The Husband
Audible Logo Your audiobook is waiting!
Enjoy a free trial on us
$0.00
  • Click above for unlimited listening to select audiobooks, Audible Originals, and podcasts.
  • One credit a month to pick any title from our entire premium selection — yours to keep (you'll use your first credit now).
  • You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
  • $14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel online anytime.
Learn more about membership
Sold and delivered by Audible, an Amazon company
List Price: $19.27
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible’s Conditions Of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice.
Sold and delivered by Audible, an Amazon company
Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs

The Husband Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Dean Koontz (Author), Holter Graham (Narrator), Random House Audio (Publisher)
See all formats and editions

With each and every new novel, Dean Koontz raises the stakes—and the pulse rate—higher than any other author. Now, in what may be his most suspenseful and heartfelt novel ever, he brings us the story of an ordinary man whose extraordinary commitment to his wife will take him on a harrowing journey of adventure, sacrifice, and redemption to the mystery of love itself—and to a showdown with the darkness that would destroy it forever.

What would you do for love? Would you die? Would you kill? We have your wife. You can get her back for two million cash. Landscaper Mitchell Rafferty thinks it must be some kind of joke. He was in the middle of planting impatiens in the yard of one of his clients when his cell phone rang. Now he’s standing in a normal suburban neighborhood on a bright summer day, having a phone conversation out of his darkest nightmare.

Whoever is on the other end of the line is dead serious. He has Mitch’s wife and he’s named the price for her safe return. The caller doesn’t care that Mitch runs a small two-man landscaping operation and has no way of raising such a vast sum. He’s confident that Mitch will find a way. If he loves his wife enough. . . Mitch does love her enough. He loves her more than life itself. He’s got seventy-two hours to prove it. He has to find the two million by then. But he’ll pay a lot more. He’ll pay anything.

From its tense opening to its shattering climax, The Husband is a thriller that will hold you in its relentless grip for every twist, every shock, every revelation…until it lets you go, unmistakably changed. This is a Dean Koontz novel, after all. And there’s no other experience quite like it.

Previous page
  1. Listening Length
    9 hours and 29 minutes
  2. Author
    Dean Koontz
  3. Narrator
    Holter Graham
  4. Audible release date
    May 24, 2006
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Random House Audio
  7. ASIN
    B000FWHV0A
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
Next page
  Report an issue with this product or seller

Read & Listen

Switch between reading the Kindle book & listening to the Audible audiobook with Whispersync for Voice.
Get the Audible audiobook for the reduced price of $8.99 after you buy the Kindle book.

Product details

Listening Length 9 hours and 29 minutes
Author Dean Koontz
Narrator Holter Graham
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com Release Date May 24, 2006
Publisher Random House Audio
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B000FWHV0A
Best Sellers Rank #49,181 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#256 in Psychological Fiction (Audible Books & Originals)
#1,260 in Psychological Thrillers (Audible Books & Originals)
#3,836 in Suspense (Audible Books & Originals)

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
2,643 global ratings
Good read! Koontz is one of the best authors!
5 Stars
Good read! Koontz is one of the best authors!
Hide
Thank you for your feedback
Sorry, there was an error
Sorry we couldn't load the review

Top reviews from the United States

David Dube
5.0 out of 5 stars Fast-Paced Crime Thriller with an Interesting Twist
Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2012
Verified Purchase
See, the thing about Dean Koontz is that he has a very large vocabulary, as well as immense powers of description. And he's not afraid to use either of those talents. This makes his stories very rich, but also very challenging. Thankfully, however, once the story gets going this gets easier to deal with.

And his stories, or at least the ones I've read, are always very compelling and original, if somewhat offbeat, dark, bizarre and odd. Perhaps it's precisely that oddity and darkness that makes his stories so compelling.

In any case, in this story he revisited a familiar theme present in many of his other works- that of family dysfunction. Reading his stories often makes me very appreciative of the family I have. In this particular story the dysfunction centered mostly around greed and betrayal, with the bad behaviors taking place between brothers. Actually, the evil deeds were done by one brother, and his cohorts, with the other brother reacting in an incredibly resourceful, intelligent, courageous and admirable way. This resourceful character theme is also a recurring one in many of his stories. I like to believe that I would behave in such a courageous and intelligent manner as this, if I found myself caught in such a difficult predicament, but I probably wouldn't.

That's interesting enough, but when you add in the theme about money, where one brother is willing to do some interesting things for the sake of the almighty dollar, well, that just adds fuel to the fire, or, rather, momentum to the story.

In closing, I'd just like to say that I choose to believe that there is only a small segment of the population that is as deviant as many of Koontz's characters are. Am I living in a bubble? Maybe. But I sure hope not.
14 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Sarah Kaley
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, sure.
Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2006
Verified Purchase
Mr. Koontz is on my top 5 list of best authors. He is undoubtedly best at relieving to us that evening the worst case scenario, can be turned into something jaw dropping awful. He can develop his characters throughout the story and does very well at description.

One thing he is not good at, is endings.

The Husband is about a young man who leads a simple life. As gardener, Mitch, the main character, lives in a quite neighborhood with his wife. On a particular day, where the book begins, he receives a call telling him that his wife has been kidnapped and it will be 2million to ransom her.

The entire book is from that point until the next day.

Koontz did an excellent job at dialogue and the actions of the characters. I was drawn in completely during the middle of the book. Mitch's life is forever changed through many events that take place here on. But his love for his wife is what drives him forward. A very realistic and understandable motive.

The ending.

After reading Velocity, which had such a high powered, climaxed ending, I was sorely disappointed at this one.

I honestly could have put the book down after so and so chapter and be just as content. The ending was not thrilling and the main climax of the story was already over before the end.

And that is why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5.

Though, the characters were believable and the main plot was understandable, I did enjoy this book. I read many chapter in class and was thoroughly interested. It kept my attention and I understood everything that was taking place.

A wonderful Koontz novel to add to my collection.
4 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Jason
5.0 out of 5 stars Stellar
Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2006
Verified Purchase
Wow, what a book. Where can one even being to start in reviewing this book? From the opening the book draws you in, and doesn't begin to let up. From the incredulous opening in which the lead receives a chilling phone call, and watches in horror as a man is executed in front of his eyes, while still coming to terms when not one minute ago, he just learned his wife had been kidnapped, and he is somehow expected to get two million dollars to pay for her freedom.

The story is as much as a page turning thriller as it is a showcase of how ones love can drive someone to do anything, and overcome any odds. The character development is astounding. I've read Dean Koontz books before this one, I watched Amazon's new fishbowl show, and he was one there showcasing his new book, and when he gave the plot line--which I'm sure your aware of--was enough to sell me.

Soon as the book came, I held off until the next day to read it (today), because I knew I would be up all night, and indeed I would have been. I read it all the way through today, nonstop. It was amazing, I felt spellbound. This is a book to be read. Do not miss it! I plan on re-reading it soon when I get the time to enjoy it again. The authors prose is amazing, so gripping and thrilling, all I can say is READ THIS NOW!
6 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Cathryn A Hibbs
5.0 out of 5 stars CH
Reviewed in the United States on June 23, 2023
Verified Purchase
Have been reading Dean Koontz off and on for years. Now that I have time I am back filling the gaps. His stories never disappoint. There is always a ‘catch’ either heart warming or scary thrilling.
2 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Kindle Customer
3.0 out of 5 stars ok
Reviewed in the United States on October 9, 2023
Verified Purchase
Plot is familiar. Good man pushed to desperation. There was a twist or two but overall pretty much standard formula. Two things bothered me. First is how the author put Mitch in multiple situations theta seemed impossible to get out of. Even having him commit multiple crimes and when it was over there was no real explanation on how things were cleared up. I know it is fiction. But come on.
Second Mitch and Holly are too perfect and it gives them a bland cookie cutter existence. Several other characters feel like cliched.

The plot starts and stops a lot. I found myself skimming some. The ending is abrupt.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Marsha Newman
4.0 out of 5 stars Good read but no explanation to how he managed to stay out of trouble
Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2023
Verified Purchase
The book was awesome up until the end. You didn’t tie up the loose ends. For instance how did Mitch keep from going to jail, etc.? Did they manage to keep the money?? It reminded me of a fantasy ending, like you didn’t know how to unravel his predicament so you quickly ended it. What happened to Mitch for assaulting an officer? Otherwise pretty good. Especially if you believe the police are worthless in Southern California. Starts off with quite a bang only to come to a mere fizzle at the end.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Valerie G.
5.0 out of 5 stars You can't stop reading....
Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2023
Verified Purchase
I have read all of Dean Koontz books, except the 1960's and some of the '70's. This is one of the ones, you can't stop reading.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
Abhishek Kumar
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent.
Reviewed in India on December 30, 2022
Verified Purchase
A good plot and good characters make this book a good read and i had trouble to put it down.
Report
Robin Sen
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book to read
Reviewed in Canada on May 3, 2019
Verified Purchase
Great book. Lot of surprises and intense.
Report
Susana Chassinat
5.0 out of 5 stars LE MARI - DEAN KOONTZ
Reviewed in France on January 30, 2015
Verified Purchase
Toujours aussi satisfaite par un ouvrage de Dean Koontz.
Je recommande à tous ceux qui aiment les intrigues bien menées et
le suspens garanti du début jusqu'à la fin...
Sans oublier les nombreux et époustouflants rebondissements !..
Très bon livre !..
Report
TEC
5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping, fantastic...it's Dean Koontz!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 14, 2010
Verified Purchase
Very much a fan of Dean Koontz and have not really ever been disappointed with any of his books. Whilst this one is not top of my list, I did thoroughly enjoy it, reading it quicker than most books, and found it gripped me throughout.
Report
マヨ
4.0 out of 5 stars ジェットコースター小説
Reviewed in Japan on September 8, 2007
Verified Purchase
妻を誘拐した。６０時間以内に200万ドル用意しろ。
平凡な人生を送ってきた平凡な庭師にとっては、あまりに法外な要求。
しかし、途方に暮れる暇もなく、事態は急展開で進む。

どうやって、身代金を用意するのか、なぜ犯人は主人公を選んだのか、
ものすごい謎を突きつけて、その答えは以外に早く明かされる。
サスペンス・スリラーではありますが、冒険小説の要素が強いかもしれません。
クーンツの王道である、猟奇、オカルト的なものとはちょっと趣の異なる小説です。

400ページ強の中に、予期せぬ展開が、ざっと20くらい織り込まれていて、
ちょっと読み進むたびにショックの連続。一気に読むと少々疲れるかもしれません。
通勤電車でちょっとずつ読むわたしに取っては、ちょうどいい感じでした。
2 people found this helpful
 Report