I very much want to give this book five stars, I really do. It's the best horror novel I've read in years. The characters are deftly, if lightly, drawn, and their stories are immediately engaging. The antagonist is one of the most ingenious - and sympathetic, and simple - villains I've ever read; no irredeemable and totally evil bad guy, but a flawed and sad character who is as interesting as the others who oppose him. And the writing is sublime; far too assured for a first novel, with King's pacing and eye for detail, and Bradbury's lyrical description, it's a pleasure to read.

But it's a first novel, and there are many - minor, minor - faults that come along with that. It's too short, for one. In these days of ponderous doorstops, that's a rarity, but I could have read so much more of this. The characters, the setting, the mystery, I could have managed a book twice the length. And with its brevity comes a scarcity of incident; while the central mystery, and its attendant investigation, is gripping, there seem to be many avenues of plot left untapped. This gives the impression of a novella stretched to novel length, though any writer with as firm a grasp of his craft as Bailey shows here should be able to fill a novel easily enough, it's odd that so little happens.

It's a shame that these faults, small as they are, overwhelm the brilliance of the rest of the novel, but there it is. This book is far closer to five stars ("it was amazing") than it is to four ("really liked it"), but honesty prevails. It was very nearly amazing, and I shall be looking for more of Dale Bailey's work in the future.