MC is male,, and a terrible husband,, keeping his wife at bay constantly. The guy he works withinstead is an accused serial rapist with some questionable history..
The virus in the book kills you via heart attack, keeps the supernatural elements more minor.
Rather than having Sadako as the killer, the book reveals the deaths are caused by a digitally transmitted smallpox virus that mixed with Sadakos psychic powers and pure hate when she was killed.
The hatred, meanwhile, is because the last man in the country with smallpox kills her out if disgust after trying to rape her and finding out she's intersex.
There'sno phone call in the book, instead the tape ends with a message that you will die in 7 says, ending with unless...and a final message on how to avoid the virus curse, except that final bit was taped over before the start of the book.
And most notably, the book is utter garbage compared to the movie.