Dean Koontz's ‘Devoted’ Is The Must-Read Suspense Novel For The Dog Lover In Your Life

Devoted, an epic new thriller from New York Times best-selling author Dean Koontz, is a novel that will have readers — and dog lovers in particular — glued to its pages. The story centers on a small California family, a widowed young mother named Megan and her son Woody, and tells the story of an incredibly smart and loyal dog, Kipp, who will go to incredible lengths in order to protect his family.

The book begins when a figure from Megan’s past resurfaces under mysterious circumstances and tries to reenter her life. And while Megan would do anything to protect her son, her love may not be enough to save him from the dark forces that have set their sights on him. As Woody’s pleas for protection become increasingly urgent, only a force greater than evil can save him.

If you know anything about Dean Koontz, you probably know that his novels have earned him a nearly permanent place on the top of the New York Times best-sellers list. In fact, fourteen of his novels have risen to number one on said list, making him one of only a dozen writers to stake such a claim. His books have been published in 38 languages and have sold over 500 million copies to date. Devoted is yet another entry on his long list of page-turning thrillers.

As for his personal life, Koontz lives in Southern California with his wife Gerda and their golden retriever Elsa, along with, as he describes it, “the enduring spirits of their goldens Trixie and Anna.” A dog lover himself, Koontz knows first-hand the deep connection between dog lovers and their canine companions, and with Devoted, Koontz takes that connection to new heights.

Bustle recently partnered with Amazon Publishing to pinpoint four ways that Devoted makes for essential reading for the dog lover in your life. Devoted is now available for purchase, and also included with Kindle Unlimited.

A Transcendent Golden Retriever Is Central To The Story

In Devoted, Kipp, a golden retriever, is essential to the story; not simply a cute or comforting sidekick. As in real life, this dog forms the moral center of the characters' universe, providing incredible love and devotion to a family when they need it most.

And while all golden retrievers provide love and companionship to their owners, there is something about Kipp in particular that truly sets his character apart. Kipp possesses an extraordinary ability to communicate with humans. In fact, his intelligence is at a human level — he just lacks the capacity to vocalize his thoughts. Dorothy, Kipp's long-time companion, even devises a means of communication with Kipp via a laser pointer aimed at an alphabet wall that Kipp could manipulate to form words. In this way, Dorothy and Kipp were able to transcend Kipp's barrier to communication. And while all dog owners will claim that their dog is “different from the rest,” the characters of Devoted seem to see something about Kipp which truly makes him stand apart. Kipp is told by his long-time human companion Dorothy, "your eyes and heart are as golden as your breed, dear Kipp."

The Story Focuses On The Empathetic Nature of Dogs

Any dog lover knows that canines are intuitive and empathetic. In fact, one scientific study showed that dogs are empathetic to the point of experiencing “emotional contagion” in response to human infants crying.

Kipp, a full-fledged character at the center of Devoted, is described with such extraordinary detail that you begin to see how human his perceptive qualities can be. Having been raised by a gentle, loving human, Kipp is described as having observed enough of her kindness that he can expertly navigate human emotions, even ones that the human characters themselves would rather not acknowledge. Unlike most dogs, whose survival instincts outweigh all other instincts, Kipp's are tempered by an overwhelming sense of human compassion.

It Packs Canine Biology Lessons Into The Narrative

Devoted contains scenes that are dedicated to Kipp’s journey to protect a human family from an extraordinary evil. Along the way, Koontz describes canine biology in passages that are equal parts compelling and informative. Take, for example, this passage, which finds Kipp alone in nature:

“The sense of smell was central to a dog’s life, as much as twenty thousand times greater than that of a human being. His nose had forty-four muscles, as compared to four in the human nose.” The novel continues, “His sense of smell alone brought him more information than all five human senses combined.”

And while all dogs maintain certain heightened senses (see: dog whistles), Kipp manages to use his senses to an extraordinary degree. Kipp's journey to intervene in the lives of a young boy and his mother begins when he hears an incessant, barely perceptible sound. The sound is coming from a young boy in peril who might not even know he's transmitting the sound, Kipp thinks.

Fascinating canine abilities like this make the already vivid writing of this novel of particular interest to dog lovers, who may see bits of their beloved pooches within the story’s highly intelligent golden retriever protagonist. In any case, Koontz’s love of dogs is contagious and readers will walk away more knowledgeable than ever before about what makes dogs so special in a world that so sorely needs them.

Pick up your copy of Dean Koontz’s Devoted on Amazon today.

This article is sponsored by Amazon Publishing.