In Plain Sight: The Startling Truth Behind the Elizabeth Smart Investigation [Hardcover]

Tom Smart (Author), Lee Benson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 18, 2005

This riveting inside story of the intense search for the Salt Lake City teenager who was kidnapped from her bed reveals never-before-told details of the largest investigation in Utah state history. Paced like a thriller, this true account moves between the parallel stories of the searchers and the abductor. The firsthand account of Tom Smart, Elizabeth's uncle and one-time suspect, reveals the details of the flawed police investigation, the media's manipulation of the family, and the eyewitness account of nine-year-old Mary Katherine Smart that went largely ignored by investigators. New research is presented on the family background of disturbed street preacher Brian David Mitchell, who kidnapped Elizabeth as part of a bizarre polygamous plot. Also examined is the critical role of the media, revealing the essential part played by John Walsh and others in facilitating Elizabeth's safe return, and the manipulative influence of Fox News and Bill O'Reilly. Going beyond a mere eyewitness account, the book includes information culled from interviews with more than 150 people involved in the search and investigation, notes from family meetings, and memos from law enforcement officials.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Despite the sensational subtitle, readers who have followed the kidnapping and eventual safe return of Utah teenager Elizabeth Smart won't glean any "startling" truths from this account, coauthored by one of the drama's prime players. But most will find the detailed account of police missteps disturbing and saddening. Smart's traumatic imprisonment riveted much of the country for nine months, from her abduction from her bedroom until the discovery that she was the veiled young woman accompanying a bizarre street preacher named Brian David Mitchell. Tom Smart, an uncle who came unfairly under suspicion and who devoted countless hours to exploring every lead, and journalist Benson craft a coherent narrative interweaving the official investigation with a reconstruction of Mitchell's movements; the numerous missed opportunities to locate Elizabeth and her captors make for agonizing reading. Tom Smart settles some scores: Fox News' Bill O'Reilly and Marc Klaas, the father of a murdered child, come across as journalistically unscrupulous. But Smart is also forthright about his own mistakes. While this is an interesting alternate perspective to that provided by Elizabeth's parents in 2003's Bringing Elizabeth Home, the compelling story still awaits a definitive telling. 8 pages of color photos.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"A compelling account of Elizabeth's ordeal...replete with never-before-told details that only an insider could know." -- John Hughes, Pulitzer prize-winning journalist and former editor of the Christian Science Monitor

"A fascinating look at...riveting case which shows how the police, media, and society interact in a high-profile crime case." -- Dr. Henry C. Lee, author, Cracking More Cases, and leading forensic scientist in the O.J. Simpson, JonBenet Ramsey, and Elizabeth Smart investigations

"An important book that does far more than just chronicle the facts of [this] electrifying, terrifying child abduction case..." -- Ernie Allen, president and CEO, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

"An insightful and harrowing memoir…This book of behind-the-scene dramas reads like a true crime novel." -- Terry Tempest Williams, author, Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place

"Provides the only new information about the case in months." -- The Salt Lake Tribune

"Through the eyes of Tom Smart, we are finally inside a story that none of us will ever forget. Amazing." -- Nancy Grace, anchor of Court TV

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Chicago Review Press; First Edition edition (April 18, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556525796
• ISBN-13: 978-1556525797
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #473,093 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 4.5 Stars... shocking, even as we all know the (happy) ending, June 22, 2005

By 

Paul Allaer (Cincinnati) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In Plain Sight: The Startling Truth Behind the Elizabeth Smart Investigation (Hardcover)

Let me start off by saying that I have a 15 yr old daughter, and that this is every parent's nightmare... I picked up this book, generally aware with the fact that Elizabeth Smart was abducted and eventually found alive. Other than that, I didn't know much.

"In Plain Sight" (380 pages) is written by and from Tom Smart's perspective, the oldest brother of Ed Smart (Elizabeth's dad). It doesn't necessarily make for an easy read. Tom Smart comes across as a heavy-bearing guy with an healthy ego, even if all he has in mind is the best for everyone and wants nothing more than the safe return of Elizabeth. The first half of the book covers the first 10 days or so of Elizabeth's abduction, and is not compelling, as much as we all feel for the family. The book really takes of in the second half, when the weeks and months fly by. Even though the author makes clear he has not interviewed Elizabeth for the book, we do get a good sense of what her captors and Elizabeth were doing, drifting in Salt Lake and near San Diego.

The Salt Lake City Police Department does not come across well in this account, being referred to at one point as the "Keystone Cops", as it eventually steadfastly focuses on Richard Ricci, who is arrested and eventually dies while in prison of a ruptured aneurysm, while all along the true abductors remain shockingly "in plain sight" around SLC and later in San Diego. "America's Most Wanted" John Walsh, instead, gets very positive write-up, and for good reason.

The latter part of the book is most riveting, up to the eventual confrontation with the abductors and Elizabeth in suburban SLC. Even then it looked like things might go wrong, but when the author describes Ed Smart being reunited with Elizabeth at the police station, I admit I had tears running down my face. My prayers are with Elizabeth, that she can find a "normal" life as she grows older, after having suffered such a terrible ordeal.

This book is riveting, shocking, and highly recommended.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In Plain Sight, June 28, 2005

By 

Bettyraines "reader from Utah" (Utah) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In Plain Sight: The Startling Truth Behind the Elizabeth Smart Investigation (Hardcover)

I have read all the books on the Elizabeth Smart case and this is buy far the best. Contrary to what some people have said, this book does not violate Elizabeth's privacy.There is really no new information on her in it. In fact, the book focuses on the investigations and the mistakes made by police in going after Richard Ricci long after Mary Katherine had said that it wasn't him. It gives many new details on the case that were not available in news reports or the other books. I attended a book signing given by the authors and Mr. Smart said that the LAPD had requested that he donated copies of the book so their officers could read it and benefit from the mistakes of the SLPD. If this book can help police departments in saving another missing child, it will be well worth it. Another thing that I liked about the book is that it gave a lot of background on the kidnappers and their twisted reasons for doing what they did.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I KNOW THE ENDING- SO WHY AM I HOLDING MY BREATH?!, June 13, 2005

By 

Reader W - See all my reviews

This review is from: In Plain Sight: The Startling Truth Behind the Elizabeth Smart Investigation (Hardcover)

In Plain Sight, by Tom Smart (Elizabeth Smart's Uncle) & Lee Benson, is a fast-paced, heart-pounding account of the search for kidnapped Elizabeth Smart. Although I, and the nation, knew how this story ended; I found myself holding my breath in anticipation as I turned the pages. This is the behind the scenes story of the search for Elizabeth. It is not yellow-journalism; it is a respectful tale written with love for Elizabeth that is as pertinent in information as it is engrossing. It should be required reading for all law-enforcement. The near-misses in finding Elizabeth sooner, false stories about the Smart family and the lack of cooperation between the police and FBI left me distraught. Tom Smart is as honest with the readers about his own foibles and anguish as one could be. I've read the other reviews that seem to say this book was a gratuitous effort. I disagree. I think that it is a thank you letter to the thousands of people who helped to find Elizabeth and to those like me who followed the story and cried at the news that this little girl was found alive. Those who let their own egos overule the fate of a little girl must look in the mirror at themselves everyday and live with that. The brave heroes in this story, like John Walsh, can feel proud and deserve to be lauded. Much can be learned from this all too real tale. It seems to me that if Tom Smart and his family had not been so persistent then Elizabeth may not have returned. I walk away from reading In Plain Sight realizing that blind-faith in the authorities will not bring a loved-one's fate to light. This book clearly promotes being proactive. Aside from that, it is an extremely good book.