Purists and grammar fascists will likely have an aneurysm with this book, but the prose style, in combination with the dialogue, create a distinct, unified impression of rural Pennsylvania. If it had been a slow-build, it would likely have been anti-climactic, but, instead, it steamrolls the reader from beginning to end. If it were a movie, it'd lie comfortably between The Mist, Dawn if the Dead, and Day of the Animals. The only trouble I had with it was keeping all of the characters straight.