The Husband : A Novel

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.

Koontz brings us the story of an ordinary man whose extraordinary commitment will take him on a harrowing journey of adventure, violence, sacrifice, and redemption to the mystery of love itself and a showdown with the darkness that would destroy it forever.

Publishers Weekly

Koontz's latest thriller, slated for fast track silver screen adaptation in a joint venture between Random House and Focus Features, presents a spellbinding Hitchcock-flavored tale of an innocent, unassuming everyman caught in an intricate web of duplicity. While toiling away in the yard of a client, Orange County landscaper Mitch Rafferty casually answers his cellular phone and learns that his wife, Holly, has been taken hostage; the humble man of the soil must raise a $2 million ransom to prevent the unthinkable from happening. Graham, fresh from such recent audiobook triumphs as John Berendt's The City of Falling Angels and Lisa Gardner's Alone, delivers a smooth single-malt scotch of a performance. Graham brings a straight-arrow, earnest 20-something cadence to Mitch's voice. He also skillfully navigates the diverse cast of Southern California characters-young Holly facing danger with both grace and bravery, a seasoned homicide detective, a sadistic kidnapper obsessed with New Age spirituality, and a high-tech entrepreneur hiding a sinister secret-with masterful use of vocal inflection and carefully timed pauses. Simultaneous release with the Bantam hardcover (Reviews, Apr. 25). (Aug.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Mitch Rafferty has just sixty hours to save his wife.A suspense novel – and love story – from one of the most acclaimed and popular authors of modern times.What would you do for love? Would you die? Would you kill?Landscape gardener Mitchell Rafferty was busy planting beds of impatiens for one of his clients when his phone rang. It was a voice he didn't know. 'We have your wife. You can get her back for two million cash.'Now he's standing in a normal suburban neighbourhood on a bright summer day having a phone conversation out of his darkest nightmare.Mitch thinks it must be some kind of a joke. But whoever is on the other end of the line is dead serious. 'See that guy across the street?'Rifle fire shatters the stilllness as the man goes down, shot in the head. 'An object lesson.'The caller doesn't care that Mitch 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's got sixty hours to prove it. He'll pay anything. He'll pay a lot more than two million dollars.A story of love, tenacity and courage with the pace of a runaway train, from its tense opening to its shattering climax, 'The Husband' is a thriller that holds the reader in its relentless grip. What would you do for love? Would you die? Would you kill? "So, we have your wife. You can get her back for 2 million cash." Landscape gardener Mitchell Rafferty thinks it must be some kind of a joke. He was busy planting flower beds for one of his clients when his phone rang. Now hes 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. "See that guy across the street?" Rifle fire shatters the stillness as the man goes down, shot in the head. "An object lesson." The caller doesnt care that Mitch has no way of raising such a vast sum. Hes confident that Mitch will find a way. If he loves his wife enough. Mitch does love her enough. Hes got sixty hours to prove it. Hell pay anything. Hell pay a lot more. than two million dollars. From the master storyteller comes a story of love, tenacity and courage with the pace of a runaway train, "The Husband" is a thriller that holds the reader in its relentless grip from its tense opening to its shattering climax. #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER We have your wife. You get her back for two million cash. On an ordinary afternoon, an ordinary man, a gardener of modest means, gets a phone call out of his worst nightmare. The caller is dead serious. He doesn’t care that Mitch can’t raise that kind of money. If she’s everything to you, then you’ll find a way. Mitch loves his wife more than life itself. He’s got sixty hours to prove it. He has to find the two million by then. But he’ll pay a lot more. He’ll pay anything.BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Dean Koontz's The City. When Mitchell Rafferty receives a phone call that his wife has been kidnapped and there is a two million dollar ransom, his extraordinary commitment to his wife will take him on a seventy-two-hour journey of sacrifice and redemption