The extraordinary true crime story of a family, a brutal shooting, and the year that would change their lives forever.
When Cylin Busby was nine years old, she was obsessed with Izod clothing, the Muppets, and a box turtle she kept in a shoebox. Then everything changed overnight. Her police officer father, John, was driving to his shift when someone leveled a shotgun at his window. The blasts that followed left John's jaw on the passenger seat of his car-literally. While clinging to life, he managed to write down the name of the only person he thought could have pulled the trigger. The suspect? A local ex-con with rumored mob connections. The motive? Officer Busby was scheduled to testify against the suspect's family in an upcoming trial. Overnight, the Busbys went from being the "family next door" to one under 24-hour armed guard, with police escorts to school, and no contact with friends. Worse, the shooter was still on the loose, and it seemed only a matter of time before he'd come after John-or someone else in the family-again. With few choices left to them, the Busby family went into hiding, severing all ties to the only life they had known.
Industry Reviews
"No one with even a marginal interest in true crime writing should miss this page-turner, by turns shocking and almost unbearably sad." -"Publisher's Weekly" (starred review)"A fascinating tale, making the costs of violence unequivocally clear. ...John's hard-won conclusion about vengeance--violence needn't be perpetuated because it would only damage his family more--holds a striking lesson for everyone, not just teens." -"Chicago"" Sun Times""""This riveting story will stay with readers, particularly its message that John's anger and desire for revenge were the hardest wounds to heal." - "Booklist""The book flows seamlessly back and forth from father's to daughter's perspective, each jump between narrators providing further explanation and insight and pulling readers deeper into the story." -- "VOYA" (Teen Reviewer)"This true-crime story manages to be suspenseful and reflective at the same time, and it will draw both leisure and reluctant readers." - "VOYA""A page-turner... Ultimately, a story of survival and triumph." -"SLJ" "A remarkable book. ... Together, father and daughter weave a startling, heartbreaking tale." -"Barnstable"" Patriot""Cylin's detailed account of her childhood is real and, though certainly full of danger and fear, is also a testament to the strength of the power of kids' resiliency. Although the shooter and his family remained on the run and after John Busby, the Busby's drive to keep their family safe resonates with awe throughout the book. A fascinating true story for young readers 10 and up, "The Year We Disappeared" makes for a spellbinding reading." -Copley News Service"Where John's chapters provide the grim facts, it is Cylin's authentically childlike perspective that, in revealing the cost to her innocence, renders the tragic experience most searingly." --"Publishers Weekly," starred review"This true-crime story manages to be suspenseful and reflective at the same time, and it will draw both leisure and reluctant readers." --VOYA"[A] gripping story." VOYA, teen reviewer"A page-turner." -SLJ
