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.
