One False Move

by Dreda Say Mitchell

Hayley swore when she got out of prison that she would turn her life around. But living on the Devil's Estate doesn't make that easy. She spends her days looking after her daughter, and her nights collecting cash from people who can't get loans any other way. But someone has just robbed her. And she has twenty-four hours to get the money back, or her boss will come for her. Her criminal ex-boyfriend says he can help. Hayley wants nothing to do with him. But time is running out, and she has to choose - save herself, or save her soul? If she makes one false move, her life will be over...

Genres: Thriller, Crime, Short Stories

128 pages, Paperback

Published February 2, 2017

About the author

Her Majesty, The Queen appointed Dreda an MBE in her 2020 New Year’s Honours’ List. Dreda scooped the CWA’s John Creasey Dagger in 2004, the first time a Black British author has received this honour. Dreda and Ryan write across the crime and mystery genre – psychological thrillers, gritty gangland crime and fast-paced action books Spare Room, their first psychological thriller was a #1 UK and US Amazon Bestseller. Dreda is one of twelve acclaimed and bestselling international female writers contributing to a new Miss Marple anthology. Dreda is a passionate campaigner and speaker on social issues and the arts. She has been a frequent guest on television and radio including BBC Breakfast,, Celebrity Pointless and Celebrity Eggheads, The Stephen Nolan Show, Front Row and Woman’s Hour. She has presented Radio 4’s flagship books programme, Open Book. Dreda was named one of Britain’s 50 Remarkable Women by Lady Geek in association with Nokia. She was the 2011 chair of the Theakston Harrogate Crime Fiction Festival. Dreda was born and raised in the East End of London where she continues to live. Dreda’s family are from the beautiful Caribbean island of Grenada and her name is pronounced with a long ‘ee’ sound in the middle.

Reviews

[Miriam Smith (A Mother’s Musings) · Rating 4 out of 5]

"One False Move" is a 'Quick Read 2017' book written by Dreda Mitchell and I can say I really enjoyed reading it.
It's quite easy to see this storyline as being more fact than fiction within the gangland estates and the author has done a good job of portraying life in these areas and the lengths people go to in order to survive. An intriguing and entertaining storyline that's well worth a read.
I haven't read anything before by D.S. Mitchell but I do know she is well established and has a very successful novel 'Blood Sister' published. I'd happily read more by her in the future and recommend this quick read book for crime readers of all ages.

4 stars

[Rachel (not currently receiving notifications) Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just enough of a story to keep me reading and satisfied, but nothing momentous. One False Move is a gangland tale about an ex-con doing her best to get on the straight and narrow. Little twee at times, with a very cliched ending.

[Erica⭐ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hayley gave birth to three-year old Lily when she was in prison for burglary - she was the expert at climbing up and entering buildings to let the rest of the gang in the front door. When she got out of prison she vowed to stay on the right side of the law, to be a good role model for Lily. But the problem is that it’s hard for an ex-con to find a job. So she gets a job collecting money from people on her estate, those who have borrowed from “Quids In”, a loan company run by the nice Mary Lewis and her brother. At 9pm one evening she gets mugged after she’s collected £1,000, and the trouble begins.

It turns out that the Lewis siblings are anything but nice, and threaten to hurt Lily if Hayley doesn’t find and return the money by 4pm the next day.

How will she track down the mugger? How will she be able to drum up £1,000? Borrow it? Steal it? Get a bank loan? Will she be able to hide Lily away, if she can’t get the money? Can she get help from Lily’s dad? Is somebody manipulating her?

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Sean Peters (A Good Thriller) · Rating 3 out of 5]

First read by this author, and the quick read series.

Quick short chapters, strong characters and good tension

Hayley swore when she got out of prison that she would turn her life around.

But living on the Devil's Estate doesn't make that easy.

She spends her days looking after her daughter, and her nights collecting cash from people who can't get loans any other way.

But someone has just robbed her. And she has twenty-four hours to get the money back, or her boss will come for her.

Her criminal ex-boyfriend says he can help. Hayley wants nothing to do with him. But time is running out, and she has to choose - save herself, or save her soul?

If she makes one false move, her life will be over...

[Caroline Goodson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very simple read that could probably be done in one sitting. Fast paced and lots of action crammed in to this very short story. I love the quick read series and this one will make me look out for this author!

[Maddie Cave · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read, managed to finish it in one setting however felt the author was writing about a style of life they had not experienced. Felt very stereotypical of low income estates

[Lucy Edwards · Rating 2 out of 5]

Needed a quick read whilst I decided to what to read next. Should probably have just decided and not bothered with the quick read 😬

[Eleanor Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite a good short read

[The Cookster · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rating: 2.1/5

This book is part of this year's Quick Reads programme from The Reading Agency. I am very much a fan of the scheme, but I have to admit that I was a little disappointed to see that the six books forming this year's offering are re-issues of previously featured stories rather than new material.

There is a real skill in drafting a properly rounded story within the confines of a mere 100 or so pages and I have huge admiration for writers who can turn their hand to the format convincingly. Dreda Say Mitchell certainly manages to achieve a rounded story, but there are shortcomings that prevent this being one of the better examples of a short story. "One False Move" is quite predictable and the narrative comes across as too sanitised given the setting and backstory of the characters. It certainly doesn't have the same sense of authenticity that is displayed in one the other re-issued short stories this year, "Hello Mum" by Bernadine Evaristo.

[pastiesandpages - Gavin · Rating 4 out of 5]

One False Move centres on young mum Hayley. She lives on a rough estate and being an ex-con she'd been struggling to find work.

She's determined to go straight, turn her life around and do right by her little girl.

A job collecting cash for a loan company goes wrong when she's robbed at knife point.
The company she works for aren't who she thought they were and she's suddenly in big trouble.
She's got 24 hours to pay the money back or the life of her self and her daughter is at risk.

Will she go back to thieving or can she find a better solution? She doesn't want to ask her criminal ex-boyfriend for help but does she have a choice?

As you would expect for a quick read it's fast paced and exciting and Hayley is a likeable main character. We find out about her past, her present situation, and root for her future.
The ending is a little bit saccharine but I understand the need to tie all the story threads together quickly.

The author is a successful crime novelist and this is a good taster.

[Steven Fox · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hayley swore when she got out of prison that she would turn her life around.

But living on the Devil's Estate doesn't make that easy.

She spends her days looking after her daughter, and her nights collecting cash from people who can't get loans any other way.

But someone has just robbed her. And she has twenty-four hours to get the money back, or her boss will come for her.

Her criminal ex-boyfriend says he can help. Hayley wants nothing to do with him. But time is running out, and she has to choose - save herself, or save her soul?

If she makes one false move, her life will be over...

[FeedMyReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hayley maybe out of prison but when you live somewhere with no real chances to better yourself are you truly free? Hayley has her daughter to look after and a job which sees her collecting repayments of loans by going door to door but when she is robbed of £1000 can she keep her life on track or is this going to see the spiral back toward prison or worse?

This is a well written and clever story that worked beautifully well. The characters were all believable and despite being a quick read this is one which has a good level of depth to it and is highly recommended.

[Cel Jel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short read and read due to seeing the author on a you tube video from the British Library for Book night 2022.
The tale of a woman trying to get on in life after bad choices led her to being in jail. Unfortunately the people she is now working for are not as they seem. She is working as a money collector and is robbed one night.
I loved the character of her grandmother and did like how the story developed the links to the end, but found the middle bit a bit contrived.

[Mrs T J Giles · Rating 4 out of 5]

One False Move by Dreda Say Mitchell, one of The Reading Agency 2023 titles; a quick read for £1. A great story packed into 105 pages read in an hour. Hatley swore she'd turn her life around after prison but her estate doesn't make it easy. She has to draw on her strength and willpower to move forward. A great bunch of characters. Not read anything by this author before but this short story gives you a great taster. 4*

[Nessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read other books by this author I decided to give her quick reads book a go and I'm happy to say that I wasn't disappointed. I thoroughly enjoyed it, read it in one sitting which was about two hours.

I really enjoyed the story and getting to know the characters, and liked how it all played out in the end.

[Zoe Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gangland short story as part of the quick reads collection. This is a tale of one young woman’s desperation to get her life on the right side of the law for her and her daughter Lily. Lily was born in prison 3 years ago and her mum Hayley is determined not to turn back to a life of crime on the notorious Devils Estate in London

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short novella is a rather simply story, but in Mitchell's capable hands it makes for an entertaining read. Hayley's determination to do the right thing or at the very least not succumb to the same temptations and mistakes that led her to jail feels realistic. And in many ways, the book is about what makes a community and how communities need each other to survive.

[Wilmslow Ladies Reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's about a young woman who just got out of prison (drug offences) and she gets back involved with it. In the end she gets back on track. It was a quick read - I'm not into long books. Her story was encouraging because she was determined to get back on track and persevere for her life to come good.

[Shayney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best quick reads books that I have read. This book has great story, plot and character development that is usually pretty hard to come by when reading short stories and quick reads. For that, I have to rate it five stars.

[Bee 🐝 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely love the reading agency’s quick reads. Really good fillers for in between bigger books.

Loved the storyline of this book. Really made you feel for Hayley and the ending was really good 😊

[Vicky Lowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

first book I've read by dreda looking forward to reading the rest

[Stefennie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

Better than most but the skills involved with writing short stories from full length books is difficult for authors.

I found this a good plot yet it didn't flow as it could/ should have done.

[Nataliec7 · Rating 4 out of 5]

First book read by this author but I really enjoyed it. For a quick read, I felt that the story was actually very good and the characters well developed. Easy to get into gripping story.

[SHARON · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well I read it in two hours tonight. Very easy read.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK for a quick read

[John Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really heart warming short story

[donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick read

Ideal pick up and put down read or if you have got About or so to read start to finish again story has me transfixed

[Jorden Cassidy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good little story.