Going Home in the Dark

By: Dean Koontz

Narrated by: BJ Harrison

When hometown horrors come back to haunt, friendship is salvation in a novel about childhood fears and buried secrets by #1 New York Times bestselling master of suspense Dean Koontz.

As kids, outcasts Rebecca, Bobby, Spencer, and Ernie were inseparable friends in the idyllic town of Maple Grove. Three left to pursue lofty dreams—and achieved them. Only Ernie never left. When he falls into a coma, his three amigos feel an urgent need to return home. Don’t they remember people lapsing into comas back then? And those people always awoke…didn’t they?

After two decades, not a lot has changed in Maple Grove, especially Ernie’s obnoxious, scary mother. But Rebecca, Bobby, and Spencer begin to remember a hulking, murderous figure and weirdness piled on mystery that they were made to forget. As Ernie sinks deeper into darkness, something strange awaits any friend who tries to save him.

For Rebecca, Bobby, and Spencer, time is running out to remember the terrors of the past in a perfect town where nothing is what it seems. For Maple Grove, it’s a chance to have the “four amigos,” as they once called themselves, back in its grasp.

©2025 by Dean Ray Koontz and Gerda Ann Koontz, as Trustees of the Koontz Living Trust dated July 11, 1994. (P)2025 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“It must have been difficult for BJ Harrison to narrate this supernatural audiobook with his tongue so firmly planted in his cheek. Let's lay that obstacle at the feet of Dean Koontz. The master of suspense opts to regularly break the fourth wall in this work, and Harrison spreads Koontz's snarky tone throughout this production.… Hijinks ensue, brought to life by the talented Harrison, as the quartet begin to remember what they had been made to forget from decades prior. Thanks to great work by Harrison and Koontz, this work is too amusing to be terrifying.” —AudioFile Magazine

“Koontz is still experimenting, still finding new ways to please his audience. A rousing success.” —Booklist (starred review)

The Reveal Blew My Mind (in a good way)

I couldn't stand the mother, but if course that was by design. The characters were very well done, abd believable. The plot was just wow! Once again, another awesome book by Koontz. I have never found a koontz book I didn't like.

Not quite bad enough to return it, but my least favorite Koontz book ever.

To start off, I must say that the narrator is very talented and delivers a great performance . it's always refreshing having a narrator with unique voices to help differentiate between the characters. He certainly achieved his goal of making one character in particular seem absolutely insufferable and easy to hate. But that's about where the good ends. I've listened to more Dean Koontz books than I can remember. However, this was my least favorite of his works I've ever listened to or read. Aside from the story just being not good overall, a lot of the dialogue felt repetitive and almost like filler. Add into that the author breaking the fourth wall , for lack of a better term, constantly through the novel and talking directly to the reader about "a certain writing style" and "what modern readers will tolerate" or why he writes a chapter in a particular way, broke up the immersion of the already poor storyline. It wasn't quite bad enough to return, but I do have buyer's remorse. Oh, and if you are reading this review mid-book with your own level of buyer's remorse hoping to gain Insight that it gets better, it doesn't. The ending was nothing that anybody could expect and hardly as sinister as it could have been. I get that it's fantasy, thriller, dark material in line with the authors typical M. O., but it just really fell flat and left me disappointed .

Captivating

Once you’re locked in, it keeps you locked in. One of the fastest titles I ever completed. Great listen.

I loved it!

I thought I’d read all of Dean Koontz’s novels. This was a wonderful audiobook.
Thanks Dean Koontz’s and Audible for this great discovery.

Awesome entertainment from Dean Koontz

Not too long ago I rediscovered Dean Koontz’s stories and his unique writing style. When I saw the announcement for his latest book – Going Home in the Dark, I grabbed a copy of the eBook and the audiobook through Kindle Unlimited.

When I started listening to the story expertly narrated by BJ Harrison I was hooked. My plans to listen for an hour or so and take care of the days to-do list. Well, that plan went out the window. Sure, I kind of accomplished my tasks, but I couldn’t stop listening to the story.

Going Home in the Dark has very well-developed characters, all stuck in a situation that provides plenty of action to keep the reader off balance as the story progresses. Unputdownable is the best description for this story.