The Husband

THE HUSBAND Review This could possibly be the last good Dean Koontz novel. I only say "possibly" because I have yet to read RELENTLESS, which was published after this one, and do not hold high hopes for me liking it.
 
Written in 2006, three years after the stellar debut of Pico Mundo's paranormally-inclined fry cook, THE HUSBAND avoids all the typical Koontz trappings. There's no witty/sarcastic narrator, no uber smart Golden, no blond female lead, no unrealistic dialogue, absolutely zero filler, and not a hint of quirky, preposterous, mustache-twirling villainous types. 
 
There's something truly fresh about this book, and I think what stands out the most is, Koontz actually managed to scare me again. There are more than a few scenes show more from the kidnapped wife's POV that chilled me to the bone. One especially terrifying chapter has the kidnapper's voice circling her in the darkness, drawing closer, drifting away, leaning in, ebbing... sometimes it's so close that she fears he's about to kiss her. I'm not doing justice to the scene, but suffice to say that, after reading it, I needed a space heater to thaw the blood in my veins. I haven't felt that way during a Koontz novel since reading DRAGON TEARS in 1993, and I think that novel only scared me because I was 13 years old. Back then, Barney the Big Purple Pedophile scared the shit out of me.
 
Our main character, Mitch, is a likable enough guy, but by the end of THE HUSBAND, he's a broken individual. He manages some pretty nasty and twisted things after finding out why his wife was kidnapped. If I'd been in Mitch's shoes, well... the song "Five Minutes Alone", by Pantera, comes to mind. Needless to say, I still rooted for the man Mitch became, but I was a tad more fearful of him than for him.
 
In the last Koontz book I read, the MC (a pastry chef) droned on and on about this baked good or that tasty confection. It was useless information, and as boring as turtle sex. Koontz is also known for describing at length plantlife in exceedingly banal prose. When I first started THE HUSBAND and found out that the MC was a gardener, I almost slammed the book closed. I thought, "Wonderful... now he has a reason to bore me to death," but I continued to read. Boy, am I ever glad I did.
 
The ending ties everything up nicely if a bit too quickly. But I think the finale only speeds by because the middle of the book is so well paced. Koontz had me on the edge of my seat for over 95% of this book, so much so that I didn't want the ride to end. Sweet baby Tom Cruise, I wish he still wrote like this. I did deduct half a star for the tacked-on final chapter. It read as if someone told Koontz: "You have to say something about what happened afterward. Toss in a one-page epilogue of sorts and call it a day." To which Koontz responded: "Fuckin' A. I'm on that shit like scars on John Wayne Bobbit!" The final thousand words of THE HUSBAND are so rushed and heartless you'll feel as if you've just been raped by a rabbit that suffers from premature ejaculation, leaving you with this final thought: "That was brief and uncalled for."
 
In summation, should you choose to read a Dean Koontz book from this century, pick up THE HUSBAND. It won't win any literary awards, but it's a tense thriller by a former master of suspense. This is Koontz on his game, and it shouldn't be missed. Highly recommended.  show less

I've read a few, though not a lot, of Dean Koontz, and I find that he can be hit or miss. His writing can range from psychological thriller to almost horror, but regardless, his books tend to make me squirm in my seat and a bit uncomfortable. I have to remind myself that it's just a novel and that it's written to make the reader a bit uncomfortable.
Such is the case with this one. Mitch is an average guy, he's been married a few years, & he loves his wife dearly. He's a gardener, his wife is a secretary who's studying to be a real estate agent, so they're just a typical young couple with a modest salary. But one day, out of the blue, his wife is kidnapped and to get her back he needs to come up with two million dollars. Of course he show more can't get the police involved or her life is in danger, so he has to try to figure it all out on his own.

As far as kidnappings go, this kind of followed your typical movie-style kidnaping storyline, although there were some somewhat unexpected twists. As expected, I squirmed & felt bad for the guy & just wanted it to be over. Overall, Koontz does a good job with moving the story along and he is able to keep the momentum going for a good thriller. I have to be in the mood to read this type of story and can't do it too often, but I think this filled my quota for the year. It's not the best Koontz I've read, but certainly not the worst either. show less

In "The Husband," Dean Koontz has stripped away the supernatural and science fiction content that gives most of his novels a distinctively creepy and otherworldly aura. What remains is a mainstream thriller pitting ordinary hero Mitch, owner of a modest lawn service company, against a kidnapping conspiracy that threatens his beloved wife.

Like many Koontz characters, Mitch isn't what he first appears to be. He's a highly-intelligent young man who has chosen a simple life of tilling the earth as a means of coping with the psychological torments dispensed by his home-schooling parents. Mitch's quick-thinking resourcefulness and grace under pressure come in particularly handy, it turns out, since the kidnappers have not only stolen Mitch's show more wife, but have framed him for her murder and forced him to turn to a wealthy family member to raise the $2 million ransom. Whenever you think things can't possibly get worse for Mitch, they do, ratcheting the tension to a point that is almost intolerable.

This is top-notch suspense fiction served up in a domestic setting reminiscent of Harlan Coben's best stuff, but infused with Koontz's distinctive metaphor-weaving and emphasis on theme. Here, Koontz is chiefly interested in extolling the virtues of love and humility over the dangers of relying on rational self-interest as a moral compass. All in all, the best thriller I've read this year, with some real substance behind it, too.

-Kevin Joseph, author of "The Champion Maker" show less

I listen to a lot of audiobooks these days, and they reveal different things to me about a book than reading does. With nonfiction, they reveal whether the book is well organized; with fiction, they reveal when someone’s characters don’t sound like people, which is unfortunately the case here. The hook is certainly engaging enough—a gardener gets a call from kidnappers who have his wife and will kill her if he doesn’t get $2 million, and no, they don’t want him to rob a bank. Further twists follow. Koontz has that 90s thing of elaborate killer motivations down pat (though this is a book set in the present, so cellphones matter) and it could be fun, but listening was the wrong choice here.

Audiobook performed by Holter Graham
3.5***

Mitch Rafferty runs a small, 2-man, landscaping business. He’s in the middle of planting impatiens in a client’s yard when he gets a call on his cell-phone. His wife starts with “Whatever happens, I love you.” Then the kidnapper gets on the line and demands $2 million. There must be some mistake; he and his wife have less than $12,000 to their name. But the kidnapper is adamant that “If you love your wife enough” Mitch will find a way to come up with the ransom in time.

Well, this was a wild ride! The formula is pretty standard, and I was pretty certain the “good guys” would win. Trouble is, who are the “good guys”? Koontz includes multiple twists in the plot so that every show more time I thought I had figured it out, I was proven wrong. The ending felt rushed and unfinished to me, but I definitely enjoyed the ride.

This is the first book by Koontz that I’ve read. It’s not great literature, but it sure held my attention and I’ll definitely read more from him. Especially when I’m in the mood for a fast-paced, entertaining thriller.

Holter Graham does a fine job narrating the audio version. He has good pacing and I believed in the characters as he voiced them. show less

3.5 stars

Mitch is a gardener… makes less than $40,000/year. What a shock when he gets a phone call from his wife (and her kidnapper) that she is being kidnapped and they expect Mitch to come up with $2 million! And to prove they aren’t kidding around, they shoot the pedestrian walking his dog across the street from where Mitch is on the phone…

This started off really tense. It slowed down in the middle, though there were definitely some surprises thrown in there. Although the end ramped up again somewhat with a race against time, it didn’t pull me back in like I was pulled in at the start, but I’m not sure why that was. I did listen to the audio, and for the most part it kept my attention.

I was a bit disappointed by this Koontz outing. The pace was lightning-quick, I finished it in 2 sittings. The tale was suspenseful at first, and a few strange twists are thrown in. However, two subplots are introduced that I thought would be explored much further than they were - the unorthodox (to say the least) child-rearing methods employed by Mitch's parents and the mysticism-infused ramblings of the kidnapper. When the book ended without delving into these, especially without exploring New Mexico, I was let down. In the end, the bad guy just seemed to be crazy and creepy. The fast pace and twists save it from being a complete disappointment.