The Darkest Evening of the Year

I had never heard of Koontz until my wife said to me that my work had huge similarities. She is an avid horror reader, I am not – and to be honest I had always preferred films.

If I was going to have my first novel pigeon-holed then this is where she felt it would sit. It was her finding of the onslaught of vulgarity in my own text (of my killer’s rantings) that drew these similarities. I asked her which book was best to start with and she suggested the title: The Darkest Evening of the Year.

I did… show more.

Any Dean Koontz fan knows that the author loves dogs – golden retrievers in particular.

His books often feature loyal and empathetic pups, often with unnatural or even preternatural intelligence, and this book is no exception.

The story opens with protagonist Amy Redwing on what is anything but a typical rescue of a golden named Nickie from its abusive owner – a golden who, Amy quickly realizes, is also anything but typical.

The dog also has a strange effect on Amy’s lover, Brian, who has been plagued with harassment from his psychotic ex-wife and her threats to harm the mentally… show more.