Sniper: Inside the Hunt for the Killers Who Terrorized the Nation

The book by MCP Chief Charles Moose,"Three Weeks in October," tells about what happened during the sniper terror that gripped the Washington Metro area. But "Sniper," tells a whole lot more about what actually happened. The exact locations of the murders and woundings, the way the victims died, the way they were shot. It takes you step by step with the crime solvers and with the snipers. Daily, you find out what really happened, where it happened and why over 250 law enforcement officials were so baffled and had a difficult time capturing the snipers. I live within minutes of many of the crime scenes and I will tell you that my entire family was terrified. It changed our lives, made us jumpy when we went outside. Pumping gas was a real horrific event too. But the book also tells of the heroes such as Chief Moose, who was just about at the end of his rope and showed his humanity with tears at the shooting of a student. Of course Captain Barney Forsythe, who spent long hours, above and beyond his duty day, trying and stave off the killers is too a hero. If you want to have a good idea of what it was like during those harrowing days in October, read this book. The fine authors, from the Washington Post, tell it just the way it happened. I hope that we never ever have to deal with the fear that was thrust upon us in Montgomery County and the areas surrounding us again. But in these times, one never knows what the day will bring. Also, remember that the police are not here to protect us. They are here to uphold the laws. Kudos to "nine-Henry-ten."

What is the face of evil? In this sniper case, the faces are two - a 15-year-old boy and a man old enough to be his father. They are ordinary faces; yet they methodically killed and wounded as many as 5 people a day without mercy. Their movements were random, frustrating police and FBI agents. Acting on mistaken information of a white van, the officials floundered - clueless, while the pair remained invisible and deadly - shooting from a small hole in the truck of a dark blue Caprice. All around them a tempest roared. Authors Horwitz and Ruane tell us chapter by chapter what happened, who the killers were, who the victims were, and how they ultimately were captured.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found it hard to put down once I began reading it. It seemed to capture the horror the people in the DC area felt while the snipers were at large. I would have like to have seen more about the police procedurals and the detective work done to catch these guys. I am sure there is a lot more to this story than was told in this book. However this is an enthralling, scary story that will make you wonder what kind of atrocity will happen next.

Horwitz has two -- two -- pulitzer prizes and a Robert Kennedy award for her investigative journalism and this book helps explain why. This book was important to read, and captivating, like a mystery, but it was difficult and sickening to think about the tragedy it describes. It is important to read so other killers are caught sooner and with better coordination by our first responders. Well worth it and no one could have done it better.

I picked up "Sniper" in a book store far from Washington, DC and had to buy the book and bring it home -- I couldn't put it down. Horwitz and Ruane have taken events about which I thought I had heard everything and brought new life to them. Anyone interested in police work, investigative reporting, or how our lives have changed in this time of a feeling of increased vulnerability to acts of violence should read this book. Forget the one-hour TV crime dramas -- this is the real thing.