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| The Darkest Evening of the Year | 
 enlarge | Author: Dean Koontz
Publisher: Bantam
Category: Book
Buy Used: $3.96
Used (5) from $3.96
Avg. Customer Rating:  233 reviews
Sales Rank: 3637124
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 480
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7 x 4.2 x 1
ISBN: 0553592033
EAN: 9780553592030
ASIN: 0553592033
Publication Date: October 21, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 I wonder if Ellen Degeneres will read Koontz' latest November 27, 2007
24 out of 30 found this review helpful
Dean Koontz has, for years, posed with his dog in his author photos, so I guess it's no surprise that he features a canine 'protagonist' in his new book. Koontz has also, for years, been inaccurately (in my opinion) characterized as a 'horror' author, being mostly compared to Stephen King, even though he's long since moved on from those types of novels. He now concentrates more on building characters you care about, humanizing even the most minor of them, and letting the suspense and the story build from their motivations and backgrounds. In 'The Darkest Evening of the Year', Koontz does the same for Nickie, a rescued golden retriever with seemingly supernatural abilities to save children from harm. When the dog's new owner, an animal rescue advocate named Amy Redwing, is stalked by predators that may be connected to her tragic past, Nickie is up to her paws in danger trying to protect her protector. 'The Darkest Evening of the Year' is an exciting and emotional thriller with a heart of gold (or maybe the heart of a golden retriever called Nickie.)
Also recommended: A Stranger Lies There- the Editorial Review at the other major online bookseller gave this book 'two thumbs way up', calling it 'an appealing blend of SoCal noir and psychological suspense ala DEAN KOONTZ.' I agree.
I've come to expect more from Koontz than this delivered... December 29, 2007
23 out of 29 found this review helpful
I normally like the stuff that Dean Koontz puts out. But his latest, The Darkest Evening Of The Year, seems to be lacking that normal Koontz flair. It's not necessarily a bad read, but it almost seemed like Koontz was trying to do a tribute to a lost pet of his own... Perhaps there's some of that there, but I haven't read any of his background on the book, so I don't know if that's the case or not...
The main character, Amy Redwing, lives for her rescue activities for golden retrievers. She ends up with Nickie, a dog she "purchased" during a family/animal abuse confrontation. Nickie seems to have special meaning, however. There are things from Amy's background that make her think this is an animal sent from her past to help her through some upcoming crisis. Brian McCarthy is her boyfriend, someone who doesn't totally share Amy's commitment to the dogs, but loves them (and her) all the same. Nickie also affects him in a bizarre way, causing dreams to take on a realistic quality. The trouble that both of them are moving towards involve two people from their past who have taken things from them that they held dear. These two mystery people are now lovers, and their plan is to eliminate both Amy and Brian in one climatic event that will erase their pasts and satisfy a bloodlust that they both possess...
So why didn't I find this book up to par? For one, the dog angle is overwhelming. The back cover of the book has a picture of Koontz with his retriever, and the dedication makes me think that this dog recently died. If that's the case, I can understand Koontz writing the book from this angle to pay homage to the pet. Fine, but it seemed to be a bit overkill. The normal writing style that Koontz has with turning a phrase seemed to be absent in large part. I saw brief periods where he was hitting on all cylinders, but most of the book wasn't up to his normal standards. And the plotline with the two people from the past was really confusing at the first, and it took about half of the book before the two very divergent stories started to intersect in any meaningful way. I think I would have cared a bit more had I known earlier on *why* people were digging into Amy's past. As it was, I felt as if I was just waiting for the chapter where I would finally understand why (and care why) these things were happening.
With a different author, I'd probably give this a bit of a higher rating. But knowing what Koontz is capable of, The Darkest Evening wasn't quite what I was expecting from him...
 Gahhhh!! December 1, 2007
18 out of 46 found this review helpful
Dean Koontz used to be amazing I read his first 20-25 books and then suddenly he found god, or perhaps just started using god in his novels. now, for the past 10 years or so, it seems every book has a character that begins by doubting god and then realizes by the end that blahblahblah you get the picture. Let's not forget that he has to put a lame golden retriever in EVERY BOOK as a central character. He goes on and on about how "noble" and "intelligent" it is until you just want to puke.
We get it, Dean, you're christian and you love golden retrievers, but give it a rest already. Oh, and the books are trite, hackneyed, predictable, yawners now, too. Super.
Very lame, very disappointing January 6, 2008
17 out of 20 found this review helpful
I am in shock that this book has Dean Koontz's name on because I think someone else must have written it and then blackmailed him somehow into lending his name to it. So much is wrong about the book. There are no likable characters and in fact the 2 main characters, Amy & Brian seem identical to recent novels of his, only their names are changed. Amy the lead character is especially nauseating as a wise-cracking and extremely caring woman with a unknown past.
The whole thing about the "goldens" got to be very repetitive and boring and even a dog lover like myself got sick of them. Throw in some evil characters and then Koontz's creation of a charmer of a Down Syndrome child that has beeen mistreated just goes way over the top....and sinks fast!
The only reason I read this book all the way through was because I had to see if the entire book had anything worthy about it, so I was compelled to stay until the end. I still cannot believe that Koontz wrote this and as one who has read the majority of his books since the very first one, I am very very disappointed.
What a STUPID book! January 3, 2008
16 out of 24 found this review helpful
I used to read Koontz books. I really enjoyed his earlier work. I haven't read him in a long time because I didn't like his recent books. I decided to try this book.
I lasted 70 pages before I gave up. The story is so absolutely ridiculous and boring, I couldn't take it any more. Even for a suspense story there was nothing to make me want to read more. Everything from a woman who pays $2000 to resuce a dog at an abusive household, a girl who sings in Celtic song but doesn't talk ( huh?), Moongirl (are you kidding?) and her buddy setting fire to things... it was just crazy.
The writing is poorly done, bouncing from character story (dog rescuer) to a different character (Moongirl) story. There was no flow.
Don't waste your time on this one.
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