DEVOTED

5 stars out of 5

Enchanting. Tear-jerking. Edge-of-seat scary. All this and more await readers of this exquisitely written book. If I had to describe it in a single word, it would be mesmerizing.

At the heart of the  activity is a telepathic dog named Kipp; Woody, a high-functioning autistic boy who hasn't spoken a word for all of his 11 years; and a diabolic plan to increase human longevity that goes horribly wrong. It's sort of a The Art of Racing in the Rain meets The Shining. Seriously, how can you top that?

Woody's dad was killed three years ago, leaving his mom, Megan, as a single parent who loves her son unconditionally. Woody returns her love even though he's unable to express it; what she doesn't know is that he's convinced that his dad's death was murder, not an accident. Elsewhere, an elderly lady named Dorothy has watched over her beloved Kipp for years, understanding his human-like abilities that include membership in the "Mysterium," a group of 86 golden retrievers and Labs who communicate with each other on the "Wire." 

And in Utah, a man who was an executive at that research laboratory working on longevity is on the run. Lee Shacket, who escaped a major disaster there with a ton of money, briefly dated Megan before she got married and knows she's now a widow. On the spur of the moment, he decides that she would be the perfect companion as he flees to another country to spend the rest of his life in luxury. But when he calls her to ask, she rebuffs him - triggering an intensive desire for revenge that grows stronger and more dangerous by the page.

Meanwhile, Kipp begins to intercept messages on the Wire from someone he believes may be a young boy - certainly a first among the heretofore all-doggie system. Kipp doesn't understand why the boy is intent on proving that his father was murdered, but he knows he needs help and sets off to find him. All that sets in motion the events that follow - events that kept me glued to the book almost nonstop till the end. My emotions pretty much ran wild, with the extremes tempered by a bit of humor here and there (my favorite laugh-out-loud line came when one character was described as having "the attention span of a Chihuahua with ADHD"). 

Seriously, this is one of the best books I've read this year. And for the record, I'd love to read more about the adventures of Kipp and his buddies (hint, hint). How about it, Mr. Koontz?

Devoted by Dean Koontz (Thomas & Mercer, March 2020); 381 pp.