Split Second by R. C. Bridgestock – Jen Med’s Book Reviews

Today I am delighted to join the blog tour for Split Second, the brand new novel from R.C. Bridgestock. This is the first book I’ve read by this writing duo and I am ever thankful to Orenda Books for an advance proof of the book (which I now also have several lovely hard copies of), and to Anne Cater of Random Things Tours for the tour invite. Here’s what the book is all about:

About the Book

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.

Detective Superintendent 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.

My Thoughts

I try not to live my reading life with regrets, but it can be hard when you find a new author(s) who you know that you really should have read sooner, and will probably spend a lot of time trying to catch up with via their back catalogue of books. That is the position I find myself in with R. C. Bridgestock, as, having read Split Second, I am very certain I’ve been missing out on some really great stories. This book tapped into everything I love in crime fiction – police based action that really made me stop and think – and as their previous books feature this book’s lead Investigators, Jack Dylan and Charly Mann, I think I have a little bit of catch up reading to do. Not that not having read the books hindered my reading of this title at all, so if you are new to both characters as I am, then fear not. But it is clear both have history and I am really interested to see what that is.

But, back to Split Second. This is a very cleaver, very carefully plotted book that had me hooked right from the very start. A police chase/intercept, two potentially armed suspects and a fatal shooting. So much happening in such quick succession that gaining context is something that comes gradually, much as one might expect within a rapidly changing situation, where decisions have to be made in the blink of an eye, and the repercussions of a wrong call are far reaching. I kind of felt both like I was part of the operation, there as the, well, split second decision are made, but also watching as a bystander, one the many voyeurs who will all have their own version of the truth, depending on their perspective in relation to the action. And there are several perspectives in these opening scenes, from which the police, and we readers, need to slowly piece together the truth. Because nothing is quite as it appears, the investigation encounters complications and, when it comes to eyewitnesses, to quote the Palace, ‘recollections may vary’.

I really liked what the authors have done here. Crucial video evidence missing but no clear idea whether its loss was deliberate or a quirk of the technology. Conflicting statements. A police officer who has history with one of the two deceased, bringing into question their response to the incident and whether or not their judgement may, or may not, have been impaired. When does the use of lethal force move from a necessary act for the preservation of life in the face of a perceived threat, to being a case of manslaughter, if not murder? It’s the kind of case that has hit the headlines far too often of late, albeit more on the other side of the Atlantic, but it is a situation that really does make you think, and the way in which Jack Dylan, as the lead investigator of the shooting has to approach the case often creates more questions than answers. Nothing is cut an dried, and even when the motives of the officer involved are called into question, I found it hard to make a real call on whether there was more to their actions than appeared or not. That ambiguity is the crux of the case, and one that plays out in a very carefully paced way throughout the book.

The experience of the authors really does shine through in this book. Not in a way that intrudes upon the story, or slows down the action with too much detail, although this is perhaps the most informed police based story I have read in a while. I got the real sense of the investigation, the clarity of the kinds of questions that need to be asked and the challenge of investigating a police officer given the impact that this has on the force as a whole. The sense that the public are quick to raise grievance and protest against the Police without thinking about what has led to the situation in the first place, and also that knowledge that, should it be proven that the shooting was deliberate and there was a possible other solution, the repercussions for the wider team, and Officers forced into making that call, would be quite profound. It came across in a really authentic way, not trying to preach to the reader, but making me think about what I would do in similar circumstances, whether I was programmed to come down on the side of the police knowing the victim was a ‘wrong ‘un’ or would I ever be able to make the kind of call that resulted in loss of life? I think if you can read this without having those thoughts running through your head, you probably aren’t paying close attention.

There is the human side to the story as well, and the authors have captured all the tension, emotion and grief that you might expect to find in any story of this kind. There are the families of the victims, that of the officer charged with their killing, all of whom inform the sense of loss and tragedy that underpins the story. And then we have Jack Dylan and Charly Mann. If I had read the previous books, I might know their personalities a little better, but I saw enough to know that they were characters who would play it straight, not rush to judgement, and who would seek justice irrespective, but mindful, of the consequences.I liked them both, and also found myself drawn to ‘Officer X’, the person who took the fatal shots. I’m not sure if I ever quite made up my mind about their innocence or guilt, but I felt for their position and for their back story, which has significant bearing on what comes to pass.

Perfectly paced, and thought provoking, the ending may prove divisive, and if you are looking for the perfect conclusion here, well you may not get it, but it was the kind of read that drew me in, compelled me to read onwards, and has left me quite excited about what is yet to come. Definitely recommended.

About the Author

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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