IronWolfe - I agree with (almost) everything you think about Straub's books. Loose ends are cool (though tying them in short stories is even cooler), his style is one of the greatest, the easy-to-guess murderer is no longer a nuisance (more of a trademark now - after so many Straubs), and the atmosphere of his novels is uncopiable and unforgettable. I'm just not sure about this endings problem: myself I never thought they're forced; when reading King I'm always afraid of this, of all the important characters surviving the horrors he puts them through (that's why I so enjoyed the characters dropping like flies in the beginning of 'Dreamcatcher'), but with Straub everything seems more natural... maybe 'Floating Dragon' (yeah: probably his worst but still better than most horrors around) strikes some false chords in the ending, but the rest seems OK. To me.