Editorial Content for One Split Second

I got something Buzz will want to hear.
 
These are the words that send outgoing Sheriff Jenny Almond racing to a disturbed veteran’s home one dark, stormy night. Jenny would like nothing more than to tuck in with her husband and children. But that call from Anthony Alvarez came to her home phone. She knows Alvarez to be a war veteran with PTSD, a man her father --- once the sheriff himself --- tried desperately to help. 

Alvarez should remember that Buzz died long ago because he attended the funeral. That makes it all the more urgent that Jenny personally go find out what has the man so upset. But when she arrives, Alvarez doesn’t answer his door. As Jenny begins searching his property, she hears movement, followed by gunfire, and then sees muzzle flash. With only a split second to assess the situation, Jenny shoots back. 

"ONE SPLIT SECOND will propel readers through its pages, leaving them breathless and stunned by the ending.... Robert Dugoni gets it right once again."

Somehow, wires got crossed and things went terribly wrong. Now Alvarez is dead, and Jenny has to admit that she shot him. But why would Alvarez call her with that cryptic message and then shoot at her when she gets there? The bad news for Jenny is that the victim had no weapon. How can that be? She swears that she heard gunfire and saw a muzzle flash. Nonetheless, Jenny’s life is about to take a huge turn for the worse.
 
Seattle detective Tracy Crosswhite rushes to the aid of her old friend and enlists the help of her husband, Dan O'Leary, a brilliant attorney. Between the two of them, they vow to uncover the truth. But they’re up against astronomical odds. Besides Jenny’s admission that she shot Alvarez, the incoming sheriff has a great deal of animosity toward Jenny and is unwilling to work with anyone trying to exonerate her. Maybe it has something to do with a cold case that is more than 40 years old. 

Over two decades ago, a teenager disappeared while babysitting one night in Stoneridge, and the prime suspect was Anthony Alvarez. Buzz was an investigator on that case, and he concluded that Alvarez had nothing to do with it. So when Alvarez now calls Jenny saying, I got something Buzz will want to hear, her mind takes her back to that case, especially since the local papers have revived the story recently. 
 
Secrets don’t like to be uncovered. Long-buried secrets fight hard to stay buried. And word gets around in small towns, meaning that so much as the whisper of a suspicion spreads like lightning. At least one person in the little town of Stoneridge has everything to lose if the truth gets out. And with stakes this high, there is nothing they won’t do to stop Tracy and Dan.
 
ONE SPLIT SECOND will propel readers through its pages, leaving them breathless and stunned by the ending. Tracy Crosswhite is a force to be reckoned with on her own. Coupled with her legal eagle of a husband, they make a formidable team. Robert Dugoni gets it right once again.