Rating: Summary: among the missing Review: 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.
Rating: Summary: A fast-paced read Review: Once again Laymon takes us on one hell of a ride. After a woman is discovered headless on the beach, Sheriff Rusty Hodges and his daughter-in-law deputy embark on the trail of the killer in this half-mystery half-suspense novel. Laymon treats us to some great scenes, a lightning quick pace, and a handful of unique characters. Definitely worth a look!
Rating: Summary: Typical slasher mystery, with Laymon stamp Review: One thing of Richard Laymon, he won't tax your mind with weighty dialogue or complex descriptive narrative - but he will tax your horror reflex. There is nothing supernatural about this one, but Laymon - almost like no other writer - can sure paint the depths of human depravity with broad strokes of red. This seems like a typical psycho-slasher thriller, at the start, but Laymon spends less time trying to misdirect you (who's the real killer?) than simply creeping you out. Although The Stake was his best, most ingenious novel, Among The Missing was pretty good, too.
Rating: Summary: A mystery with gore. Review: Richard Laymon is a master storyteller. He has written some excellent supernatural horror novels. This book is classified as a horror novel because that is what Richard Laymon normally writes, but it reads more like a mystery than a horror novel. I enjoy mysteries, so I enjoyed this book. It contains more gore than most books in the mystery genre, but less horror than most books in the horror genre. This is not Richard Laymon's best book, but a good storyteller is always fun to read.
Rating: Summary: Another FIne Laymon Title Review: Richard Laymon is one of the most versatile horror writers of our time. As such, his books follow may different styles. This is one that is a little more different than most.At the heart of this story is a murder involving a headless body. Thus this book is part a murder mystery while also being a gruesome and chilling look at how inhuman some human-seeming people can be. If you are looking for another BEAST HOUSE, this will not fit the need, but if you are looking for a Laymon-style glimpse of evil and depravity, this is a title for you. It is sometimes hard to give details about a Laymon novel without giving away something best left to the reader's discovery and this book is no exception.
Rating: Summary: Another FIne Laymon Title Review: Richard Laymon is one of the most versatile horror writers of our time. As such, his books follow may different styles. This is one that is a little more different than most. At the heart of this story is a murder involving a headless body. Thus this book is part a murder mystery while also being a gruesome and chilling look at how inhuman some human-seeming people can be. If you are looking for another BEAST HOUSE, this will not fit the need, but if you are looking for a Laymon-style glimpse of evil and depravity, this is a title for you. It is sometimes hard to give details about a Laymon novel without giving away something best left to the reader's discovery and this book is no exception.
Rating: Summary: Laymon, as usual, rocks. Review: Richard Laymon, Among the Missing (Leisure, 1999) Richard Laymon has been churning out suspense and horror novels since what seems like the dawn of history now, and yet is just this side of unknown in his native land. Across the pond, they can't get enough of him; few Laymon novels don't get a first press in England that outstrips his total American sales. (This, thankfully, may be changing; his 1998 novel Bite hovered around the edges of a few bestseller lists before fading into American obscurity, at least.) Once again, the Americans are missing out. I've never read a Laymon novel that hasn't at least been a kick in the pants. The best of them are a right cross to the jaw (Tread Softly, the Beast House novels, etc.). Among the Missing, on the physicality scale, is probably an uppercut to the ribcage; it's pretty durned good, but straight suspense just isn't what I expect from a guy whose books tend to be populated with mutants, inbreds, vengeful ghosts, etc. Call it my unpreparedness rather than any defect on Laymon's part that this book didn't get a higher rating. Not to say it isn't good. Where the murder mystery is concerned, this one works just as well as anything you'll actually find in the mystery section. An engaged couple, on their way to a canoeing outing on Saturday morning, find a headless body by the river. They also find a guy sleeping next to it, who runs off when he notices them. Draw your own conclusions. Laymon strings the reader along very nicely, throwing in more than enough red herrings to keep both police and reader busy tracking down false avenues of inquiry. It should be noted, as an aside, that it's quite nice to read a murder mystery where the cops aren't dumber than the reader. But I digress. Clues come fast and furious, and the action goes just about as quickly. This is one of those four-hundred-page novels that, once you've started, you're either going to quit in fifty pages because you can't stand it or finish in one sitting. I went the latter route, with a little time off for such extraneous things as food and sleep. Fans of the mystery genre who haven't been introduced to the wild and wonderful world of Richard Laymon would definitely be well-served by this book. Horror fans looking for an inroad would probably do better tracking down the Beast House novels. One way or the other, if you haven't glommed on to Richard Laymon yet, go out of your way to give him a try. He's one of America's best-kept secrets. *** ½
Rating: Summary: Another Masterpiece Review: The late Richard Laymon sure knew how to sock it to the reader. Stephen King himself was one of Laymon's greatest fans and with good reason. Laymon writes the sort of horror that is impossible to put down and will keep you on tenterhooks from page one. 'Among the Missing' has plot, suspense and most importantly a twisted finale that any horror fan would appreciate. Laymon is, quite simply, the Master of horror and suspense.
Rating: Summary: Reads easily but has very little substance Review: The only thing missing from Richard Laymon's "Among the Missing" is an Epilogue. Had it contained one, this novel would have been very much like an extremely low budget episode of Barnaby Jones. It's somewhat mislabeled a "horror" novel. It really should be classified as a murder/mystery. The back cover blurb sets up the tale well enough. The story goes something like this: Late night liaison, murder, decapitation, witnesses, police involvement, suspects, twist, resolution. To go into details of any one of these aspects would be to ruin what story there is. This wouldn't be fair to the reader. To his credit, Mr. Laymon has a knack for writing very light prose. This novel can be finished in just under two hours. If you're looking for something simple and not very taxing, this is a novel that certainly fits the bill. It will definitely entertain all of Laymon's fans, but if you're new to his work, this wouldn't be the best to use as a starting point.
Rating: Summary: Worth a Read Review: This was my first book of Laymon's. It starts out with a murder and a beheading, and the fun's only just begun. A couple discover the victim and her killer in the morning, and the killer runs off with the head. Enter the police. Now the search is on to catch the man who did it. A couple of punk kids may have some answers, but they're not interested in sharing. Sheriff Hodges intends to persuade them, however. He and "The Pac" aren't going to let this guy get away. The story offers surprises and even a twist, and Laymon does a good job of not giving away anything until the moment it happens. However, one flaw in the book is poor character development of Bass. Fortunately, the rest of the book makes up for this.
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