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The Darkest Evening of the Year [Large Print] [Paperback]

Dean Koontz
3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
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Book Description

Nov 27 2007 Dean Koontz
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.


From the Hardcover edition.

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From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Set mostly in Southern California, this topnotch thriller from bestseller Koontz (The Good Guy) depicts with unabashed emotion and wit the magical powers of golden retrievers—in particular, a female named Nickie, who will stop at nothing to save innocent children and protect their guardians. Amy Redwing, the survivor of a horrifying marriage, establishes Golden Heart to rescue golden retrievers, rehabilitate the abused ones and find forever homes. A supernatural chain of events ensues after Amy and her architect boyfriend, Brian McCarthy, rescue Nickie during a violent intervention in a family dispute. Soon the pair are on a mission that leads to a transformative confrontation with a number of ugly characters—Gunther Schloss, a frustrated aspiring novelist turned killer-for-hire; Moonglow, a psychobitch in the Mommie Dearest league; and Moonglow's lover, Harrow, a self-obsessed sicko. This is the perfect book for thriller addicts who know the darkest hour is just before dawn and for canine lovers who remember dog spelled backwards is god. (Nov. 27)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"Silence of the Lambs meets Marley & Me."—People

"Compulsively readable...With a magician's expertise, Dean Koontz sets his multiple story lines spinning."—Boston Globe

[A] top-notch thriller...with unabashed emotion and wit...This is the perfect book for thriller addicts who know the darkest hour is just before the dawn, and for canine lovers."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Just barely into Koontz’s thriller, I understood why he’s a bookselling giant.”–Entertainment Weekly


From the Hardcover edition.

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Customer Reviews

Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars Dogs > people Sep 20 2012
By Chris
Format:Hardcover
Seemed like the best and worst of Dean Koontz in this book. The worst represented by Koontz's love letters to dogs; the best represented by his plotting. And the stuff about Piggy - heartbreaking. I loved the inclusion of the lighthouses! I want to visit one soon!
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By Pat the cat TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover
Oh my, what a great read...the suspense, the anticipation, the possible ramifications, the odd supernatural mood --- this book is put together so well. It's so different from the usual cat-and-mouse murder mystery or legal thriller. I'm slowly making my way through the top 10 books written by Dean Koontz -- a third of the way in, I think. The Darkest Evening of the Year will be hard to beat. I highly recommend it. Don't be deterred by the slow start of Part 1 in which the author introduces the various characters -- he cleverly gives you clues all along of what's to come. Part 2 makes you realize that you've been fooled in thinking that the plot was rather boring and going nowhere. By the time that I reached Part 3, I was quite literally sitting at the edge of my seat. The ending is tense and very well done. However, the conclusion (i.e., the very last chapter) was a bit much but, overall, it remains a great story. I'm glad to give it 5 stars out of 5 -- perfect marks!
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Obviously the other reviewer was expecting something totally different than what he got...which rather confuses me because while Dean Koontz is usually shelved in the horror section of book stores, his books are often only partly horror. The fact he picked the book up simply being an animal lover shows that he barely gave this book a chance in my opinion.

While not one of the more supernaturally involved books of Dean's, it is a great and twisty thriller, tying together many seemingly unconnectable people together into a life or death situation, along the way revealing hidden secrets and histories and atrocities (what happens to the main character alone is one of the more shocking things I've ever read in a Koontz book) and finding out along the way that all animals are precious and very special in their own ways.

He also manages to tie in quite a few gunfights as well and much backstabbing and double crossing between multiple bad guys (more so than The Husband had) and keeps you wondering exactly what will happen to everyone, and the end has a pretty interesting twist that will make most readers question their own humanity...or make you do what the other reviewer did...I suggest the close minded stay far away from this book.

While I much prefer his more supernatural other worldly books and planet wide catastrophes, this book is a very good read and will keep you very enthralled from beginning to end. If this is your first Koontz book, keep in mind a lot of his books are a lot weirder than this one :)
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Most recent customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorites.
I really enjoyed reading The Darkest evening of the Year. It has Koontz typical band of bizarre characters and mystic events. Read more
Published 23 months ago by J Roche
2.0 out of 5 stars UN-SCARY AND ULTIMATELY UNENJOYABLE
I read THE DARKEST EVENING OF THE YEAR for a book club challenge. although admittedly it had been sitting on my TBR shelf for a couple of years, I was happy to finally find a... Read more
Published on July 12 2010 by Buggy
4.0 out of 5 stars Great novel
The multiple story lines are great, it's the kind of book you can't stop reading until you reach the last page. It was touching. Read more
Published on Aug 5 2009 by F. Perron
2.0 out of 5 stars Will the real Dean Koontz please come back?
This book starts so well, with effective character development and an increasing expectation of the supernatural. Read more
Published on Jun 28 2009 by David S
3.0 out of 5 stars Great until the end.
The Darkest Evening of the Year had so much promise with every turned page. It had me spell bound wondering what would happen next and then all of a sudden it ended. Read more
Published on May 17 2009 by C. Lavallee
2.0 out of 5 stars Another weak ending
Dean Koontz is a supremely talented author, but I'm starting to think he needs someone else to write the last chapter. Read more
Published on Jan 12 2009 by Peter Marrier
2.0 out of 5 stars Weak and Ridiculous
Dean Koontz has put a Golden retriever as his canine heroine at the center of this novel. Nickie is a rescued dog with seemingly supernatural abilities to save children from harms... Read more
Published on Jan 2 2009 by Toni Osborne
2.0 out of 5 stars Waste of time and money
Ugh,
I'm sorry, but this book was total garbage. I've never read Dean Koontz before, but I'm an animal lover so I picked it up. Read more
Published on Dec 23 2007 by K. Vosper
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