THE YEAR WE DISAPPEARED- CYLIN AND JOHN BUSBY

In summer, 1979, Cylin Busby was nine years old, living with her parents and two older brothers on Cape Cod, Massachusetts when her life changed  in a matter of minutes. Cylin's father, John Busby, a policeman, was on his way to work when a car pulled up next to him and shot off the bottom half of his jaw. Busby managed to steer his car onto someone's lawn and stumble into their kitchen, where he came very close to bleeding to death.

THE YEAR WE DISAPPEARED is a memoir, told by Cylin Busby and her father John, in alternating chapters, of the terrible year following Busby's shooting. Busby is taken to Massachusetts General, where he spends the next few months unable to talk or to eat, recuperating. Perhaps even sadder, though, than what happens to Busby, is what happens to his family. The man who shoots Busby is a man with very close ties to the community and the police department. Because of these connections, the investigation is haphazard at best. No one is arrested, and the family spends the next year basically under house arrest, with round the clock police guards, a sniper on their roof, and a police dog chained up in their backyard. Ultimately, the family decide they must leave the area, and move to Tennessee.

This is not a book for the younger set, in fact, I don't think I'd use it much below seventh or eighth grade. It is, however, a great read for those inclined toward CSI type books and shows- I devoured it in one afternoon!