Among the Missing

I couldn't put this one down! It is one of those books were you think you know what is going to happen next,but then it fools you. I loved it.

Having fun, especially when wanting to take risks to up the stakes, sometimes bears the implication of having consequences to go along with those actions. Fortunately those moments sometimes grade with a learning curb, letting us go with only a scare and nothing more, and sometimes they have much harsher lessons to teach their pupils. In Among the Missing, these punctuation marks are some of the worst that people can find themselves confronted by. It begins with a woman, Alison Parkington, driving her Jaguar (barely clothed) to meet her lover in the dead of night, thinking that deserted woodlands would mean more pleasure for the principalities. These thoughts begin to manifest themselves, too, as her nameless love invites her to a more secluded place known as The Bend; a little river with sandy beaches that dance alight by the kiss of the moon. This, however, turns out to be short-lived fantasy as she finds herself thrust beneath those gleaming waters, suffocating, and then greeted by the press of the hacksaw. The next day, a couple planning a canoeing trip together happen upon two people lying in those sands, one a naked woman and the other a dressed man, and find that, as the male turns and flees, that the woman is of the headless variety. And then the strange cycle of problems begin. Among the Missing was actually a pretty good read, containing many of the things that Laymon is well-known for and providing an ending that went well into the surprising twist category. It has some gore but isn't really overly brimming with it, some violence that erupts while the chase is on but isn't hinged on that detail, greets with sexual encounters that aren't overly depictive but that do hit a few levels I really didn't care to hit, and a plot that spin around as characters are introduced and played with. In fact, it is a pretty nice piece garnished by semi-impressive fabrics, its construction decently solid and its characters introduced fairly well - with flaws, of course, that could have been delved into a little better. Still, it had one problem that somewhat bothered me; that of being deceptively short. While clocking in at almost 400 pages, this is something of an easy read that goes by breezily when the mind starts in on it. That's because the spacing is done too widely, there are blank pages used as breaks between short chapters, and there is an ocean of dialog leading to even more unused areas. Had this been used to perhaps flesh out the environments a little or to perhaps give the characters even more depth, then the book would have read without any problems at all. That said, this is hardly something I can find fault in while grading the story as a whole.If you are a fan of Laymon books, then this won't be a disappointment for you. It doesn't run thick with blood and doesn't overly seed its pages with the wonderful worlds of horror, but it does have its moments and it does provide a nice twist in the end that makes you rethink the characters invo

I have been a Laymon fan for more than 20 years. I first read The Cellar when I was 14 years old and loved it. After reading The Woods Are Dark, I identified myself as a fan. For years I have looked for Laymon's books in the U.S. Unfortunately, the majority of them have been published in the U.K. I have spent a small fortune collecting Laymon's U.K. titles. I was thrilled when I discovered that Leisure Books was going to start publishing Laymon's books in the U.S. Now, thanks to Leisure, Laymon's books are affordable and can get in the hands of the general public. Besides working a full time job, I teach part time at the University of Southern Indiana. Every Spring semester, I teach a "policing" course. I assigned Among the Missing (ATM) as an optional book report for two reasons. One, it was a way for a student to earn extra credit by doing extra work. Two, just to get the students reading. The majority of students do not read outside their assigned readings. The students had to type up a seven-to-ten page book report and reviewing ATM and comparing it to what they learned in class (the students'statements are posted on the Richard Laymon Kills website). Every student that turned in a paper mentioned that he or she enjoyed reading Among the Missing and many said they were going to read more of Richard Laymon. Among the Missing is Laymon's first mainstream novel. It is more of a mystery or police procedual novel (similar to Ed McBain) than horror. Once released it quickly sold out and went into a second printing. As I mentioned before, ATM was a hit with over 20 college students who were completely unfamiliar with Laymon's writings.

This was the second book by Laymon that I read and I found it to be just as fun and exciting as the first. The plot is solid and the murders interesting. As I read I became more sure of who did it only discover how wrong I was. Lots of sex, gore and excitement. A great read over all!

Once again Laymon has shown us what a horror novel should be. He does not pull any punches. This is a very good novel. It may not be his best (The Traveling Vampire Show is his best) but it is in the top 10 and that's a good group.