I haven't read The Orchard Keeper. It's set in Appalachia, though, isn't it? Personally I prefer McCarthy's "Easterns," such as Outer Dark, Child of God, and The Road (in which I take the father and son to be looking for the Cumberland Gap). For me, they have a creepier, more personal feel. His Westerns involve an elaborate mythos I'm not sure I really share. His Easterns seem to be about fable--myth made personal. One way or another, they affect/disturb me more.