The Husband (2006)
"I'd like to think I don't have any enemies."
"Everyone has enemies. Even a saint has enemies."
"Why would a saint have enemies?"
"The wicked hate the good just because they are good."
"The word wicked sounds so...."
"Quaint," Taggart suggested.
"I guess in your work, everything looks black-and-white."
"Under all the shades of gray, everything is black-and-white, Mitch."
-The Husband
Dean Koontz's latest is a classic example of the high concept thriller--indeed, it's already headed to theater screens. Mitchell Rafferty is a perfectly average California landscaper until May 14th at 11:43 in the morning when he receives a cell phone call from his young wife:
"Mitch, I love you," Holly said.Then her kidnappers come on the line and demand a $2 million ransom from this fellow with a few thousand dollar in savings and, to demonstrate how serious they are, the person walking his dog across the street from Mitch is felled by a single sniper shot. Thus, the concept, and Mr. Koontz never takes his foot off the gas pedal thereafter.
"Hey, sweetie."
"Whatever happens, I love you."
She cried out in pain. A clatter and crash suggested a struggle.
The first half of the book consists of Mitch unraveling why the men who have Holly would imagine that he could get his hands on this kind of money. Before he does there are moments when we're not only as bewildered as Mitch but eager to say how Mr. Koontz writes his way out of the mystery. The plot twist with which he does so is tremendously satisfying, so much so that it hardly matters that from there on in the wrap up is somewhat formulaic. It obviously helps that the formula happens to be in the hands of a very capable veteran novelist who knows how to keep us on the line once he's set the hook. Fans of Mr. Koontz won't be disappointed and for those who've never read him this would be a perfect place to start.
(Reviewed:30-May-06)
Grade: (A)
