This book was outright amazing, the only comparison I can draw for this novel would be something like Law & Order: Witch Trials. Thereby seeing the first lines of the novel indicating the location in the Carolinas, I hear the distinctive DUN! DUN! in my head just thinking about it. There is definitely some shady dealings going on in the town of Fount Royal where an accused witch is on trial and the one and only penalty for cavorting with the Devil is death by flames. For a town that deems itself holy and wants nothing more but to purge it's self from the presence of evil, nearly everyone in the town seems to be guilty of something. But down the rabbit hole Robert McCammon takes us, who is to blame for the atrocities that have been committed in this town? Did the accused truly murder her husband and the Reverend? Is the owner of the town a silent schemer? Does the Dr. in the town have ulterior motives? Does the new Reverend that arrives to the town care too much about lustful ideals than saving souls? What's up with all the rain? Why does my stomach hurt right now? All but the last two questions get answered in this epic book. This book is really long, and I mean REALLY long, but it is extremely enrapturing. This book isn't for the feint of heart, if you are the occasional reader this may not fit the bill for your wants and desires, but if you like to be kept guessing the whole time, it is sure to please. 
 Robert McCammon makes every detail matter and I sopped it up like I was eating biscuits and gravy. Sometimes picking out details that I would read knowing that there was an obvious reason why it was mentioned, but having to wait a while until the answer comes to fruition. I'm very glad to know that Matthew Corbett makes an appearance in 3 more novels! I'm already ready to crack open the next volume in the series. I read this book right after finishing Wolf's Hour by McCammon, but this book was a completely different animal. Robert paints pictures in your mind that you can't help but see clear as day, and the dialogue is also quite amazing, as his attention to detail in the character's speech, and talking style is painstakingly rendered. I can only imagine how long it must have been for the author to craft this masterpiece. Also, I'll give a nod to Robert for not including so much detail to the main character being quite the slut that Michael Galatin from the Wolf's Hour was. I have to give McCammon a lot of credit on this novel, and I don't feel guilty in the slightest from awarding this book 5 stars, which is not something I do all willy nilly!