Let's start out here: Anyone who has read Stephen King and enjoys his novels will enjoy this book as well. Those who don't, well, this doesn't break the mold. 
 I want to give this more than 3 stars. The story is one of the best I've read. The main character, a writer named Mike Noonan (his profession is nothing new to King fans) whose wife, Jo, dies. Noonan begins to uncover a mystery that surrounded the last years of his wife's life, a mystery that is based at the Cabin called Sara Laughs in a small town in Maine. Noonan is drawn to Sarah Laughs, and let's just say he begins to uncover the mystery. 
 The story is phenomenal. A four star, at least. But it takes SO LONG to get there! This is also nothing new to King fans. His novels run long, which is why many people swear by his short stories. I'm not necessarily one of those people. I enjoy his short stories, but I think most of his novels, long or short, are nothing short of amazing. "It" is longer than Bag of Bones, I believe. So is The Stand. 11/22/63 is at least of the same length. I didn't have any trouble with those books, with the possible exception of The Stand, which in my opinion drops off somewhat in quality with the second half. 
 So why was this one more of a slog? I'm still trying to figure that out. For one, it takes a long time for Mike to get to Sarah Laughs. I'm going on memory here (and Kindle), but I think it took about a third of the book, maybe a bit less. And at that point, the mystery is very minor, and only slightly tinged with the supernatural. For much of the book, we get everything piecemeal and slowly, a buildup to what I believe might be one of the greatest ends to a Stephen King novel I've read. (I've read a bunch, but there's still plenty more to read). 
 And it does work. But man is it difficult. King is incredibly detailed and he brings these small Maine towns to life. I thought this, the TR as he called it, was hist next best-written town to Salem's Lot and Derry. There's a town consciousness, see, and below that, maybe a subconscious? it's brilliant and terrifying, and as is often his wont, the people are often more brutal than the ghosts. 
 Once you get to the second half of the book, maybe 60 percent of the way in, it's a rollicking ride. You can feel you are tantalizingly close to uncovering the mystery, just as Mike is, and you fear for every character. 
 Like I said, it's a tremendous story. It just takes a little effort to get there. But it is definitely worth it.