The Husband, by Dean Koontz

[rachelmanija]

Mitch, a 30-something gardener, gets a call from a stranger who claims to have kidnapped his wife - a claim the man quickly proves. But Mitch can get his wife back unharmed, the man says, so long as he does two things: say nothing to the cops about the call or the kidnapping, and pay a ransom of two million dollars. Mitch protests that he doesn't even have a fraction of that money. The kidnapper tells him to wait for further instructions...

This is a great premise, and the plot goes in some interestingly unexpected directions. (The kidnappers do not intend for Mitch to rob a bank or some such to get the money; the wife is a lot less of a helpless victim than it seems at first.) ) There's a plot turn that a lot of writers would have used as their shocking conclusion, but it happens about halfway in here, then the repercussions play out.

The book feels exactly like watching a satisfying action-thriller with a high concept, so much so that I'm surprised it's never been made into a movie. It would be a fun one.

I glanced at this on my way to putting it in the used book sale box, then read a chapter, then read a little more, then ended up reading the entire book in one sitting. It would be a good book to read on a plane.

Comments

[asakiyume]

Love the way the book captured your attention--that says a lot.

I know this is spoilers, and you can answer in code or dm me or whatever, but: is the kidnappers' main motivation to have Mitch relieve someone of two million dollars as part of some sort of revenge or something against someone? i.e., is the kidnapping essentially motivation to get someone to do some dirty work for them?

[rachelmanija]

Mitch's brother is secretly (including from Mitch) 1) a white collar criminal, 2) extremely wealthy. The kidnappers plan to use Mitch to extract the money from his brother, either by explaining the situation and just asking for it or by getting into his computer. Things get more complicated from there.

[asakiyume]

Okay, that's a less complicated motive than I was envisioning, but the secret wealth and crime life of the brother makes up for plain old greed as the motivator for the kidnappers.

[minoanmiss]

And yet, why is the book called _The Husband_, not _The Brother_? *glances askance at Mitch's wife*

[asakiyume]

LOL--men care more about their victim-status wives than their dubious-money-having brothers?

[rachelmanija]

That is exactly the case.

While Mitch is the main character and gets most of the POV chapters, his wife Holly is equally responsible for defeating the kidnappers in the end. She's sidelined for the first half due to being chained up, but she ends up hoodwinked the main kidnapper, faking stigmata (it makes sense in context) and stabbing him with the long nail she spent the first half of the book prying out of the floor.

[asakiyume]

Go Holly! The use of a nail after faking the stigmata is a nice touch.

[cahn]

Ahhhh this sounds like fun, and my library has it!