as l sprague de camp noted, the action sections of "innsmouth" are a departure for lovecraft; the story's tense and memorable siege scene within the titular town's hotel reveals a flair in execution on a par with some of the most compelling chapters of r l stevenson's "kidnapped". august derleth called "the shadow over innsmouth" "a dark, brooding story, typical of lovecraft at his best." robert weinberg praised it as "a well-written story". according to de camp, lovecraft distrusted his ability to narrate action, and the story is unusual in that lovecraft includes sustained and effective action writing during the culmination of the events in innsmouth.