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The protagonists in Dean Koontz’s books are usually some poor
schmucks—nobody special—just anyone you might walk by on the street, or
maybe your next-door neighbor. The same is true of Mitch Rafferty in The Husband, Koontz’s latest.
Rafferty, a mild-mannered landscaper, receives a phone call telling
him that his wife has been kidnapped and is being held for $2 million ransom.
Mitch Rafferty has no idea why anyone would take his wife—or why the
kidnappers would think he had the means to ransom her. The kidnappers
warn Mitch that if he involves the police, his wife will die a slow,
painful death. Worse, in the event that things go sour, planted evidence
abounds to make it look like Mitch killed his wife. A series of phone
calls from the kidnappers over a 60-hour period leads Mitch on a
terrifying ride, where he must confront his troubled past to save his
future. In his quest to rescue his wife, he learns he can trust no one
but himself. He also learns that he is capable of the
unimaginable.
I don’t think I’ve ever read a Dean Koontz book that I didn’t like, and The
Husband is no exception. The plot, while complex, unravels through
twists and turns to keep you reading long into the night. The one thing
that bothered me is that the ending wraps up neatly—almost too neatly,
given the multiple traumas the characters suffer along the way. Readers
of Dean Koontz’s Velocity may be disappointed, as the plots are strikingly
similar. But if you’re a Dean Koontz fan like I am, don’t miss this one.
