The Husband: Amazon.co.uk: Dean Koontz: Books

Amazon.co.uk Review

It must be tempting for writers such as Dean Koontz to rest on their laurels. After all, they've achieved more bestseller placings than most writers could shake a stick at, and acquired as dedicated following as their accountants could wish. But The Husband shows that Koontz still has several tricks up his sleeve, and that he can still do plotting more ingeniously than most of his contemporaries.

Mitchell Rafferty is a landscape gardener--not a rich man--who receives a phone call that he initially thinks is some kind of a hoax: he is told that for two million in cash, he can get his wife back from the people who have abducted her. But he is quickly given an object lesson in the seriousness of the people he is dealing with--while on the phone, trying to take in what he's been told, it’s suggested to him that he looks at a man across the street. A rifle shot rings out, and the man falls, shot in the head. The terror and desperation that Rafferty feels are compounded by one simple fact: he has absolutely no way of acquiring such a massive sum. But his caller doesn't seem to be interested in such niceties--if Mitchell loves his wife enough, he'll find a way. And he has exactly 60 hours in which to do it.

With a premise like this, any halfway decent writer would be able to ratchet up the tension to ensure that the reader is comprehensively gripped. But Koontz isn't just interested in the execution of a precision-tooled plot (although, God knows, he’s an old hand at handling such things). What we get along with the cleverly orchestrated tension is a series of killer twists--the kind that Koontz has always been adept at. It goes without saying that a setup such as this allows little room for nuances of characterisation, but that's never been Koontz’s métier in any case. However, if you're looking for a thriller that is the purest escapism, look no further.

--Barry Forshaw --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

‘There’s surprise after surprise, including a killer finale … a read-in-one-go novel.’ Independent on Sunday on ‘Velocity’

‘“Velocity” hits its pace from the first page and races through to a suitably climactic ending.’ Sydney Sunday Telegraph

'Dean Koontz is not just a master of our darkest dreams, but also a literary juggler.’ The Times

'Psychologically complex, masterly and satisfying.' The New York Times

'A modern Swift … a master satirist.' Entertainment Weekly

'If Stephen King is the Rolling Stones of novels, Koontz is the Beatles.' Playboy

'Dean Koontz writes page-turners, middle-of-the-night sneak-up-behind-you suspense thrillers. He touches our hearts and tingles our spines.' Washington Post Book World

'Tumbling, hallucinogenic prose. Serious writers might do well to study his technique.' New York Times Book Review

'Fast-paced and dark … Koontz knows we live in a world where evil delights in justifying itself … Classic literature that deserves a place on the bookshelf beside Orwell's 1984 and Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451.' California Literary Review

'Koontz is writing right where popular culture swells into something larger, just as it did for Homer, Shakespeare, and Dickens. He's got the gift.' Australian

'Koontz is a superb plotter and wordsmith. He chronicles the hopes and fears of our time in broad strokes and fine detail, using popular fiction to explore the human condition.' USA Today

'Inspires both chills and serious thought … has the power to scare the daylights out of us.' People

'The poet laureate of paranoid pop fiction.' Denver Post

'Koontz achieves a literary miracle … stunning physical description, unique turns of phrase.' Boston Globe

'Near Dickensian powers of description.' Los Angeles Times

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Customer Reviews

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful

Another Koontz Classic 24 July 2006

By Scottish Dave VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Before we get started I have to confess that I am a bit of a Dean Koontz die hard. He has around 50 novels currently in print and I've read them all. As far as I'm concerned none of them are bad - just different levels of greatness! "The Husband" falls somewhere in the middle.

It's typical Koontz as the main character is a nice guy but with a very screwed up past. His wife is kidnapped with a $2 million price tag that the husband has 60 hours to gather. An impossible task perhaps for a gardener but as the hours tick by there's more to the ransom than meets the eye.

I read this book in one sitting. It gripped me from start to finish. Probably more so than some of his recent work.

It probably doesn't make it into my Koontz top 10 but it's a solid read with no real criticisms. There are twists along the way hat keep the story going. Perhaps the ending wasn't overly dramatic and perhaps the character/background of the wife could have been developed. However, these are minor quibbles.

Overall a strong Dean Koontz thriller. 9/10.

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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

A Change of Koontz 4 Sep 2006

By Amanda Richards VINE™ VOICE

This one is different from the Dean Koontz novels you've been reading lately. No alien life forms, mad scientists, secret laboratories, Government conspiracies or crazed genetically altered creatures fill these pages, but early in the book there IS the trademark golden retriever just to remind you that this is in fact a Dean Koontz story.

Switching to the action-drama category, and maybe hoping for a movie deal, Koontz tries his hand at what seems to be a fairly routine kidnapping, but then comes the twist. Mitch runs a small gardening business, and one day gets a call that his wife Holly is being held for a ransom of two million dollars. The kidnappers prove that they are deadly serious, especially when it comes to golden retrievers, but the problem is that Mitch has no way of raising that kind of money.

Things start to get strange when his brother Anson gets involved, but as it turns out, Anson has some money that he is more than willing to offer in exchange for his sister-in-law's safe return. This however is a Dean Koontz story, so soon we're delving into Mitch and Anson's formative years, their unconventional parents, and learning just how far Mitch will go to save the woman he loves.

Unable to resist the temptation to ramble, Koontz takes his time getting around to the grand finale, but overall, this is a great book for a lazy day by the beach or pool, or better yet, as a hassle free TSA approved carry-on entertainment source for your flight.

Amanda Richards

A Gripping Read 28 July 2006

By Mrs. S. Millerchip

Format:Paperback

Fantastic! this book is gripping, it grabs the reader so hard you cant put it down. The people in the book are so well written you go through all the emotions with them.

its one of his best books as far as im concerned, with suberb twists it keeps you entertained untill the very last page!