• The Husband

  • By: Dean Koontz
  • Narrated by: Holter Graham
  • Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (1,728 ratings)

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The Husband  By  cover art

The Husband

By: Dean Koontz
Narrated by: Holter Graham
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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

What listeners say about The Husband

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    790
  • 4 Stars
    528
  • 3 Stars
    285
  • 2 Stars
    80
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Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • 4 Stars
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  • 3 Stars
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Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • 4 Stars
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  • 3 Stars
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  • 2 Stars
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  • 1 Stars
    11

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent read!

This is absolutely an excellent read!

It grabs your attention within the first 5 to 10 minutes and holds you for the remainder of the book.
This book is every bit as good as his "Mr Murder" but not as weird.
It is on par with his Christopher Snow novels but again, not as strange.
The work is totally plausable and beliveable.
The characters are easy to follow and remember.
I did not encounter a single second of "zoning out" on my part as a listener.
It is akin to a very good mystery novel.
Sorry, no cute or wise dogs in this one.
Buy this book, you will not be dissapointed.

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20 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

EXCELLENT!

How many books can you honestly say you just couldn't WAIT to get back to? Well for me, this was one of those books.

I originally wasn't going to read this book due to the first review which included a spoiler (note to Audible: please edit the reviews so that this doesn't happen). But since I'm a Koontz fan, I decided to take a chance.

Really good book - doesn't lag at all and the narration was absolutely TERRIFIC. He made it that much more exciting and creepy. I highly recommend this one. Enjoy!

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Captivating from the very beginning!

Dean Koontz has been one of my favorite fiction writers for years so it came as no surprise that I enjoyed this book, but I have a new appreciation for the psychological depth he gives to his characters. And Holter Graham as the reader...WOW! I have yet to hear another reader that brings a book to life as he does! I scoured Audible for another Dean Koontz read by Holter Graham, but sadly, couldn't find one. Great book, great teamwork. I've already recommended the book to friends.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Truly Enjoyable

I truly enjoyed listening to the book! I read other people's review before I purchased and based on their reviews, I must say that I was skeptical and almost didn't purchase it, but since I am a Dean Koontz fan, I decided to give it a try and I am glad that I did!

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Wow.

If you could sum up The Husband in three words, what would they be?

Edge of seat.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Husband?

Author injected humor at most suspenseful fimes. The Husband is

Was there a moment in the book that particular moved you?

Identifying the hostage with the captur. Author did an excellent job making the phsycological relation intense and spell binding.

Any additional comments?

I recommend thisbook. Narrator was terrible. Sounded like a bad William Shatner impression. Was.... a... little... difficult...at... times... to ....listen...to...

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

The Husband

Great story. I wanted to do more driving to finish it.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

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.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Could use a better narrator

I love Dean Koontz, and this novel is no exception. The narrator, though, is difficult to listen to ... he over enunciates and his voice is too narrow in vocal range.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

The twist was SOOO worth it!

Great book and it kept me on the edge of my seat! All I kept saying after the end was "no way, no way, no way!!!!" Once again, LOVED IT!

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Would make a good movie

This book was very slow to start, painfully drawn out til about the 20th chapter,but then it has all kinds of twists & turns & kept my attention after that point. Without the slow start it would make a great movie with a suspenseful ending!!

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4 people found this helpful