Amy Redwing hides her past by dedicating her time and life to an organization that she founded which saves golden retrievers. Her latest rescue, Nickie, is different than the other dogs she has rescued. Through this new friend, Amy will face her past along with Brian McCarthy, her "boyfriend" to whom she can't quite commit. Both must face the lives they left behind in order to continue their lives together.

Fans of thrillers or Koontz novels and for dog-lovers everywhere.

the message of the novel. What I've come to love about Koontz' later novels is the spiritual messages - a theme of connectivity and purpose in the lives of his characters.

The ending. For me, it was a little bit of a letdown. The entire novel built up with suspense right until the end, and for me, it was a tad disappointing. That's not to say I didn't enjoy the book, though, just that I felt a little disappointed at the end.

Read more Koontz novels, as I always feel when I finish one of his.

the way that most Koontz novels make me feel - that all our lives are important and that the connections we have with the people we know are important on a level that maybe someday I'll understand. Koontz' novels make me feel that there is a purpose to life, a plan for us all.

Koontz has had published thrillers regularly since the 1970s, and his writing has only improved over the years. What began as fairly simple horror/thriller novels have become masterpieces - a blending of thriller and spiritual/philosophical themes.

fans of Koontz and dog-lovers alike will enjoy this novel.

For me, this novel attempts a similar message as another Koontz novel, One Door Away from Heaven, and in my opinion, it doesn't do quite as good a job of conveying that message. For me, One Door was more entertaining, more suspenseful, and overall a more successful novel. Again, it's not that I didn't like Darkest, but that for me, it just wasn't as successful. It is a good read, though, and I do recommend it.

Interested in buying this? Support Writing.Com by making your purchase of The Darkest Evening of the Year   from Amazon.Com!

Created May 19, 2008 at 3:09pm • Submit your own review...