Book Reviews of The Darkest Evening of the Year

This book is truly a love story to Koontz's dog Trixie,who has passed.Mystery surrounds Amy,who is the founder of a Golden Rescue group.While this book is a bit thin on character development, since it is pretty much a 3 day slice of life, I will forgive.You never feel like you are missing anything,as the story moves so quickly.And above all, while this book may make you cry (if you care anything about dogs),it will leave you with a sense of hope and wonder.Which is exactly what he wants you to take from this experience.

I really loved this title, much more so than Mr. Koontz's last two releases, THE GOOD GUY and THE HUSBAND. Although this title follows in the same vein as regards to time (it only covers roughly 48-hours), it has characters who are easier to relate to and a chilling, supernatural-based storyline.

As the other reviewer mentions, it's a kind of memorial to Mr. Koontz's own Golden Retreiver, Trixie, who has passed away. In the book, a dog named Nickie is at the center of the story, along with the humans that she must protect.

This is an emotional thriller with some pretty messed-up bad guys, and if you like that type of story, you'll love this one, too!

I am not sure who gave the book a half a star here, but to me it was at least a 4. So good that I stayed awake to finish it all in one sitting. Dean Koontz is often called the Master of Suspense, and in this book he once again keeps you on your toes. The plot is slightly predictable, however his ability to make you laugh while dealing with the tragedy of human nature, make you smile while you are on one page and cringe when you are on the next,continues to make him one of my favorite authors. It isn't his best work. It isn't his most unique story either. But it is a sweet story of redemption and faith.

When my wife bought this book for me for Christmas, I thought it was about a non-fictional dog rescue organization that found homes for mistreated golden retrievers. What a surprise, while it did have the dog rescue org as a part of the story, it was so much more. It is Koontz at his best. I have read all of his novels and must say that this one ranks up there at the top. Don't pass this one up. You won't be able to put it down.

I read this book in one evening - it totally kept my interest. Not only was it a tribute to his beloved dog and a cry against animal cruelty, he also spoke of child abuse and domestic violence. Having both children and dogs I appreciated that. How anyone can abuse helpless children or animals is beyond the comprehension of any sane individual and I think Mr Koontz makes that view perfectly clear in this book.

This was a totally enjoyable read. I love Koontz but have been a bit disappointed in his last few books. This one was not disappointing! He has gone back to his supernatural twist and this book was great. The seemingly unrelated events that we follow lead to a very interesting climax, that while it is not totally a surprise, is interesting when it comes together.

A little hard to stay focused on this one for me. I like the plot and it has kept me guessing for the most part. I don't care for the way it seems to jump around from one thing to the next. That's just my opinion though. I rarely spend more than a week reading a book even with my hectic lifestyle. This one is taking me a lot longer than usual to read.

Finally finished the book and boy am I glad I stuck with it. The last five or so chapters were by far the best of the book!

Not one of Koontz's best. The plot is very loosely written, the onlt believable characters were the golden retrievers. The story requires more than his usual suspension of belief on the reader's part. The plot only holds together by wildly improbable coincidence and divine intervention.

This is not one of his best. I've always liked Koontz but he's getting more and more like Stephen King in that he wanders and doesn't always make connections.

It ended a little quickly for me, like a balloon suddenly unpinched and all the air let out, but otherwise this was a very engaging read. In the beginning I thought there might be a few too many characters and subplots, but they were all tied up nicely by the resolution. I've only read one of Koontz's books previously, and I do believe that this one outreached it. A quick read, it's a fine book with some true shining moments-- a great memorial piece to his own beloved dog.

I loved this book! I thought it was one of the best stories I've ever read by Dean Koontz. Although it's easy to figure out who the hero is going to be, I could not put the book down. It kept me turning the pages to see what would happen next. I really liked the story. The villans were so evil and the main characters really grabbed your heart. I highly recommend the book.

This is my first Koontz novel. If you're a dog lover you will love this book. I will read more of his books.

I enjoyed this book - i love dogs and my only wish was that it had more dog stuff and less of the 'bad, mean' people! It had suspense, it had mystery, pretty much all of the things you expect from Dean Koontz. it is a fast read, and keeps you interested in the story. I only wish the ending had more information, it ended quite abrubtly, and wrapped things up in a rushed way after investing so much time getting to know the people/dogs, i only wish it had more at the end in way of explanation. Dean Koontz is a master of good and evil, and this book is no exception.

Not my favorite Dean Koontz.

I can't start a Dean Koontz book unless I have several hours to spare. I have stayed up until dawn reading his books. Another great story told!

Not his best book-but still a very good read..

Oh, this was a very sweet book. I haven't read any of Koontz's novels recently, but this one struck me as very nice, much more wholesome than I remember his earlier books being. I loved that it was mostly about dogs - though it was a little sad that it was only Golden Retrievers - though it did make me think of Hannah. All in all, I really loved it. It made me teary-eyed, but still happy. From what I recall of his other books, I think I have enjoyed this one the most.

Koontz at his finest!

I love Koontz books and this was one of my favorites. You can really tell by the way he writes how much he loves dogs and how much goldens are special to him. This is a heartwarming and scary story... yes both... If you like scary or thriller books and are an animal lover.. read this one!

Personally, I thought it was terrible. Badly written, characters have lack of depth and are poorly developed, and the ending was so awful it made me mad. While it was fairly suspenseful, the bad things about the book really distracted me from any good. This was the first book I'd read of Koontz and I'm unlikely to read another.

As usual I like his books.

Amy Redwing is a survivor of a haunted and terribly violent marriage, and she has made a new name for herself. Her boyfriend, Brian is also haunted by his past.
One day Amy rescues a golden retreiver from a violent drunk. The goldens name is Nikki, just like Amy's dead child.
Meanwhile, Brian is getting threatening emails from his ex, Vanessa. Venessa uses their daughter against Brian and she hates the little girl she named Piggy.
Eventually everything comes to a head. The rescue mission for dogs, the little girl who needs a loving home, Brian getting her back and the sadistic Vanessa and her boyfriend.

Koontz's books are either great or just so so. Unfortunately I felt this book was on the lower end of his writing. It was a complete bore for the firt half of the book. After that it started finally to give you some key details about the characters that allowed him to quickly tie up the ending. Didn't seem well thought out..

You can tell that Koontz is missing his own dog, this seemed like a tribute. Entertaining, but the end sort of just "ended".

THIS IS NOT ONE OF MY FAVORITES,JUMPS AROUND TOO MUCH,KINDA HARD TO STAY FOCUS.

Didn't like how this book constantly jumped around, wasn't very suspenseful. One could practically guess the outcome. Seemed to take forever to get through.

Seemed like a very built up book that wasn't as good as it was made out to be.

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