Book Review: The Darkest Evening of the Year by Dean Koontz
Author: Dean Koontz
Book: The Darkest Evening of the Year
Genre: Horror/Suspense/Thriller
Julia Rating: 9
Comments: I have to make an admission to start out with. I’ve never read Dean Koontz before horror month, so if I am missing some kind of a theme (aside from an affinity for golden retrievers) that is obvious to his long-time readers, please let me know.
I really liked The Darkest Evening of the Year, but from the beginning to about half way through it reminded me of an evaluation my boyfriend gave one of my short stories: “You got confused there in the middle, but you made it in the end”. At the beginning of this book, Koontz introduces several major characters: the mysterious but lovable Amy Redwing, the boyfriend – Brian McCarthy, Nickie the golden retriever and a mysterious person introduced as Moongirl. It takes a while for you to realize that they all have something to do with each other. Maybe I’m just slow – and I don’t think I am – but the story didn’t delineate what was important and what wasn’t at the beginning.
Later in the book you find Amy Redwing has a history. She currently saves golden retrievers, but she once was a young orphan raised by Catholics and has even had a relationship with a man before Brian – the boyfriend. Boyfriend Brian also has baggage, and once that is explained, the connections make sense. Nickie the golden retriever also seems to have a history – supernatural though it is.
I think the other problem I had with this book is that Moongirl is such a cruel b**** that I could hardly read the sections with her. You just want to take a knife to her and save everyone else the trouble. That’s a good thing, of course, because it means Mr. Koontz did fantastic characterization and made a true villain, but it was hard to read.
All in all I recommend The Darkest Evening of the Year. If you’d like to purchase The book through Amazon, buy it here, via my blog. Since I don’t get paid to do this, each purchase from Amazon helps me spend more time reviewing books for you!