‘Husband’ not typical Koontz but it’s still good for summer read

“The Husband”

by Dean Koontz (Bantam, 416 pages, $27)

We’ve all seen those movie thrillers where the decent rich guy (Harrison Ford or Michael Douglas) gets blackmailed by villains who kidnap his gorgeous wife or his adorable child. They hold poor Molly hostage under threat of a horrible death, and Decent Rich Guy has something like six hours to pay millions in ransom, or the wife or kid is toast.

Some cynical, veteran police detective gets wind of the disappeared wife or kid and thinks Decent Rich Guy is the villain. Our hero, meanwhile, turns into Bruce Willis as he stays one step ahead of the cynical veteran cop, tries to outwit the black hats and rescues his beloved Molly.

Of course, he succeeds despite many whacks, twists and betrayals, or this wouldn’t be a movie thriller.

Dean Koontz’s new novel, “The Husband,” is just such a tale in hardcover format.

In this case, the hapless Molly is named Holly, and she is pretty, practically perfect and (just to up the ante) probably pregnant with our hero’s baby. The villains want $2 million, cash, within 60 hours or Holly will be mutilated, tortured and killed.

Our hero adores Holly and would do anything to get her back. He is, however, not a rich guy. He’s an ordinary landscaper named Mitch Rafferty, who would have trouble scraping up $30,000 cash, never mind $2 million. Come to think of it, though, Mitch has this very rich, clever brother named Anson …

“The Husband” is not vintage Dean Koontz in the supernatural-fantasy vein of “Watchers” or “Lightning.” Nor is it quite up there with his more notable recent efforts, such as “Odd Thomas.”

In other words, it’s no breakout book. It is, however, perfectly serviceable vacation reading that will keep dedicated Koontz fans happy until next time out.

While Holly and Mitch are standard-issue reluctant heroes, “The Husband” does feature one of Mr. Koontz’s creepier villains: a hairless weirdo named Jimmy Null, who is bizarrely fixated on New Mexico, magical realism and Catholic religious imagery.

Suffice to say that if you read “The Husband,” you will never again hear anyone ask, “Have you ever been to New Mexico?” in quite the same, presumably innocent, way.