How to write

Trixie, as fans are aware, was Koontz remarkable Golden Retriever: her cheerful smile graced many book jackets.  Koontz is a dog lover and we have seen several canine supporting characters in his works.   The Darkest Evening of the Year, by Dean Koontz, is a love letter to Trixie. 

“If you are a dog lover…one who sees them as one’s dear companions, and more than companions - sees them as perhaps being but a step or two down the species ladder from humankind, not sharing human exceptionalism but not an abyss below it either - you watch them differently from the way other people watch them, with a respect for their born dignity, with a recognition of their capacity to know joy and to suffer melancholy, with the certainty that they suspect the tyranny of time even if they don’t fully understand the cruelty of it, that they are not, as self=blinded experts contend, unaware of their own mortality.”

Amy Redwing operates a rescue group for Golden Retrievers, in honor of the stray dog that came into her life at a most crucial juncture and healed her heart.  Nicki, her latest rescue purchased from an abusive drunkard, seems to be an angel sent to help Amy weather an inevitable storm.

Both she and her boyfriend Brian must share a part of themselves kept hidden, so together they can confront the evil that stalks them.  Amy has been hiding from a past that is about to find her; an evil ex-husband who married her for convenience and tried to kill her in one bloody night. 

Brian has a daughter with Down Syndrome who was abducted by her mother when she was just an infant. The mother has taunted Brian for ten years, calling the child Piggy and flaunting her sadistic nature, refusing to relinquish control.  Now it seems she is ready to rid herself of the child she hates and Brian has no choice but to yield to her commands.

Amy and Brian have hidden selves, as do other characters in the story: Vernon Lesley, a private investigator who prefers his life in an online virtual game to his “real” life; Billy Pilgrim, a friendly, huggable everyman who is a hired killer with no soul; and Theresa, a seemingly autistic child with the ability to see and speak great truths.   The theme of duality, what is seen and what is hidden, runs throughout the story.

The idea that two sociopaths could find each other and seek their separate agendas as a cohesive unit stretches the imagination.  Koontz’s writing is as descriptive and beautiful as ever, but the plot of this story falls short.  The purpose of the book is to further his personal agenda and he sermonizes repeatedly.  

“Amy gave talks at schools, at senior centers, to any audience that would listen:  Accept a rescue dog. Or buy from a reputable breeder recommended by the parent club for each breed, such as the Golden Retriever Club of America.  Go to animal shelters. Each year, four million shelter dogs die for lack of a home.  Four million. Give love to a homeless dog, and you’ll be repaid ten fold.  Give money to the puppy-mill barons and you’ll be perpetuating a great horror.”

It’s not unusual for Koontz to pepper his works with his personal views, but never has he been so heavy handed. Nonetheless, fans will enjoy the short ride, a merry go round by comparison to his usual roller coaster rides.