A Sudden Shot: The Phoenix Serial Shooter (Berkley True Crime) [Paperback]

Camille Kimball (Author)

Book Description

Series: Berkley True Crime | Publication Date: September 1, 2009

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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Your book made me realize suddenly why I write true crime -- to inspire and to tell an amazing story that no one else has the guts to reveal." --Kerrie Droban--Author of Running with the Devil

"Kimball...has created a haunting piece of literature."

--Mike Watkiss--Journalist, TV and Film personality

From the Author

I expected this story to be gritty and tragic. It is. But as I delved into the research and got to know the many, many people affected by this case, I discovered it was even more a story of triumph. In the first place, old fashioned policework triumphed over fancy technology. What's old fashioned police work? One homicide detective told me their saying to describe it is, "Knockin' on doors and shakin' bushes." 

And I found a lot of that. Crawling in where the black widows lurked and hovering over hospital beds, detectives solved this case in record time.

It is also the triumph of ordinary citizens who rushed into harm's way in order to save a stranger and those who refused to die alone on the street.

The television Wicked Attraction picked up this book and made an hour long episode, which includes re-enactments of some of these astonishing scenes. Of course, the real people from the story are also in the episode.  Google "Wicked Attraction" and "A Sudden Shot" and you are sure to find the episode and its schedule. It continues to air throughout the 2010 season.

Whether for the noir detective work, the creepy candid wiretaps on serial killers or the stories of personal triumph over evil, I hope you enjoy A Sudden Shot. It was a privilege to write this book.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 325 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (September 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425230198
• ISBN-13: 978-0425230190
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #282,587 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Camille Kimball is an Emmy winning investigative reporter. In addition to television, she has an extensive background in the rapid fire world of radio. Kimball has also been a major market newspaper columnist and has reported for various print publications. A Sudden Shot: the Phoenix Serial Shooter was her first book. Nothing pleases her better than digging out who the real heroes are....and letting the rest of the world in on it. (here's a hero---get his story in the book!)

She is the Winner of a Reader's Choice Best True Crime of 2010 Award for her second book, What She Always Wanted: A True Story of Marriage, Greed and Murder

Her story "Almost Out of Time" appears in The Mammoth Book of Tough Guys.

Visit her website www.camillekimball.com Join her on Facebook. Or follow her on Twitter.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well written and factual, September 14, 2009

By 

Clifton D. Jewell "Det. Cliff Jewell (Retired)" (Phoenix, Az) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Sudden Shot: The Phoenix Serial Shooter (Berkley True Crime) (Paperback)

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!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Story Behind the Story, September 15, 2009

By 

Shauna L. Nelson (Vancouver, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Sudden Shot: The Phoenix Serial Shooter (Berkley True Crime) (Paperback)

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.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'd recommend this to anybody., October 1, 2009

By 

Chris Hayes (Saint Louis, MO United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Sudden Shot: The Phoenix Serial Shooter (Berkley True Crime) (Paperback)

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.