Someone accuses Ellen of doing something bad, but she has no idea what. As she tries to figure out who is behind this, the stakes keep escalating.

I just couldn’t get into this one. I didn’t find the story super engaging, and the characters were just ok.

I read "stone cold heart" back in 2019 and really enjoyed it, so was pleased to read another book by this author. What a fun read! Full of unpleasant characters with shady pasts, any one of whom could be making life difficult for our "heroine" Ellen, it was a novel with red herrings aplenty and I raced through it with great enjoyment.
Thank you to netgalley and Simon and Schuster for an advance copy of this book.

Thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish this left me guessing throughout, my emotions were pulled up and down and i love the premise of the story and all the characters

I really enjoyed this book. It was a great psychological read that had you really thinking about who could be behind this campaign of hate. Inducing fear and worry and not being able to live your life fully because you’re looking at everyone close to you and wondering “Is it you?”. Then as the story evolves you learn more about Ellen and her history to make sense of what has sparked this horrendous situation.
The plot is great, the characters all have some reason to be “the one”, so it’s really gripping!!
Many thanks to Simon and Schuster for the opportunity to read this arc copy for review consideration via Netgalley. My opinion is my own.
#Netgalley, #Simon&Schuster, #CazIffWrites.

Five bad deeds by Caz Frear

Tells the story of a struggling mother of three children who's trying to have it all until her youngest sister showed up five months ago on her doorstep. Amongst all of that her marriage is on a rocky path and trying to keep her teenage daughter under control while her husband is away on business , and keeping herself out of trouble after her probation being cleared

It was a good read I just wasn't feeling the story at some points it felt like the mother was all me me me in a dragging on kind of way I will read more books by Caz Frear maybe this one just wasn't for me and that's okay

I enjoyed the majority of this, but expected a lot more from the ending. This was a slow burn, but had me gripped with the duality of the characters. I thought there were some unexplored avenues that would have improved the story and also some absurdities that I couldn’t ignore.

Unfortunately I did not enjoy this book. There are many words but it felt in the main that not much happened. I hated the main character and just found the whole book boring. This is a new author for me and sadly this book has put me off reading any more of her work. Thank you to NetGalley, Simon and Schuster UK and the author for the chance to review.

A twisty read. Ellen, a teacher and mom of three, sees her world start to tumble for reasons she doesn't understand. She thinks she's got a solid marriage to Adam, her sister Kristy lives in her garden, her friends Gwen and Nosh are with her, and she's renovating her house. But why is she in prison? And who is Zane? This unfolds through multiple points of view (although mostly Ellen's) to tell the story of malicious targeting of Ellen through hate letters, social media, and so on. But what are her five bad deeds? That won't be obvious for a long time and, to be honest, the deeds don't entirely fit the somewhat ornate scenario constructed by the villain. I liked seeing Ellen from the perspective of others- made for a more well rounded character- although I could have done without the texts between her daughter Orla and her friend Esme. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A page turner that might have you shaking your head at the ending.

Ellen is doing her best in her life, with what she has. Married with a teen and two toddlers, she has also decided that that isn't enough to have on her plate and is also undergoing the renovation of her forever home. With her husband frequently away on business, it has all been left to her. But if that wasn't enough, she also, it appears, has someone targeting her. She receives a weird threatening note in the mail regarding consequences...
But consequences to what action. Yes she's done things, haven't we all, but what could be so bad as to have angered this unknown person... And so, as we follow the present day narrative, we also delve back to the past and learn of the things that could be the trigger... The stakes get higher as more notes arrive...
During the book, we also meet Zane, a student who Ellen is tutoring. Her sister Kristy who used to fly high but who has fallen on bad times and is living in the "guest house" in Ellen's garden. Gwen, her neighbour who lives with her daughter and brother Jason who is the local cop. And Nush, her best friend who is living alone since she threw her husband out for cheating.
What really makes this book stand out are the characters. It more character driven than plot driven. Not to say that the plot isn't well crafted, it is, and all things interconnected and also a tad convoluted. I read the majority of this book wondering what way was up as I really had no idea where in the heck we were going.
Yes I rolled my eyes on occasion, yes it was a bit far fetched, but I also had a cracking time trying to second guess where we were going. Finally giving up on that idea and just going with the flow, letting it lead me to a rather shocking but also satisfying conclusion.
I forgot to say at the start that I was already a big fan of this author - her Cat Kinsella series - so I was wondering how she would do with this standalone thriller and I have to say I was just as impressed. I really can't wait to see what she serves up for next time. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Thank you Netgalley for the eArc of Five bad Seeds.

For those who like a slow burn, this domestic thriller will hit a spot! Unlikeable characters, which kick off a series of events which undo the seemingly perfect life of our main character, Ellen. The plot has some fun twists and turns and a few I didn't see coming, which made it a great read. Even though I didn't like a lot of the characters, including Ellen, they were well fleshed out. A great summer thriller read.

3.25 stars

I am afraid I just could not get into this book. The premise sounded interesting but did not follow through in story telling..Unlikeable characters. Quite underwhelming overall. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it..

I’ve really enjoyed this author’s previous series of books and this is her first standalone book so I was looking forward to seeing what it was like.
I did like the premise of the five bad dead’s and finding out what they where and how that made the story unravel, however where it fell short for me was the fact that all the characters where really unlikeable and parts of the story seemed to stall a bit instead of racing forward.
Overall it was a okay read but not one that’s going to shock you and keep you as gripped as other thrillers

I love Caz Frear, but Five Bad Deeds wasn't for me. I finished the novel but I didn't enjoy it as much as I'd hoped. Other people will love it though

Highly unlikeable characters, lots of deception and deceit. Old lies and bad relationships. This book has a whole lot going on and it really delivers on the twisty front.

Can't really tell you much more than the blurb without giving spoilers, but take my word that this is a great book that you'll probably binge in a couple of sittings.

This was a slow burning domestic drama/thriller. Full of unlikeable characters, a series of events aimed at our main character, Ellen, slowly start to destroy her seemingly perfect life.

I really found it hard to warm to Ellen in any way. While ai did feel sorry for her at times, she really didn’t do a lot to help herself at all. She lied so much, to everyone. That was never going to end well. The five bad deeds themself.. I didn’t, I did think they were all that bad really.

Overall it was an interesting story, that once it got going, had me invested. The ending was pretty crazy and I felt like I should have seen it coming. The author did a great job with red herrings.

Thanks to Simon and Schuster UK for my advanced copy of this book to read. Publishes on May 15th.

Caz Frear is the author of the wonderful Cat Kinsella series and Five Bad Deeds is her first standalone psychological thriller.

This twisty tale centres around Ellen Walsh. She’s a teacher, a stressed mother to a teenage girl and twin toddler sons, a loving wife to Adam and a good friend to everyone in the small village of Thames Lawley where she lives and works.

Having recently bought her “dream house” she and her husband are undertaking the renovation of all renovations (think Grand Design meets Extreme Makeover) but money is a little tight despite her husband Adam’s family being very rich, Ellen still struggles with her own childhood background being brought up on a council estate with several siblings, living hand to mouth with extremely dysfunctional parents.

When Ellen is pulled over for suspected drink driving in front of everyone after an “anonymous” tip off, things go from bad to worse. With a malicious letter and several threatening messages, someone seems to be intent on ruining her life and exposing her secrets, but who, why and what remains a puzzle.

This book is absolutely full of despicable characters and I absolutely loved it. The author skilfully creates a village full of a shady and suspicious individuals who all may or may not have reason to want to destroy Ellen’s life.

I absolutely loved reading Ellen’s slightly unreliable point of view, how she refused to see herself as anything except a great person, a role model, a supportive friend and all round fabulous human being, yet her friends chapters show a slightly different version of Ellen.

If you are looking for your next great read, then I can give you five good reasons to read FIVE BAD DEEDS; it’s clever, it’s got some brilliant twists, it’s full of fabulous characters, it’s full of secrets and has wonderful dark humour running throughout.

Another new author to me and another great read ( although had 4 DNF inbetween the last one and this 😎 )

This is a story of neighbour’s, jealousies, revenge, calculation and spite…all
delivered in a waspish often darkly humorous narrative that was delicious to devour

Think privilege and entitlement and an assumptive ‘nothing can happen to me versus unbridled anger and playing the long game of ‘you will pay’ and it gives a glimpse of the story within this book

Woefully despicable characters, that make you shout Hurrah at the enjoyment of reading them gave me a wonderful read, I couldn’t learn enough about them, their feelings and their lives

Interwoven in this story is a woman struggling with a surprise to her set of feelings that knock off her kilter as she tries to block, and kinda fails to keep these unwanted feelings re someone at bay

It ‘s really good, really really good and have yet another fav author 😎

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Ellen seems like one of those people that others love to hate so it’s easy to suspect pretty much anyone around her when things start going wrong. Good read

I could not put this book down!! I was soon engrossed into the story but the more I Was reading the more questions I had!! What had happened? Who was it? and WHY?

I loved reading about Ellen's 'perfect' life - only it was far from it. Things start happening but the problem is - it could be anyone, from her daughter Orla who is definitely a sassy teenager who seems to be hiding something but is it typical teenage stuff or more?

Ellen's sister clearly has issues from their past and I love how this unfolded. Ellen's 'friends' also clearly have issues with her and even the local policeman looks to be more than he seems and is watching Ellen.

As the storyline was going on I was loving it, I thought I had it sussed out as to who it was that was making life difficult for Ellen and them bam something else happened to make me doubt it and completely change my mind. This literally had me guessing all the way to the reveal and I couldn't put it down.

The characters are well written and some are more likeable than others! But that is just the way they are meant to be. There were some scenes that really made me laugh as they were so typical of village life where you can't do anything without everyone finding out!

I thought that the way this was written was brilliant and the way it layered up as we went along was fabulous and just had me gripped throughout. I was that hooked my poor dog had to have a delayed walk as I needed to finish work and finish this book before doing anything else!!

I absolutely love Caz Frear’s Cat Kinsella series, so I was really excited to read Five Bad Deeds. Unfortunately I didn’t enjoy it as much as I wanted to, but it’s still really well written and worth a read if you’re a fan of psychological thrillers.

I found the characters quite difficult to like in this book. I didn’t think any of them were particularly nice, which could have been the point, but I’m not sure. They had very few redeeming features, and I just found myself not bothered by what happened to them. I think Ellen’s daughter Orla was probably my favourite, and I enjoyed the segments of her chats with her friend.

I thought the ending was also slightly disappointing, and a bit confusing. It seemed like a lot of build-up to a lacklustre finale, but maybe I was just expecting more. As always, I really liked Frear’s writing and ability to provide suspense, and it’s a shame the big reveal fell flat for me in this instance.

Five Bad Deeds isn’t a bad book by any means, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to other readers — we all like different books, and I know other people have really liked this one, even if I didn’t. Caz Frear is still among my favourite crime writers, and I do hope we get more from the Kinsella series one day!