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| The Darkest Evening of the Year | 
 enlarge | Author: Dean Koontz
Publisher: Bantam
Category: Book
List Price: $27.00
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Avg. Customer Rating:  207 reviews
Sales Rank: 3934
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 368
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.6
ISBN: 0553804820
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780553804829
ASIN: 0553804820
Publication Date: November 27, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Thank you for shopping at Wabash Valley Books.
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Amazon.com Review
Amazon.com Exclusive:
The Darkest Ice Cream of the Year by Dean Koontz I once said writing a novel is sometimes like making love and sometimes like having a tooth pulled--and sometimes like making love while having a tooth pulled. I arrived at one of those joyful yet excruciating moments while working on The Darkest Evening of the Year. Because I am obsessive about the revision of each page--the word fussbudget is embarrassingly apt when I am brooding over whether to use a comma or a semicolon--I have more than once held on to a manuscript until the drop-dead date for delivery. When that date rolled around for this book, I had written everything, but I was unwilling to send all of it to my editor. I withheld the last fifty pages for another four days, causing a quiet panic in those at my publishing house who are responsible for meeting production deadlines. Although the book was done, I felt that something was wrong with Chapter 63. The action worked, the characters were in character, the mood was sustained...but something felt wrong with it, some fine point of the villain's motivation. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, I worked 12-hour days, trying to identify the source of my doubt, but couldn't specify it to my satisfaction. Nothing like this had ever happened to me. Previously, my worst struggles with a story had come in the first two-thirds, and the final third had been, if not a sweet swift toboggan run, at least a sleigh ride. Sunday, I got up at 6:00 and set to work, revising, looking for the thorn I could feel but couldn't see--and ended up working 22 hours, eating at my desk, before tumbling to the problem at 4:00 a.m. Monday morning. "Eureka!" I cried, but I was so weary and my voice was so weak that my shout of jubilation came out as a squeak. The revisions required to Chapter 63 were minor, but after working 58 hours in four days, after having passed a night without sleep, I was unable to focus sharply enough to get them done in the little time that remained before the production schedule would be derailed. In desperation, I turned to that source of creative energy and literary enlightenment that is without equal: ice cream. I shuffled to the kitchen and snared a Dreyer's Slow-Churned Vanilla Almond Crunch bar from the freezer. I devoured this sweet-and-creamy muse, and felt the scales lift from my eyes; inspiration sparkled between my ears. I finished the revisions and e-mailed the final version of Chapter 63 to my editor with not a minute to spare. Although the American Heart Association will take issue with me, my advice to young writers stuck on a scene is to stop worrying about your arteries and give your wheel-spinning imagination what it needs to find traction: a tasty shot of fat and sugar. --Dean Koontz, October 2007
Product Description
With each of his #1 New York Times bestsellers, Dean Koontz has displayed an unparalleled ability to entertain and enlighten readers with novels that capture the essence of our times even as they bring us to the edge of our seats. Now he delivers a heart-gripping tour de force he’s been waiting years to write, at once a love story, a thrilling adventure, and a masterwork of suspense that redefines the boundaries of primal fear—and of enduring devotion.
Amy Redwing has dedicated her life to the southern California organization she founded to rescue abandoned and endangered golden retrievers. Among dog lovers, she’s a legend for the risks she’ll take to save an animal from abuse. Among her friends, Amy’s heedless devotion is often cause for concern. To widower Brian McCarthy, whose commitment she can’t allow herself to return, Amy’s behavior is far more puzzling and hides a shattering secret.
No one is surprised when Amy risks her life to save Nickie, nor when she takes the female golden into her home. The bond between Amy and Nickie is immediate and uncanny. Even her two other goldens, Fred and Ethel, recognize Nickie as special, a natural alpha. But the instant joy Nickie brings is shadowed by a series of eerie incidents. An ominous stranger. A mysterious home invasion.
And the unmistakable sense that someone is watching Amy’s every move and that, whoever it is, he’s not alone.
Someone has come back to turn Amy into the desperate, hunted creature she’s always been there to save. But now there’s no one to save Amy and those she loves. From its breathtaking opening scene to its shocking climax, The Darkest Evening of the Year is Dean Koontz at his finest, a transcendent thriller certain to have readers turning pages until dawn.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 202 more reviews...
 A Thriller with Heart November 28, 2007
246 out of 271 found this review helpful
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R1ZLRZIOJQ5KR9 Amy Redwing operates Golden Heart, a Golden Retriever rescue service, that brings her to the home of abused housewife and mother Janet Brockman. Amy and her close friend Brian McCarthy rescue Janet, her two kids, and their retriever Nicki from Janet's abusive husband. Immediately, Amy recognizes a seemingly supernatural connection with Nicki, the golden retriever.
And soon thereafter, Amy discovers that she is being followed.
The power of this novel lies in the genuine compassion that Dean Koontz exhibits through Amy and her love for and near obsession to rescue both people and dogs from abuse and neglect.
If there's a weakness to this novel it's that Amy can come across as unintentionally self-righteous and holier than thou.
Regardless, it's clear that Dean Koontz is a mature writer, and his desire to bring together the suspense-writing strengths of his early career with matters close to his heart are on full display in The Darkest Evening of the Year.
This novel contains a couple of plot twists that are really, really cool, and the textured layers of the characters, their multiple names and the depths of their backgrounds indicate that Koontz is onto something profound in this novel.... namely the existence of a soul and how that soul transmits through multiple lives.
This is a profound novel from a writer who has mastered the elements of suspense, and I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Stacey Cochran
Author of The Colorado Sequence
 Dean - where are you? November 28, 2007
51 out of 70 found this review helpful
Let me preface by stating that I have been a huge Dean Koontz fan since the beginning of his career --- way back to his Sci-Fi start in the early 1970's and through his many pseudonyms --- right through his professional peak in the 1980's and 1990's. That being said, I cannot explain what happened to the Dean Koontz I know and love. Somewhere around the turn of the new millennium, Mr. Koontz's fictional voice and tone shifted away from the thrillers and sci-fi adventures that marked his greatest success to that of "new age spirituality" that transgresses nearly all of his recent work.
In my opinion, the true Dean Koontz was last seen in 2000 with the fantastic thriller - "FALSE MEMORY". Since then we have been subjected to his "spiritual" novels - "LIFE EXPECTANCY" (2004), "BY THE LIGHT OF THE MOON" (2003), "ONE DOOR AWAY FROM HEAVEN" (2002) & "FROM THE CORNER OF HIS EYE" (2001); the underachieving "Odd" series - "BROTHER ODD" (2007), "FOREVER ODD" (2005) & "ODD THOMAS" (2003); and three novels so close in their content that they are interchangeable - "THE GOOD GUY" (2007), "THE HUSBAND (2006) & "VELOCITY" (2005). The only exception is the pure horror novel, "THE TAKING" (2004), which I can only gather must have been an old novel not previously released.
On to "THE DARKEST EVENING OF THE YEAR". The basic premise of this story involves Amy Redwing, professional dog rescuer, and her architect boyfriend, Brian McCarthy. They are on the verge of taking their relationship to the next step, but both seem troubled by past demons that they are unsure of how to exorcise. Brian has "visions" that come out through drawings he creates while in a trancelike state (none of which are ever delved into deeply in this novel) while Amy focuses on saving dogs in danger. Brian accompanies Amy on a rescue that turns particularly tense. The result of this effort is Amy taking in a third golden retriever, this one a mysterious female named
Nickie. Does Nickie have magical powers? Is she the reincarnated spirit of Amy's long
dead daughter (also named Nickie)? None of these questions are answered satisfactorily by the end of this book. As in most Koontz novels, good cannot exist without evil. To that end, the embodiments of evil in this novel are "Harrow" (Amy's evil ex), "Moongirl" (Brian's evil ex) and an unstoppable hit-man who goes by many names. I almost forgot, Harrow and Moongirl are secretly keeping and torturing Moongirl and Brian's Downs-syndrome daughter, fondly referred to as "Piggy". Ugh!
What transpires is a mess of ultra-small chapters --- none of which are more than 4 or 5 pages long --- that are intended to keep the reader turning the pages furiously. It's almost as if Koontz had been possessed by the master of the short, unsatisfying chapters - James Patterson. The stories of animal rescue are the only saving grace here. If you are a dog or animal lover you will definitely relate to the keen details provided. As for the "human" characters in this novel - none are sketched out well and are paper-thin as a result. The "good" characters are all "too good" and their tale is similar to a sappy Hallmark Hall-Of-Fame TV movie. The "evil" characters, while given much of the novel's focus, are dispatched of so quickly at the end of the book you would think the author was in a rush to get this manuscript to his publisher. Also, the book's title is never explained or symbolically linked to anything more than a few Robert Frost quotes in the Section headings and one characters fear of the dark.
Being such a long-time reader of Dean Koontz, I always got a kick out of the themes that ran through much of his works --- like the remarkable dogs --- "Watchers", anyone? Other than that theme, "THE DARKEST EVENING OF THE YEAR" departs from all the themes and power that drove the many exceptional Dean Koontz thrillers I have read over the years. If I wanted to read heart-warming animal rescue tales I would pick up a James Herriot novel. Will the real Dean Koontz please stand up?!?!
Disappointing December 9, 2007
47 out of 68 found this review helpful
Dedicated to the cause of dog rescue, Amy Redwing risks everything, including her relationship with long-time suitor Brian McCarthy and her own well-being, to come to the aid of Nickie, a very special golden retriever, unaware that she has drawn the attentions of an unknown and ruthless enemy whose attacks escalate with stunning ferocity. BT.
The great writing style and prose is quite evident in this latest Koontz novel. That's the good part.
This is not his best novel. I found it to be a bit boring and a bit preachy. I get it, you like dogs. Dogs, dogs, dogs, action. The ending is terrible. This is not the kind of Dean Koontz I like to read. Bring back the old.
Brought to light with Gold! December 3, 2007
36 out of 52 found this review helpful
Each time I am in possession of a Dean Koontz book, I am excited like a child at Christmas awaiting the opening of a gift. This book was such a treat. Not far into the book I sat back, smiled and sighed very contentedly--knowing this was going to be a gem of a tale--he was already describing, with tender understanding, a subject dear to my heart--He was writing about Goldens.
As with other of his books, Dean Koontz weaves the words as if magic interlaced each sentence. And with a keen knowledge gained only from personal experience of the mysteries of life, the author describes the wondrous and how it can influence our lives.
Goldens are like the brightest star, blazing through the darkness of night, and they are like a sun that outshines the day. They burn so intensely, so brightly. And for some, that blaze is for only a short time on this planet. Well, at least they get to spend more time in Heaven if their stay here is not as long as we'd like it to be. In nature there must always be a balance. Perhaps their stay is weighed with the goodness that fills them. It is said one cannot get enough of a good thing--Goldens are that good thing to me.
I think our furry family members have the capacity for deep compassion, love, and concern for beings of all types, human and otherwise. I believe it goes beyond human understanding--because what they give comes from a heart that is pure, a spirit that is guileless, and a soul that operates on a level higher than anything close to human.
I am convinced Goldens unfurl their wings when we are not looking. Have you ever noticed an expression they have, especially when they smile, that gives hint to something wondrous and grand? As if they have the most incredible gift they are hiding behind their back but you can tell they want so very much to show you what it is. Well, when I see that expression I could swear I feel the flutter of their wings in my heart.
Dogs can touch and mold our hearts, our spirits, and our minds. And in so doing they bring us a little bit closer to embracing, within ourselves, the goodness they are. Which is grander than any concept of humanity.
***
Five years ago, when I was resting on the couch, tired from chemo, my golden retriever Tawny, climbed up and gently laid her body over mine--an action she had never done before, nor since. She felt weightless, surprising, considering she weighed 55 pounds. It was late at night and I was weary and drowsy. Before I fell asleep something wondrous occurred. Her Golden spirit filled me, unselfishly. And I believe she did this, to the brink of depleting her life's energy, to help heal me. Tawny was my Golden Fleece and I thank her and the Creator for the blessing it is to share my life with her.
Thank you for supporting Golden Rescue. And for writing such an enthralling book. I was spellbound from the beginning, to the last page.
 I wonder if Ellen Degeneres will read Koontz' latest November 27, 2007
23 out of 28 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.
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