This is the first I have read by Dreda and it won’t be the last. As I have said the beauty of a short story just entices me to find out more. Quite a gritty subject matter, fast paced, Hayley is so desperate to do the best she can for her daughter and go straight after a jail term but life sometimes has different ideas. I admired her strength and good intentions, the love for her little girl is obvious as well as the sense of family unity with her brother and Nan. This story shows that environment and mixing with the ‘wrong’ crowds can be so detrimental. I read this from cover to cover in the time it took to drink a mug of coffee .. I was so engrossed the coffee got cold! Brilliant, this one will stay with me for a while and I will be searching out other work by the author.

I thought this must be a new author.....but it seems she has written about nine other books previously.... If you like Martina Cole, then try this author too. Good gritty crime read!