Split Second

Cath Staincliffe

ISBN 10: 1849013454 / ISBN 13: 9781849013451

Published by Constable, 2012

About this Item

First Edition. FIRST EDITION, INCLUDES THE DUST JACKET.

Seller Inventory # mon0002987216

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Split Second
• Publisher: Constable
• Publication Date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1849013454
• ISBN 13: 9781849013451
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Includes dust jacket.

About this title

Synopsis

A winter's evening and a trio of unruly youths board a bus and gang up on teenager Luke Donnelly, hurling abuse and threatening to kill him. The bus is full but no one intervenes until Jason Barnes, a young student, challenges the youths. Luke seizes the chance to run off the bus but his attackers follow. Andrew Barnes is dragged from the shower by his wife there's a fight in the front garden and Jason's trying to break it up. Andrew rushes to help and the assailants flee. Jason shouts to his father to phone an ambulance - Luke is badly hurt. Minutes later Jason collapses in their living room, he has been stabbed. The blow proves fatal. Valerie and Andrew are devastated by the loss of their only child, and react in very different ways to their grief. Valerie wants justice, revenge even, but Andrew is desperate to find some meaning in Jason's sacrifice. Luke survived the assault thanks to Jason's actions, but is in a coma. As his marriage disintegrates, Andrew secretly visits Luke and his mother Louise and a fragile friendship develops. Meanwhile the press begin to paint a picture of Luke as a less than innocent victim and raise questions about the cost of Jason's heroism. One of the offenders confesses to the attacks and shows remorse while the others plead not guilty. Conflicting accounts emerge during the trial. With some parties prepared to lie, the matter of uncovering what really happened is far from straightforward, and the jury's verdict hard to predict. A novel that explores the issue of whether to intervene or look the other way and the fall-out from either decision. Split Second tackles questions of bravery, fear and kindness and depicts the human impact of violent crime.

About the Author

Cath Staincliffe is an award winning novelist, radio playwright and creator of ITV's hit series Blue Murder. Cath's books have been shortlisted for the CWA Best First Novel award. She was joint winner of the CWA Short Story Dagger in 2012. Letters To My Daughter's Killer was selected for the Specsavers Crime Thriller Book Club on ITV3 in 2014. Cath also writes the Scott & Bailey books based on the popular ITV series. She lives with her family in Manchester.