This was the first time I've read Peter Straub. This spooky story is written well, has well-developed characters, and keeps moving. I'd picked it up just for fun, as an October read, but I really got into it. And it's long, a little over 500 pages. I particularly got a kick out of small town sheriff Hardesty, who is a drunken incompetent, but can certainly insult people in hilarious ways. He also invents some of the most offensive phrases you'd ever want to hear from anyone. Straub describes Milburn with enough detail, history, and feeling that the reader can picture its quaintness and then shiver during its winters. Good read!