The Disappearance of Billy Moore

Green Marble Mysteries, Featuring Sam Moore, Book 1

By: Aaron Paul Lazar

Narrated by: George Kuch

Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

Fifty years ago, Sam Moore's little brother, Billy, vanished without a trace - leaving Sam with guilt that haunts him to this day.

Fifty years with no body, no leads, and no answers. Until now.

When Sam unearths a mysterious green marble buried in his garden, he's shocked to find himself transported back in time - to Billy. Whisked between past and present with no warning, and receiving only glimpses of their childhood, he struggles to unlock the secret of his brother's fate.

But the marble isn't the only secret the ground holds. Further digging uncovers human remains - the legacy of a serial killer who's been targeting one boy every five years since Billy vanished. The next five-year mark is coming up fast. And now Sam's grandson may be in the killer's sights.

Can Sam tie the past with the present and unravel the mystery of his brother's disappearance - before the killer strikes again?

©2015 Aaron Paul Lazar (P)2016 Aaron Paul Lazar

A "Who Done It" that surprised me, with a twist!

A murder mystery with a little supernatural flair, and a bit of a weird ending. Definitely didn't see that coming. It worked, but didn't seem quite as plausible as other possible endings.

I did enjoy listening to this book. There were only a couple of times when the descriptions seemed to go on a little long, but for the most part, the author does a great job of setting the scene and allowing us to get to know the characters (especially Sam and his wife). I loved their dynamic and it really worked well within the story.

The narration was pretty good for the most part. I did find myself wondering, "Who just said that?" a few times as it was a little difficult to tell who was speaking at certain points. But for most of the book, it was easy to tell.

Really enjoyed listening. It was pretty fast paced and didn't get hung up too much on arbitrary facts or backstory.

Overall, great book in what looks to be a good series!

I received a free copy of this audio book for an honest review.

I do enjoy a good who done it.

I like that the main character is a normal person. Not some super character that never makes a mistake.
The story line makes you reevaluate the suspects many times over, And in the end still gives you a surprise.
I am pleased to hear that the second book is already out. That way I don't have to wait to read the next book."

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator,
or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased
review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com."

Mystery with a little bit of supernatural

Billy disappears at the age of 11. Sam has recently retired and with lots of time begins gardening. He finds a green marble which leads him through memories of his younger brother and his best friends.


The story line is good and the narrator does a good job of reading and portraying the characters.

I was provided a free audio version of this book in exchange for an honest review. I did enjoy the book but am not sure how this story is to lead to additional books.

Unexpected!

"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast."

Intriguing premise and I started this book right away. The narrator was very good and he fit the main character Sam so well. There was a lot of backfill while the main character was gardening and doing yard work, way more than was necessary or enjoyable for most people. Funny thing is, it's what I enjoyed most about the book. It was like going to visit an acquaintance named Sam and becoming good friends.

Unfortunately, that comprised most of the book. It seemed like the last 20 to 30 minutes was when anything actually happened......as the mystery was revealed and Sam and his grandson face danger.

Surprisingly enough, there was never any mention of police, of people held accountable for their actions. It seemed even though people had known of a missing boy's whereabouts for 50 years, nothing more than an apology to his brother ever took place. A kinder, gentler mystery indeed!

At the end of the book, I was quite surprised to learn the author has written other mystery series. I will def go looking for him and try a few, but frankly if he writes more books to follow this one, as he says he plans, I won't be reading them. One marble mystery is enough for me. I do hope his other mysteries are handled with more skill, because this seemed more like a young adult read to me.

In the end, and perhaps most importantly, I was able to stick with this book all the way through, and there are alot of books with which I have not managed that outcome.

I gave this book an overall 3, even though I gave the narration and story 4 each. I felt the story really had the possibility of a 4, even though I didn't really feel it was earned. You have to really get my attention to earn a 4. Nothing but Best Books Ever get 5 from me.

Above average narration perfectly matched to story, and great idea from the author, but it could perhaps have been handled more realistically. If you aren't craving excitement, but maybe just some company while you walk, drive, wash dishes, it will def give you that.

The Dissapearance

Sam is now retired.Working in his garden he digs up a skeleton.He hopes it is that of his missing kid brother that disappeared so many years ago.When it turns out not to be he finds out that his brothers was only one of many kids that have gone missing at specific intervals over the years.While investigating his grandson dissapears and the search is on.George Kutch does a wonderful job narrating.
I was given this book for an honest review.

Keeps You Interested to the End

This listen kept me interested until the end. I had an idea who the killer really was about 1/3 of the way through but the mystery and story were so compelling, I didn't care. I wanted to know what happened to Billy.

Sam and Billy are brothers...and best friends. Until the day Billy disappeared 50 years ago. Sam has gone on with his life (grew up, became a doctor, got married, is now a grandfather) but he still thinks about Billy everyday and wonders what happened to him. He even goes so far as to concoct elaborate scenarios in which Billy is alive. The book opens on the day Sam retires and begins a hefty clean up of his overgrown yard. He finds a marble. He begins to have very vivid dreams about scenes from Billy's life. In the real world, someone is tormenting him about Billy and is closing in on him.

There are definite elements that don't make sense in this book like the fact that it is so obvious someone is targeting him but the police don't watch him, his family, or his house. And in this one neighborhood, so many warped people, is too much to believe. Also, the climax scene has way too much action to be believable. Even with these inconsistencies, though, the story of Sam's bond with his brother is so absorbing that I listened with interest to the end because I wanted to know about Billy and then how Sam would deal with the knowledge.

George Kuch did an excellent job with the narration and was Sam. Nothing he did ever brought me out of the story. I enjoyed his voice and appreciated that he didn't reach for the female characters.

I received this book for free from Audiobook Blast in exchange for an honest review.

A Mystery with a Psychic Connection

Sam Moore, recently retired, finds a beautiful marble in the ground, while working on his family property. Touching the marble opens a psychic connection to Sam's childhood and to his brother, Billy. Billy disappeared at age eleven and has been missing for almost 50 years. When Sam travels into his past, he has immersive experiences, feeling the emotions of his younger self, including taste and smell. The storyline shifts between the present and the past. What happened to Billy all those years ago? Is he still alive? Will Sam discover the truth?

This audiobook has poignant descriptions of family and boyhood memories. It is packed with adventure during the latter portion of the book as the mystery unfolds.

There are no demons, witches, werewolves, fantasy worlds, or characters with superpowers in this audiobook. Sam's visions are restricted to time travel into specific memories and events from his past.

A nice whodunit with a touch of the paranormal...

This was an enjoyable whodunit, with enough turns and twists to keep you guessing until the very end. I really enjoyed the paranormal overtones, it added a “Kingesqe” feeling to the story, without Kings gore and language. Several times throughout the listen, I was certain I figured out who the “killer” was, but I was wrong. Aaron Paul Lazar does a great job with character development, and George Kuch’s narration is very good. His pacing is excellent and you can really feel the tension rise in critical portions of the book.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast.

A mystery with no surprises or twists

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I would remove the supernatural element with the green marble- it added nothing to the story and did not fit in with the small town/boring retiree tone.

If you’ve listened to books by Aaron Paul Lazar before, how does this one compare?

This is my first Aaron Paul Lazar book.

What about George Kuch’s performance did you like?

He was perfect for this story. Good pacing, good voice that seemed quite appropriate for the character.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No

Any additional comments?

If you like mysteries that you'll be able to solve, this is it.

a bit of paranormal, touch of humanity Interesting

Would you consider the audio edition of The Disappearance of Billy Moore to be better than the print version?

I haven't read the print version. The audio version piqued my interest to, though.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

As the book developed, it did. The early sections were developing characters.

What about George Kuch’s performance did you like?

At first I didn't care for the narrator but as I was drawn in I felt more comfortable with Mr Kuch's performance.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

The Lovely Bones meets Stand by Me... but not. lol

Any additional comments?

This was a change from my usual reading/listening interests. But enjoyable and satisfying. II emphasized with Sam, as an older male adult. I look forward to the rest of the series.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com."