Staincliffe has jumped to fame as the author of the brilliant Scott and
Bailey, police procedural, television hit series. Split Second is not a Scott and Bailey story. It is a stand-a-lone,
the only similarities being that it is set in Manchester and revolves around a murder. A
young black boy is travelling alone on a bus, when four youths verbally and
racially abuse him, and just one passenger comes to his defence. When the black
youth makes a dash from the bus, the four youths pursue him, and the passenger
who came to his defence, pursues them. There is a fight and two boys are
stabbed. The four youths have run away before the police arrive and no one is
sure who they are. There was a witness on the bus, who was too afraid to get
involved, but after reading in the paper what happened, she comes forward and
agrees to give evidence in court.
This scenario is a slice of
modern life- something that is happening every day, on our streets.
Staincliffe’s story is well observed and well researched, and much, more. It is
powerfully emotive and pulls you in, quickly and fully, as the main characters
are clear, real, and all victims. This really is the story of the people
affected by this crime. Firstly a caring and loving first year university-
student, his life lost in seconds through a fruitless argument. There are the
parents of both the stabbed victims, one whose marriage is in jeopardy, and the
other a single parent who faces the possibility of the death of her son, alone.
The witness on the bus, who eventually comes forward to give evidence, has her
whole life affected, and the sister of one of the victims- whose only dream was
to become a pop star. Then there are the police who run the case. It is a story
of tragedy, and of hope, of broken marriages, of new affairs, all wrapped
around the despair of wasted lives. Staincliffe’s characters are real and
heartfelt. Staincliffe’s writing is nothing short of brilliant. This book will make you sit up and think. It left me thinking about
the situation for a long time after I closed the book. Did it have a satisfying
ending? I’ll leave that to you to decide. I couldn’t recommend it more highly.
Lindareganonline.co.uk
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Reviewer: Linda Regan
Cath Staincliffe was brought up in Bradford
and hoped to become an entomologist (insects) then a trapeze artist before
settling on acting at the age of eight. She graduated from Birmingham University
with a Drama and Theatre Arts degree and moved to work as a community artist in
Manchester
where she now lives with her family. Looking for Trouble, published in
1994, launched private eye Sal, a single parent struggling to juggle work and
home, onto Manchester’s
mean streets. It was short listed for the Crime Writers Association’s
John Creasey best first novel award, serialised on BBC Radio 4, Woman’s Hour
and awarded Le Masque de l’Année in France. Cath has published a
further seven Sal Kilkenny mysteries.
In 2012 Cath won the CWA Short Story Dagger for Laptop, sharing the prize with Margaret Murphy with her story The Message. Both stories featured in Best Eaten Cold, a Murder Squad anthology. Cath is also a scriptwriter, creator of ITV’s hit police series, Blue Murder, which ran for five series from 2003 – 2009 starring Caroline Quentin as DCI Janine Lewis. Cath writes for radio and created the Legacy drama series which features a chalk-and-cheese, brother and sister duo of heir hunters whose searches take them into the past lives of families torn apart by events.
Trio, a stand-alone novel, moved away from crime to explore adoption and growing up in the 1960s. Cath’s own story, of tracing and being re-united with her Irish birth family and her seven brothers and sisters, featured in the television documentary Finding Cath from RTE.
Dead To Me, a prequel to the popular Scott & Bailey TV
show, sees the two women detectives thrown together for the very first time as
they investigate the brutal murder of a teenage girl. Cath is a founder member
of Murder Squad, a virtual collective of northern crime writers.
She is an avid reader and likes hill-walking, messing about in the garden and
dancing (with far more enthusiasm than grace).In 2012 Cath won the CWA Short Story Dagger for Laptop, sharing the prize with Margaret Murphy with her story The Message. Both stories featured in Best Eaten Cold, a Murder Squad anthology. Cath is also a scriptwriter, creator of ITV’s hit police series, Blue Murder, which ran for five series from 2003 – 2009 starring Caroline Quentin as DCI Janine Lewis. Cath writes for radio and created the Legacy drama series which features a chalk-and-cheese, brother and sister duo of heir hunters whose searches take them into the past lives of families torn apart by events.
Trio, a stand-alone novel, moved away from crime to explore adoption and growing up in the 1960s. Cath’s own story, of tracing and being re-united with her Irish birth family and her seven brothers and sisters, featured in the television documentary Finding Cath from RTE.
Linda Regan is the author of six police procedural crime novels. She is
also an actress. She holds a Masters degree in critical writing and journalism,
and writes a regular column, including book reviews, for three magazines.
She also presents the book-club spot on BBC Radio Kent. She is an
avid reader, and welcomes the chance to read new writers.
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