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February 20, 2007
The Husband - Dan Koontz
Koontz hasn't traditionally done standard thrillers, there is usually a supernatural bent to his work. I occassionally get in the mood for something pacy and the tagline for this novel caught my eye in the bookshop.
It's about a man who's wife is kidnapped, and he is ordered to pay $2 million within 60 hours to get her back. The twist is that he is a poorly paid gardener; how on earth will he find that kind of money? The kidnappers obviously have some kind of plan, but what is it?
As usual, Koontz writes with a breezy familiarity, and the story flows smoothly and intelligently. His main character, Mitch, is really likable, and though he sometimes has to do bad things in his pursuit of the kidnappers, it's always explained away in a manner that means we never lose sympathy for him. In fact, he's almost too nice near the end and the situation gets a little slapstick because of it.
The family history of Mitch gets explored in some detail; he comes from very odd parents, and there are echoes of one of Koontz's past books, Whispers, in there I thought. I guess Koontz couldn't resist having a bit of weirdness in his book
Nevertheless, the plot works out neatly, the twists are interesting if not startling, and the whole thing is a great way to spend a few hours on a train, plane or beach.
Posted by se71 at February 20, 2007 09:45 AM
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