Author Dean Koontz is a master at writing thrilling novels filled with mystery and suspense. His 2006 New York Time bestseller The Husband is a novel that lives up to Koontz's reputation of writing books that the reader does not want to put down. This tale keeps the reader thinking and guessing until the end and the conclusion of the tale is unlike any the reader would imagine in the beginning.
Main Plot
The focus of this novel revolves around a character named Mitchell Rafferty and his efforts to come up with a two-million dollar cash ransom for the return of his kidnapped wife Holly. The interesting part of the scenerio is the fact that Rafferty is not wealthy. In fact he is a middle class gardener who would be the last person kidnappers should target for that large a ransom and who seems to have no way to aquire that much money. The tale takes multiple twists and turns as Mitch fights against all odds to get his wife back.
Character Development
Koontz does a great job of developing the main characters in this book. As the story unfolds we learn a lot about the child years of some of the characters and begin to understand the psychological aspects of what made them into the adults they grew to be. Though the reader will not detect it in the beginning, the upbringing of some of the characters is key to the development of the story and will help explain some events that occur later in the book.
The characters speak with one another in ways that fit their described personalities and discussions are not embelleshed. The character dialogue is similar to the way the reader would speak to others in their life.
Spiritual Component
Koontz drops hints in regards to there being a spiritual or possible supernatural connection to the story that makes the reader wonder if there is more to some events than they realize. The reader will go back and forth between wondering if some of the characters behavior is due to a psychological problem or a spiritual influence.
The Power of Love
This book clues readers in to the power that love for another person can have on anothers actions, choices, and behaviors. The reader learns that while love can drive people to do things they never though they were capable of and give them strength they never knew they posessed, it can also blind them to some negative qualities in others they may not want to see or believe.
Dean Koontz's The Husband is a book that readers will not regret investing time. It contains a complex plot and should probably be read without distraction so that the reader can focus. Once the reader begins the novel he or she will probably not want to put it down until the end, and even then he or she might love it so much he or she will want to read it again!
Koontz, Dean. The Husband. Bantan Dell: New York, 2006. ISBN: 978-0-553-58909-2
