense opening to its shattering climax, The Husband is a thriller that will hold you in its relentless grip for every twist, every shock, every revelation…until it lets you go, unmistakably changed. This is a Dean Koontz novel, after all. And there’s no other experience quite like it.

©2006 Dean Koontz (P)2006 Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"The Husband moves like a roller coaster without brakes….Without a doubt, Koontz is America's No. 1 author of thrillers today … The Husband is one of his finest novels."—The Denver Post

"Dean Koontz thrillers are the perfect way to chill out on a hot summer day."—The Chicago Tribune

"Fast-paced.... Koontz often pulls the rug out from under his readers' assumptions about his characters and their motives."—Associated Press, Book Review

Could have been good

I’m not sure I’ll be able to finish. Ok This story could have been so much better. For example: when your running for your life after you just killed someone and someone else is trying to shoot you, I don’t really care what the blades of grass looked like while you ran by them. Way to much detail of unimportant crap.

Pleasingly Twisted

A story where everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Kept me on the edge the entire time. I would highly recommend this book

Dean Koontz is a must buy!

I loved this entire plot and execution! Was very surprised by a twist along the way. I never saw it coming

Koontz lives up to his good reputation

This is a good read. It follows Dean's usual build, suspense, scare, and finally an ending that isn't tragic.

Well, I liked it

It seems people are being pretty hard on this book, or maybe I'm just easy to entertain, but I thought the book was interesting and got better as the story developed. Not the BEST book I've ever read, but a good story none the less.

entertaining

This book was an easy listen. It's his typical formula, but works. I enjoyed the plot twists & betrayal (which I saw coming). It was a great underdog story.

nervracking, ingenious, and satisfying

Would you consider the audio edition of The Husband to be better than the print version?

never read the book. i can not see well enough to read. i loved the audio version!

What did you like best about this story?

i found the motivation for the whole kidnapping interesting. there were different motives for the kidnapping for some of the kidnappers and the catalyst of the whole crime had a completely different motive.

Which scene was your favorite?

anson and mitch in the laundryroom.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

brotherly love is not always reality.

Any additional comments?

figuring out why the whole thing happened was the most interesting thing for me. i found the plot to be very clever. koontz gets a five for this one! the reader was great!

Good listen

Again Koontz writes a great book with an interesting plot, a situation that you can envision yourself in.
The characters were believable and the pace was well maintained throughout the book.
I didn't give it 5 stars because I thought the narrator could have done a better job with some of the passages and voice he portrayed for some of the characters.

Genius

This book is genius on so many levels. I’m not usually effusive when it comes to reviewing books but the whole time I was listening to the husband I was thinking about the genius of dean koontz. The story takes off at rocket pace the minute you open the book and doesn’t slow down for a minute. Well developed, fascinating, off the wall characters. I loved everything about this book.

A more beautiful version of “taken” starting Liam N.

The book instantly puts you into the action. Prose and poetry. Use of alliteration, and masterful use of simile. Gripping, edge of your seat thriller. This book took me on an imagery laden journey of saving, and finding what you love, and have lost. Though predictable at almost every turn, Koontz sure does know how to paint a picture!!