The Darkest Evening of the Year

By: Dean Koontz

Narrated by: Kirsten Kairos

Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

With each of his number-one New York Times best-sellers, Dean Koontz has displayed an unparalleled ability to entertain and enlighten listeners 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.

©2007 Dean Koontz (P)2007 Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"With a magician's expertise, Koontz sets his multiple story lines spinning forward, jumping from one cliffhanger to the next....[T]his is a compulsively readable book that inexorably pulls the reader along." ( The Boston Globe)

Forever Shiny Thing

If you can’t love this story for its simple amazement you’re listening to the wrong book. Be inspired. This is one of my all time faves. It makes me laugh and cry but it makes me feel something and when I finish it I’m happier for it.

Dean's got his groove back

I've "read" many of Dean Koontz's books, some good, some not so good and then there's this one. Probably one of, if not the best one so far. The story line kept me interested all the way through. I listen to the books in my car and found myself sitting there listening to this book well after getting to many of my destinations. I liked the dog in this book as much as Christopher Snow's dog in 'Fear Nothing'. By the way, where is Christopher Snow?

One of the best Koontz books so far

Great story with a marvelous ending, great characters, good dogs, and great narration. Highly recommend.

He did it again!

I wrote a long review, but it somehow got erased. So, i'm not going 2 rewrite it; i'll just quickly say that Koontz delivered (again) in a BIG way...as did the narrator, Kirsten Kairos --- who not only has, not ashamed 2 admit, a smoking hot voice, but also displays a certain needed/required versatility. A definite homerun. I also love the tie-in w/ Robert Frost's poem, "Stopping by the Woods On a Snowy Evening," from which comes the book's title "The Darkest Evening of the Year."

Love Goldens

I loved the story. I could enjoy more of these supernatural, golden retriever stories. Please don't stop writing them! My only question is...which one comes next?

Dog Gone

I loved this book because it has all the heart and excitement that you expect from a Koontz novel. There is no way you can guess where it's going next.

Amazing, made me cry

I have read a few of Dean Koontz's books and find his storytelling fascinating. This book was likely the most interesting book I have read this year, the golden retriever aspect grabbed at my heart and I had to wait outside a store while I dried my eyes.

I ended up buying the hardcover to give to my husband the reader for the holiday. Thank you for another wonderful, touching book.

battery killer!!!

I couldn't stop listening, usually I read the books, this was my first audible, I loved it!!!

Not his best, not his worst

This is a pretty good story, definitely not Koontz's best, but still good. The narrator was ok, but Eduardo Ballerini did much better with Watchers and Devoted. Definitely worth a read or listen, but it does have some low points. Overall I'd recommend it, just not as highly as others.

My Favorite Yet.

I pretty much love anything Dean Koontz writes, with maybe one or two exceptions. This book, The Darkest Evening of the Year is my new favorite. I loved everything about it. The way Amy's and Brian's stories unfolded, how they collided, Nickie, Hope ... especially Hope. There have been villains I have hated before, but never as much as I hated Vanessa, when I realized how evil she truly was. And the narrator was perfect. I very much recommend this book.