“Ellen Walsh has done something very, very bad. If only she knew what it was . . .

Teacher, mother, wife, and all-around good citizen Ellen is juggling non-stop commitments, from raising a teen and two toddlers to job-hunting, to finally renovating her dream home, the Meadowhouse. Amidst the chaos, an ominous note arrives in the mail declaring:

SOONER OR LATER EVERYONE SITS DOWN TO A BANQUET OF CONSEQUENCES.

Why would someone send her this note? Ellen has no clue. She’s no angel – a white lie here and there, an occasional sharp tongue – but nothing to incur the wrath of an anonymous enemy.

Everyone around Ellen – her husband, her teenage daughter, her sister, her best friend, her neighbours – can guess why, though. They all know from bitter experience that while Ellen’s intentions are always good, this ultimately counts for very little when you’ve (unintentionally?) blown up someone’s life. Could the five bad deeds that come to haunt Ellen explain why things have gone so horribly wrong?

As she races to discover who’s set on destroying her life, Ellen receives more anonymous messages, each one more threatening than the last . . . and each hitting closer and closer to home and everything she cherishes.”

Hello and welcome to damppebbles. You may have noticed that I’ve been missing in action over the last few months. I’ve been in the midst of a rather long and quite tedious reading and reviewing slump, which was unfortunately coupled with double shoulder surgery. I plan to return to the blog properly in the New Year but until then, I will be sharing the odd meme, along with some of my favourite reads over the past year or so.

With that in mind, I am delighted to be sharing my review of Five Bad Deeds with you again today. Five Bad Deeds was published by Simon & Schuster on 11th April 2024 and is available in hardcover, paperback, audio and digital formats with the paperback to follow in March 2025. I chose to read a free eARC of Five Bad Deeds but that has in no way influenced my review.

A new book from Caz Frear is a very exciting prospect indeed! I’m a huge fan of the author’s work, having read and loved all three books in the DC Cat Kinsella series. However, the new book in question – Five Bad Deeds – is a standalone domestic psychological thriller rather than the police procedurals I have come to know this author for. Matters not though, still very much in my reading wheelhouse! I have been so looking forward to reading Five Bad Deeds for some time now and it did not disappoint one jot!

Teacher Ellen Walsh tries her best. Tries to be a good mother to her teenage daughter and twin toddler boys. Tries to be a good wife to her husband, Adam. Tries to be a good friend to those she surrounds herself with. Tries to live a good, honest, decent life. But we all tell the odd ‘porky pie*’ here and there, right? To protect someone’s feelings, to swerve an awkward social situation, to hide your own embarrassment about something. Some would say it’s unavoidable. So when an ominous note arrives at Ellen’s enchanting Cotswold stone farmhouse, in the small village of Thames Lawley, addressed to her, Ellen struggles to understand what she has done to incite such anger, such venom. But perhaps Ellen isn’t as perfect as she likes to believe. Because Ellen it seems has made an enemy out of the wrong person. A person intent on destroying everything she holds dear. Will Ellen discover who is behind the escalating campaign of hate before it’s too late…?

Five Bad Deeds is a highly readable, hugely compelling psychological suspense novel which I devoured over the course of two sittings. I was engrossed in Ellen’s story. Keen to find out who was behind the unravelling of her life. And believe me when I say there are several suspects. But Ellen is oblivious to her friends and family’s true feelings towards her. Because Ellen has a habit of getting involved when she really shouldn’t. Her opinions should perhaps be kept to herself more often than not. But offering some friendly advice can’t hurt…can it? I didn’t like Ellen but I did sympathise with her. I don’t think she’s there to be liked but I do think many of us will recognise something of ourselves in the character. How many times have you shared a nugget of advice with a friend you thought would help them? How many times have you considered the full implications of that well-meaning advice?

Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent with Five Bad Deeds. There are quite a few characters but I was able to keep track of who everyone was and their different relationships. It’s an intriguing read which builds in intensity over the course of the book until the shocking denouement is revealed. No matter how much you dislike Ellen as a person, you will end up feeling sorry for her. The book is told via multiple points of view and it was interesting to get insight into supposedly loyal friends’ real feelings towards Ellen. Who has it in for her? Who wants to destroy everything she holds dear? And most importantly, why are they doing this? As the book progresses the punishments meted out increase. From a report to the police that she was drunk driving (she did have a skinful the night before and she had just left the pub following her sister’s birthday celebration) to someone reporting her to the council’s Children’s Services Department regarding safeguarding issues with her twin boys. Things really do escalate, building the tension and increasing the level of threat, leaving Ellen confused, bewildered and ultimately, scared. Because Ellen has a secret. And it’s a secret she will do anything to protect…

All in all, Five Bad Deeds is a very engaging, well-written story with great characterisation, expertly written suspense and a shocking conclusion. It’s a cracking, compelling, irresistible read and I look forward to more from this author in the future. Highly recommended.

*porky-pie = rhyming slang for lie

I chose to read and review a free eARC of Five Bad Deeds. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.

Five Bad Deeds by Caz Frear was published in the UK by Simon & Schuster on 11th April 2024 and is available in hardcover, audio and digital formats with the paperback to follow (please note, the following links are affiliate links which means I receive a small percentage of the purchase price at no extra cost to you): | amazon.co.uk | Waterstones | bookshop.org | Goodreads | damppebbles bookshop.org shop | damppebbles amazon.co.uk shop | damppebbles amazon.com shop |

Caz Frear grew up in Coventry and spent her teenage years dreaming of moving to London and writing a novel. After fulfilling her first dream, it wasn’t until she moved back to Coventry thirteen years later that the writing dream finally came true.

She has a first-class degree in History & Politics, which she’s put to enormous use over the years by working as a waitress, shop assistant, retail merchandiser and, for the past twelve years, a headhunter.

When she’s not agonising over snappy dialogue or incisive prose, she can be found shouting at the TV when Arsenal are playing or holding court in the pub on topics she knows nothing about.