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Summary: Laymon is always a fun read
Review: A rich, married woman in a see-through nightie takes her Jag out for a midnight spin and picks up her nameless lover on a dark, back road. The same woman is found the next day--without her head--and thus begins the mystery of Among the Missing. Rusty Hodges, the sheriff, takes on the headache of unraveling the mystery of this woman's death, and it seems as if no one goes unimplicated in this tale.
The story has a lot of twists and turns, and it highlights some of Laymon's trademarks: wry humor, gore, people getting it on, surprises, people talking about getting it on, violence, people thinking about getting it on, quirky characters (wait till you meet Merton), and then, to be on the safe side, just a bit more sex. It's great! This is a quick read, and you can probably finish the entire thing in a few hours, which is good because you probably won't want to put it down anyway.
Label this novel anything you want--mystery, suspense, thriller, horror--but do not doubt that it is one heck of a fine read. This may not be Laymon's greatest novel, but I've found that even Laymon on a mediocre day is still better than a lot of the stuff on the "best seller" lists. The horror genre lost a true master when Laymon died; it's wonderful that he left us so many novels. After this one, pick up THE TRAVELING VAMPIRE SHOW. You definitely won't be disappointed by it.
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Summary: Not Laymon's Best but darn good
Review: After reading a marathon of Laymon, I think this one falls right in the middle. It's a typical horror/gore/mystery, and I think the biggest flaw is most of the characters are kinda hard to like. However, I was still pretty gripped throughout the entire thing. A must-read for people who like this author.
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Summary: Not your usual Laymon...
Review: Among the Missing is a departure for Laymon as it reads like a combination Mystery and Police Procedural. All the normal Laymon staples are there, it is a fast-moving yarn with snappy dialogue, excellent suspense, a great atmosphere, and plenty of twists and turns, but the sex and violence are toned down a little. Not only would I highly recommend this book to fans of Laymon's past work, I'd also recommend ATM to people who may have tried some of his other work and not liked it. If you want a bit of mystery with your mayhem, this is the one for you.
Rating: 
Summary: Sub-Par Laymon
Review: Among the missing is a different kind of book for Richard Laymon. It has none of the supernatural effects or heavy gore that you would expect from most of his novels. It does, however have plenty of sex(how could there ever be a Laymon novel without it, he he). I don't think anyone who has read the book could argue with me when I say that this is not a horror novel. It's really more of a police/crime novel in the mold of Ed McBain or Jonathan Kellerman. Although I admire Laymon's effort to branch into new territory, Among the Missing unfortunately misses the mark. For one, the length of the novel(300 pages) is way too short for all the red herrings Laymon throws at us and the ending feels rushed. Once the book ended, I found myself asking "well, what happens to this character, or this character?" It's not that I felt Laymon owed me a happy ending, but I at least felt like he should have given some sort of insight as to what happens to the characters after the final climactic battle scene. Don't get me wrong, this is not a bad novel at all. It's just that you could read so much better. If you're looking for a crime novel, you'd be better to stick to the big guns like Kellerman, et.al who do it way better. If you're looking for a great Laymon horror shocker, try exploring some of his better works such as Island, Funland, In the Dark, all of which are deserving of 5-star ratings.
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Summary: Among the Missing - Richard Laymon
Review: Among The Missing is strange territory for Laymon. Unlike some of his other works of horror or suspense, this is pretty much a straight murder mystery. Because of the toned-down plot, Laymon's writing is somewhat milder as well. Not too much gore to be had, fewer random acts of violence and much less sex. Yet Among The Missing is still a wonderfully entertaining, quick read. Not Laymon's best - for that, read Island - but definitely one to check out.
Rating:
Summary: Among the Missing - Richard Laymon
Review: Among The Missing is strange territory for Laymon. Unlike some of his other works of horror or suspense, this is pretty much a straight murder mystery. Because of the toned-down plot, Laymon's writing is somewhat milder as well. Not too much gore to be had, fewer random acts of violence and much less sex. Yet Among The Missing is still a wonderfully entertaining, quick read. Not Laymon's best - for that, read Island - but definitely one to check out.
Rating:
Summary: Average Laymon book
Review: At first after reading the synopsis the book sounded promising. However, as I kept reading it just never picked up. It almost seemed like Laymon was bored or something. Because it didnt have the energy Island had or the best book he's written up to date was The Woods are Dark. I was actually quite dissapointed with it because there was no tremendous plot twist like he had with his previous books and nothing truly astonishing to give in this one. Dont get me wrong this one had its moments but there was something missing about this one. I do have to say this is his most realistic book he's written to date and the others I've read are rather out there. It seems like the more farfetched his books are the better he writes.
Rating:
Summary: Average Laymon book
Review: At first after reading the synopsis the book sounded promising. However, as I kept reading it just never picked up. It almost seemed like Laymon was bored or something. Because it didnt have the energy Island had or the best book he's written up to date was The Woods are Dark. I was actually quite dissapointed with it because there was no tremendous plot twist like he had with his previous books and nothing truly astonishing to give in this one. Dont get me wrong this one had its moments but there was something missing about this one. I do have to say this is his most realistic book he's written to date and the others I've read are rather out there. It seems like the more farfetched his books are the better he writes.
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Summary: Heads; The Over-Rated Appendage
Review: 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 involved in the action. You simply have to give it a little time, let it run its course, and let it finish speaking before trying to measure what it has to say. Otherwise, it might seem like it doesn't explain enough of that it leaves too many gaps in the plot. For people that don't read Laymon, this would be akin to reading a B-movie, with many things happening that seem to stem from a murder mystery. It is a bit more graphic than those depictions sometimes, but it is still about the same and, if you don't mind this, you shouldn't mind the read. Personally, I found it enjoyable if not a little short, and think that readers not expecting horror might like it, too.
Rating: 
Summary: Generally a waste of time
Review: I did manage to finish "Among the Missing," but with very little excitement as I read it. The characters are uninteresting and badly developed, the plot is awkwardly laid out in many places, and there was never any real sense of menace or suspense associated with the killer until near the end, when it's way too late. This novel also reinforces something I've observed to be true in the past: that it's always a bad sign when a book has a positive blurb quote from Stephen King on the cover (as this one does). I've enjoyed many of King's own works, but have also tried several books with his quotes on them in the past - and they've all been terrible! So a King blurb will be useful for me in the future -- if I see a quote from him on another author's book, whatever his quote says, to me it will mean "Put this book down immediately and walk away."
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