A Sudden Shot: The Phoenix Serial Shooter

by Camille Kimball

Book Overview

Arizona never experienced a summer like this, as snipers Dale Hausner and Sam Dieteman took aim at anything'and everything'in their path. Phoenix was a city in terror as the deadly spree ultimately claimed 37 vicitims, people and pets? until one detective began to put the pieces together to nail the murderous duo.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0425230198
• ISBN13: 9780425230190
• Release Date: September 2009
• Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 4.1" x 6.7"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Dive into the trenches with real cops....

Putting aside several facts: I worked with Cliff 30+ years ago, my own career was in the military and law enforcement, I enjoy Joseph Wambaugh, W.E.B. Griffin's "Badge of Honor" series, and John Sanford's "Prey" series: I found this book to be an excellent read. "A Sudden Shot" isn't fiction. The case isn't solved in an hour between comercials. This is real. It's how police work really is. It's not all excitement and high speed chases. It's a lot of hard work, with a degree of luck thrown in, by people who don't say, 'let the other guy handle it'. There is no other guy. And it's a team. This is a story straight out of the headlines. A story which put fear inb the hearts of the everyday citizens of the Phoenix region, and what it took to end that fear so people could breath freely again. If your genre is police/crime stories. Get the real deal. The author didn't overinflate nor did she ignore the tedium most investigations are plagued with.... excellent balance and a great read.

Compassionate and a Great Read

I think Camille Kimball will be the Tom Clancy of true crime. I normally do not read true crime books but, a friend told me I had to get this book and read it. I have never reviewed a book before but, after reading the K. Price review I was compelled to write this. The compassionate way Camille Kimball brings us into the lives of the victims and then connects the dots at the end of the book was outstanding. I could not put the book down after getting halfway through it. As far as K. Price saying that Dale was not mentioned for the first 100 pages that there was no Sam Dietman or Dale Hausner, I am not sure what book they were reading. There was just the right amount on these guys; drive around in a circle when no one is looking blow someone away, there are a lot of details and some are pretty gory. The tactics described in the book showed that these men were heartless, mixed up, mindless cowards. I particularly liked Dale's statement about Nebraska being his "hometown". Ms. Kimball's subtle ways of showing readers that these guys were morons by using their own words added some great humor to the book. Telling us about the detectives and victims was wonderful, compassionate and as I said before a great read. What I want to know is when is her next book coming out?

I'd recommend this to anybody.

I worked with Camille in the Investigative unit at CBS5 News, so I was pumped to read this book. Based on the long form stories we researched together, I knew this would be a thorough and well researched book. But it was a heck of a lot more than that. It has so many mesmerizing layers that I find myself going back and thinking about earlier chapters again. Continuing revelations kept my heart pumping, my fingers flying through the pages, and my mind racing. My favorite movies are the ones I'll think about for hours or days after. This book is like that. And it has so many interesting people -- not just the perpetrators, but the victims, the investigators, the witnesses, and the informant. Wow.

The Story Behind the Story

This is a superb book. For those of us who didn't live in Phoenix during the time of the Serial Shooter, the book takes us right there - we feel the terror, we feel the horror of hearing a gunshot and finding a neighbor, a friend, a pet shot. But this book does something much more important: it takes us behind the scenes and lets us get to know those who were shot and injured. We hear from family members who will never get to hug a loved one again and we see the power of ordinary citizens helping each other out and standing against kiillers. We also get to meet the brave men and women in law enforcement who often didn't sleep for days, working in an effort to capture the killers. I absolutely adored this book and can not recommend it high enough.

Well written and factual

As one of the lead investigators in this case I worried that the facts of the case would be over shadowed by the need for sensationalism. I was immensely please with the way Camille Kimball stuck to the facts and wrote a solid book which dramatically highlighted the many victims. The book captured the pain and suffering the victims endured and the pain the families of the eight murder victim went through. I highly recommend this book!