Reviews

De donkerste nacht by Dean Koontz

ashlynhu's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Animal cruelty

Does the dog die?

No!

julie7's review against another edition

2.0

Goodness, what have I just read?
My first Dean Koontz novel so didn't know what to expect. Arson, dog rescue and so on and so on.
Enjoyed the dog rescue aspect but was uncomfortable with the Downs Syndrome references and how the child was spoken to . Yes, I understand it is fiction but still didnt like.
An easy, quick read but don't ask me to explain what happened... I haven't a clue!

emilyvogt's review against another edition

4.0

Classic Dean Koontz - I loved the golden retriever angle of the story.

fat_girl_fiction's review against another edition

4.0

The Darkest Evening of the Year by Dean Koontz

This was the first ever Dean Koontz book I read and I really enjoyed. The main character was likeable and the writer made you hate the antagonist with all of your being. It was a thrilling read and as it reached it's climax, I couldn't put it down.

tommyro's review against another edition

1.0

Simple-minded comic book without the illustrations. Not a syllable of subtlety. Koontz writes with a sledge hammer and crayons. Just terrible.

scherer5127's review against another edition

3.0

It was good, but it took a very long time for all the stories to tie together. I really didn't like the ending either. I read this because I like the Odd Thomas series so much. This was not nearly as good as the Odd Thomas books.

jselliot's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense 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

3.0

A nice, quick read - in which it proves that dogs do make everything better. It deals with past and present trauma with the characters, and quickly involves a Golden Retriever in with the increasingly paranormal elements of the plot. A hyper-realistic pencil portrait of the dog in question sticks out in my memory, when the character who drew it had little artistic training.

Annoyingly, looking back on it, the author really leaned in on women's mental illness and "just for funsies" as the motive of one of the two antagonist's motives. The man of the antagonist pair is rolling off of his history with the protagonist.

(Spoiler: The Golden is the FMC's dead daughter.)

unsaidwish's review against another edition

3.0

A nice, quick read. Dogs are a very important part of this novel, and thankfully not too much surrounding the dogs is sad. I only teared up at the description of the shelter when Amy walked past the dogs without greeting them, so she didn't get any hopes up, and then had to walk back out, leaving all the dogs there. Also, all the descriptions about the number of dogs that are euthanized, abused, live in puppy mills, etc. was a little hard for me. Thankfully, this was not the point of the book. The overarching story was a mystery around all the humans and the dogs were just a lovely bonus that played an important part and DID NOT DIE.

sylvie0625's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

kargoforth's review against another edition

5.0

Classic Koontz! And if you love Golden Retrievers it is even better!