Joe Hill blends the masters with a style similar to his father's. There's fully realized gritty characters, both privileged and blue collar. I LOVE Bammy the Southern grandmother. The series of bad decisions impacting all the characters' lives is well drawn. 
 At the same time there's at least two separate references to Lovecraft (subtle nod to THE HOUND with the decadent opening and a direct reference to CHARLES DEXTER WARD) plus a reference to M R James (with a structure very similar to CASTING THE RUNES). I expect there's a few more layers in there to raise literary nerd goosebumps. 
 On the lesser side, sometimes this felt like butter scraped across too much bread. This probably would have been a lot stronger at a shorter length. It's didn't really overstay its welcome, but it felt a bit repetitive and redundant at times. It's a strong entry, but still a first novel. Coming to this after his short fiction and Locke and Key, it wasn't as awesome as I had been hoping for.