3.5 stars. I'm a huge Mountain Goats fan, and I love the way you can really hear John Darnielle's voice in the writing. The main character would not be out of place in one of his songs. I enjoyed the way the story unravels, and the way that I could see the end coming, but was still surprised by the turns along the way. The best way I can think to describe it is that it's a choose-your-own-adventure story in reverse. It's also short (just over 200 pages), so easy to pick up and finish in a couple of days, if you're on the fence about it.