Robert Dugoni has done it again! One Split Second, the twelfth book in the Tracy Crosswhite series, is an excellent novel and, in my opinion, a must-read for anyone who loves a well-crafted thriller. The story immediately grabs your attention with a stormy-night shooting that changes everything for Sheriff Jenny Almond. Jenny, a longtime friend and police-academy classmate of Seattle homicide detective Tracy Crosswhite, responds to a disturbing late-night call from Anthony Alvarez, a Vietnam veteran suffering from PTSD. Alvarez is frightened and insists that he needs to speak with Jenny’s late father, former sheriff Buzz Almond. When Jenny arrives at Alvarez’s property, a terrifying sequence of events unfolds, and in a split second she shoots and kills him. The complication is that Alvarez was apparently unarmed—and Jenny is subsequently charged with first-degree murder.
What makes the story particularly compelling is the connection between Alvarez’s death and a forty-five-year-old cold case. In 1980, fifteen-year-old babysitter Jacquelyn (Jackie) Parker disappeared while babysitting, and Alvarez had once been considered the prime suspect. Jenny’s father, Buzz, investigated the case but never believed Alvarez was guilty and suspected that he had been framed. Now Tracy begins digging into that old investigation while her husband and attorney, Dan O’Leary, prepares Jenny’s defense. The novel seamlessly moves between the present-day murder case and the events surrounding Jackie Parker’s disappearance, gradually revealing how the two cases are connected. Dugoni skillfully allows the pieces of the puzzle to emerge, keeping the reader questioning what really happened and whom to trust.
I especially enjoyed the characters. Tracy Crosswhite is everything I have come to appreciate about her—determined, intelligent, loyal, and unwilling to stop investigating until she finds the truth. Dan O’Leary provides an excellent counterbalance to Tracy with his calm, analytical approach to Jenny’s defense. The combination of police investigation, courtroom strategy, a decades-old disappearance, and present-day danger makes this a thoroughly absorbing read.
As expected whenever I pick up a Robert Dugoni novel, One Split Second is a superb thriller. Dugoni masterfully weaves together two timelines, two crimes, and long-buried secrets, keeping the suspense building until the end. Every new revelation raises another question. The courtroom scenes, investigative work, twists, and emotional stakes work beautifully together. Even though this is part of the Tracy Crosswhite series, there is enough background for newcomers. I highly recommend One Split Second to anyone who loves thrillers, mysteries, police procedurals, and legal suspense. It is a book that reminds us how one moment—one split second—can change everything.
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