What if one moment – one split second – changed everything?
When a firearms officer shoots a suspect dead and wounds another, who later dies in hospital, the official line is that the sun was in her eyes. Her body cam failed.
Known only as Officer X, her anonymity is meant to protect her – until a judge releases her name and a media storm erupts.
DSI Jack Dylan and DI Charley Mann are called in to determine whether it was a justifiable use of force – or something darker. And when it’s revealed that Officer X knew the victim, and her brother died of a drug overdose linked to the same woman, the case becomes charged with personal and political tension.
As pressure mounts, a vulnerable witness dies and a lost phone surfaces with a photograph and a message that could unravel everything – and reveal the truth about what happened that day.
Split Second brings Dylan and Mann together for the first time, in an investigation that will test their instincts, their loyalties and the limits of justice itself, as both detectives must decide how far they’ll go – and what they’re willing to sacrifice – to uncover the truth.
It's my pleasure to be hosting the blog tour for Split Second by R.C. Bridgestock today. Many thanks to Orenda Books for my advance copy of the novel and Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part in the tour.
R.C. Bridgestock have many dedicated admirers of both their DI Jack Dylan and DI Charley Mann series and I'm sure they will be thrilled to see both come together in Split Second. Jack is now a DSI and has the difficult task of heading up the Professional Standards investigation into a fatal double shooting by a firearms officer. Meanwhile, as the tactical firearms commander at the scene, it's one of Charley Mann's officers, PC Abi McNally, who now faces being accused of murder. It's such a clever way of bringing the pair together because it feels so believable.
Of course, it's not surprising that Split Second is so authentically written, given the wealth of experience of the authors. Their knowledge of procedure pays dividends here but so too does their insider understanding of the emotional toll of incidents such as this – on the officer directly involved, and on their colleagues, all of whom face increased scrutiny by the media and an easily inflamed public. The shooting itself is shown through the eyes of Freddy, a child witness whose attention to detail is impressive but who, nevertheless, is too far from the scene to know exactly what happened.
It's the truth between the split seconds before and after Abi makes the decision to shoot that lie at the heart of the book. She claims that she couldn't clearly see the occupants of the car but intelligence reports suggested they were armed and dangerous. When it looked as if the driver was raising a gun, she gauged they presented a potentially lethal threat to her and her fellow officers. However, evidence soon comes to light that the victim was previously known to Abi and was implicated in the suicide of her brother, Alfie.
Told from a number of different perspectives, much of the narrative follows the path to the Crown Court and then the trial itself. Readers see the challenge officers face trying to piece together what happened when eyewitness accounts don't agree. Were there two shots or four? Did Officer McNally – now known as Officer X – kick the victim after they were dragged from the car? Meanwhile, Abi's fears that her identity will be revealed, her terror of being found guilty and sent to prison, and her complex emotions regarding the job she was highly trained for but now prevented from doing, are all persuasively explored.
Abi is a likeable character but doubts persist about the veracity of her statement, particularly when she isn't as forthcoming as she should be. She is ably supported, however, by her Federation representative, PC Kat Kelly. Kat is arguably the most interesting character besides Abi and somebody I would welcome seeing more of in the future. Abi is defended by Aisha Sharma KC and her junior, Jude Lucas. Asha is definitely somebody you'd want on your side, there's a brilliant moment where she eviscerates a witness whereas Jude offers more personal succour to Abi. The alleged crime occurs very early on but even so Split Second is a relentlessly tense read. In a trial with high stakes, where the outcome is far from certain, R.C. Bridgestock captures the rollercoaster of emotions experienced by everyone involved. I suspect the ending might prove divisive and if I'm honest, I'm still not sure how I feel about it – but that doesn't detract from how much I enjoyed this novel. Compulsive, nuanced and astutely crafted, it's one I thoroughly recommend.
Split Second is published by Orenda Books and can be ordered from their website. More purchasing links can be found here.
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R.C. Bridgestock is the pen name of writing partners Bob and Carol Bridgestock, whose compelling, authentic crime fiction is shaped by almost fifty years of combined experience with West Yorkshire Police, one of the largest police forces in the UK.
Bob Bridgestock was a career detective who rose to Detective Superintendent during a thirty year policing career at the forefront of major crime. He worked on some of the most serious and complex investigations in the country, returning to uniform only as required for professional development at each rank. As a Detective Inspector, he became a police trained negotiator, deployed in cases involving kidnap, extortion, terrorism and suicide intervention, and also served at the international training school, delivering criminal law training to officers of all ranks from the UK and overseas.
In the final three years of his service alone, he led twenty six murder investigations, alongside numerous major incidents and more than fifty suspicious deaths. Over the course of his career, he was involved in some of West Yorkshire’s largest and most high profile enquiries, earning more than twenty commendations from senior judges and police commanders. His work has since been the subject of multiple television documentaries.
Carol Bridgestock spent seventeen years with West Yorkshire Police working across a range of operational and supervisory roles, including duties management, file preparation for court and major incident administration. She brings a detailed understanding of how investigations are built behind the scenes, alongside the human impact of crime on officers and families, shaping the emotional truth at the heart of their writing.
Together, they write crime fiction where lived experience meets storytelling, combining meticulous procedure with character, atmosphere and the distinctive landscapes of Yorkshire. They are the authors of the DI Jack Dylan and DI Charley Mann series, and have worked as storyline and police procedure consultants on major television dramas including the BAFTA winning Happy Valley, Scott & Bailey, and The Beast Must Die.
In 2026, they begin a new chapter with Orenda Books, publishing Split Second, the first in a gripping new series bringing together DI Jack Dylan and DI Charley Mann.
They were voted #8 in the WHSmith Readers’ Best Crime Authors of All Time.
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