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Sebastian Ritscher
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NORCO '80

Peter Houlahan

The True Story of the Most Spectacular Bank Robbery in American History

Norco '80 is a gripping true crime account of one of the most violent bank heists in US history.
Norco '80 tells the story of how five heavily armed young men - led by an apocalyptic born-again Christian - attempted a bank robbery that turned into one of the most violent criminal events in U.S. history, forever changing the face of American law enforcement. Part action thriller and part courtroom drama, Norco '80 transports the reader back to the Southern California of the 1970s, an era of predatory evangelical gurus, doomsday predictions, megachurches, and soaring crime rates, with the threat of nuclear obliteration looming over it all.

A group of landscapers transforms into a murderous gang of bank robbers armed to the teeth with military-grade weapons. Their desperate getaway turned the surrounding towns into war zones. When it was over, three were dead and close to twenty wounded; a police helicopter was forced down from the sky, and thirty-two police vehicles were destroyed by thousands of rounds of ammo. The resulting trial shook the community to the core, raising many issues that continue to face society today: from the epidemic of post-traumatic stress disorder within law enforcement to religious extremism and the militarization of local police forces.

PETER HOULAHAN is a freelance writer contributing to a wide range of publications. In his career as an emergency medical technician, he has written a number of articles related to his profession. He holds an MFA from Sarah Lawrence College. A native Southern Californian, Houlahan now lives in Fairfield County, Connecticut.
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Published 2019-06-11 by Counterpoint

Comments

Houlahan's debut is remarkable for the exhaustive level of detail he brings to every stage of the story, transforming a pulpy true-crime narrative into a reflection of social transformations and class conflict as the countercultural 1970s faded into the Reagan era. An impressively well-rendered true-crime saga.

There is no doubt that Norco '80 is poised to become a true crime classic. It's a marvel of pacing and information - at times racing ahead like a speeding bullet and others slowing down to provide a perfect panorama of a hair's breath moment. Houlahan has left nothing unexamined in his obsessively detailed account of this heist from the emotional, to the logistical, to the spiritual. Trust me, you're going to want to read every word.

NORCO '80 makes meticulous research and devotion to the truth fuse with suspense and excitement until the reader is right there, a witness to this guns-blazing account of a crime that changed American law enforcement's readiness for violence in the extreme.

Norco '80 somehow makes meticulous research and devotion to the truth fuse with suspense and excitement until the reader is right there, a witness to this guns-blazing account of a crime that changed American law enforcement's readiness for violence in the extreme.

With his first book, Houlahan proves himself to be an astonishingly gifted writer, breathing urgent life into a true story that still resonates today. Norco '80 is a fascinating true-crime account that seems likely to be one of the best nonfiction books of the year.

NORCO '80 is a Finalist for the 2020 Edgar Award (Best Fact Crime) Read more...

Simply put, Norco '80 is one of the best true crime accounts ever written. Harrowing, incisive, and important. But also? A goddamned thrill ride. This is a book you'll read and then talk about for weeks.

The New York Times just wrote it up as a best book for this summer: "...For a first-time writer, Houlahan sure knows how to dramatize a scene. His cinematic treatment of the robbery itself reads like wildfire, the fatal shootout with the police ends in colorful chaos, and the huge manhunt through San Bernardino National Forest conducted by "Hunt & Kill Teams" is a nail-biter... Read more...

Like American Heiress in the summer of 2016, this looks like the true crime book that will launch a hundred conversations.