Dean Koontz — The Husband

HarperTorch 2011 Paperback, 464pp. Mitch Rafferty has just sixty hours to save his wife. A suspense novel 'Ź ; and love story 'Ź ; 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'Ź't know. 'ŹÃoeWe have your wife. You can get her back for two million cash.'Ź' Now he'Ź'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. 'ŹÃoeSee that guy across the street?'Ź' Rifle fire shatters the stilllness as the man goes down, shot in the head. 'ŹÃoeAn object lesson.'Ź' The caller doesn'Ź't care that Mitch has no way of raising such a vast sum. He'Ź's confident that Mitch will find a way. 'ŹÃoeIf he loves his wife enough.'Ź' Mitch does love her enough. He'Ź's got sixty hours to prove it. He'Ź'll pay anything. He'Ź'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, 'ŹÃoeThe Husband'Ź' is a thriller that holds the reader in its relentless grip. (ISBN: 9780007368273). Fair.