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rockysoap's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Animal cruelty, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
melancholicwool's review against another edition
2.0
It was enjoyable enough, but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone or spend money on it
thauf335's review against another edition
4.0
You never know what you're going to get with Koontz. Like how he mixes the ordinary depravity of people's minds with the fantastical.
tekchic's review against another edition
4.0
If you're a dog lover, this book is definitely a great read. Dean Koontz is a masterful thrill writer, and his books are always in the "couldn't put it down" category. The Darkest Evening of the Year does not disappoint.
literaryvaleriee's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed how he tied all the characters together. The abuse was hard to stomach but it really wrapped up well.
I love the descriptions of the dogs and the way that the main character helped and bonded with them.
I love the descriptions of the dogs and the way that the main character helped and bonded with them.
psychobillygrrl's review against another edition
3.0
I think this was one of the books I bought for Ron for his birthday or Christmas last year. He said he liked it, but when I told him I got it on CD from the library, he didn't remember a lot of details about it, which is unusual for him.
The story goes like this: Amy Redwing is a golden retriever enthusiast who founded her own rescue and is dating an architect named Brian. Amy and Brian rescue a dog named Nicky who seems to be more than just a dog. When they're around Nicky (or in Brian's case, when he even thinks about her), they feel hope and calm. They're also unnerved by things like realistic dreams, phone calls from dead people and creepy stuff whispered by autistic girls. The real "horror" element starts when we meet Amy's and Brian's exes, who have teamed up as a couple themselves. The two are unbelievably evil and have custody of Brian's 10-year-old Downs Syndrome daughter.
When I say "unbelievably evil," I mean it is stretching the plot to put these two in the same book together. The man is a big-time criminal of the sort who kills everybody who knows anything about his business. And yet he kept Amy in a comfortable life for four or five years before trying to kill her. Seems unlikely. And the woman is a blood-thirsty arsonist who hates her child, yet has refrained from beating or giving up the kid for 10 years. Also unlikely.
Speaking of unlikely, the hardest thing to believe in the whole book is the part where Amy BUYS TWO DOGS FROM A BREEDER. Amy, who is up to her eyeballs in rescues, owns only 2 dogs at the start of the book and neither were rescues?? Even if it was a little while before she founded her rescue, anyone that crazy about helping out abandoned and abused dogs is not going to buy her own pets from a breeder and then dedicate her life to finding homes for other dogs.
One more thing that rubbed me the wrong way in this otherwise-good novel was an overdose of alliteration. At a guess, at least half the sentences in the book contain two words in a row that start with the same sound. Once I noticed it, the constant alliteration became really distracting.
Oh and. The title has nothing to do with the plot.
The story goes like this: Amy Redwing is a golden retriever enthusiast who founded her own rescue and is dating an architect named Brian. Amy and Brian rescue a dog named Nicky who seems to be more than just a dog. When they're around Nicky (or in Brian's case, when he even thinks about her), they feel hope and calm. They're also unnerved by things like realistic dreams, phone calls from dead people and creepy stuff whispered by autistic girls. The real "horror" element starts when we meet Amy's and Brian's exes, who have teamed up as a couple themselves. The two are unbelievably evil and have custody of Brian's 10-year-old Downs Syndrome daughter.
When I say "unbelievably evil," I mean it is stretching the plot to put these two in the same book together. The man is a big-time criminal of the sort who kills everybody who knows anything about his business. And yet he kept Amy in a comfortable life for four or five years before trying to kill her. Seems unlikely. And the woman is a blood-thirsty arsonist who hates her child, yet has refrained from beating or giving up the kid for 10 years. Also unlikely.
Speaking of unlikely, the hardest thing to believe in the whole book is the part where Amy BUYS TWO DOGS FROM A BREEDER. Amy, who is up to her eyeballs in rescues, owns only 2 dogs at the start of the book and neither were rescues?? Even if it was a little while before she founded her rescue, anyone that crazy about helping out abandoned and abused dogs is not going to buy her own pets from a breeder and then dedicate her life to finding homes for other dogs.
One more thing that rubbed me the wrong way in this otherwise-good novel was an overdose of alliteration. At a guess, at least half the sentences in the book contain two words in a row that start with the same sound. Once I noticed it, the constant alliteration became really distracting.
Oh and. The title has nothing to do with the plot.
kimresh's review against another edition
1.0
I stopped reading Dean Koontz a while ago and this book did not inspire me to follow his work in the future. It is simply awful and once again I thought I would love it because one of the main characters is a dog...I was wrong.
donnachadh's review against another edition
EDITORIAL REVIEW: 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.
roguebronco's review against another edition
4.0
I found this to be a very enjoyable book, perhaps because I am a dog lover. If this book didn't have a cover on it, I wouldn't guess it was written by Dean Koontz. I would say there is a little of his usual mystery and dark is in this novel, but at the same time so much "hope" in a sea filled with sorrow. I really enjoyed this book and am anxious to read Koontz's next book.