I am familiar with Caz Frear through her Cat Kinsella series, so I was very excited to pick up an ARC of a standalone book! Five Bad Deeds was the ultimate story of revenge and just how far someone is willing to go to get what they want. All of the characters and storylines were flawlessly developed and came together perfectly by the end of the book -- you truly got a sense of each character's WHY. I also found myself rooting against the protagonist, which is truly the sign of a great writer!! Overall, an exceptional read for 2023!

Two words: addicting & twisted. This book had me all over the place trying to find the truth. I loved all the different character point of views that kept me guessing. Watch out for those wolves in sheep’s clothing in this book. Nobody is one hundred perfect pure but are you able to pick out the bad apples before they poison the whole bunch? In the end someone always has to pay. Thank you NetGalley and Harper Perennial and Paperbacks for this ARC!

Pub Date: December 5, 2023

This book was okay. It seemed very disjointed in the beginning and I had a hard time connecting the characters. Then it rushed to finish and the fifth “bad deed” was just very random?

You stone-cold had me at "Caz Frear". I love her series so much that I was a bit concerned that I didn't have the room or love in my heart for a standalone but again, I will never ever pass on one of her books.

And I am so happy to say that this was total corker too. Caz created entirely real characters with fantastic, realistic thoughts and dialogue and the tension built and built and built to a fantastic and spectacular conclusion.

I needn't have worried at all...

Heart pounding thriller that left me on the edge of my seat. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. Definitely one of the best books this year.

Thanks for the ARC NetGalley ❤️.

I have heard so many awesome things about Caz Frear and this lived up to all the hype. The alternating POV’s made the twists fit in flawlessly. I loved reading Ellen’s perspective and forming my own opinion of her, only to question it while reading other’s interpretations of the same actions.

The one thing I’m torn about is the affair. A part of me thinks, with all the focus on it during the book, that there should have been more resolution. But the other part of me loves how it wasn’t all wrapped up perfectly with a bow at the end. It was a fantastic roller coaster of a read! While this book starts out as a slow burn, it quickly picks up pace and hooks you in!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2.75-3/5. This book was okay, but I think it dragged quite a bit. It was split up into “five bad deeds” but it was really just one long extended one lmao, and the last two were only one chapter each, while the first three were multiple chapters long. The book felt very long, but despite that, I didn’t really feel like I got enough pieces to put things together. I realized who was responsible due to the lack of information I was given about them in comparison to other characters, but that made it so that I couldn’t figure out why they were doing things, and it got monologue-explained within the span of a chapter. Knowing the why and the fallout is great, but it’s not particularly satisfying when it’s dumped on you in one chapter at the end of the book.

Also good lord, Orla. I know that she’s a moody teenager but I was so massively annoyed by her. A lot of the decisions from most of these characters were baffling to me, to be honest. People consistently took the weirdest and dumbest takes or made wildly bad decisions from small things - which can be very fun in other stories, but just felt very frustrating here. I was initially really into this book at first though, so I probably would read this author again, but it just didn’t hold me.

Thank you Harper Perennial and NetGalley for this wonderful ARC. I have enjoyed Caz Frears previous series books. This one is a stand alone and is just as good, possibly even better than her others. The story is told from multiple POV's. . Ellen is our protagonist and she's having a run of bad luck.. She's stopped for suspected drunk driving. Visited by a social worker over concerns for her sons safety and she is questioned in the disappearance of a teenage boy she's been tutoring. The story moves like a literary bullet with many shocking twists. Overall an excellent and unputdownable read. I am taking off half a star because I did guess who the villain was and I found some of Ellen's decisions a little hard to believe. 4.5 stars

This is my first book from Caz Frear and all the great things I have heard did not disappoint. This was absolutely a fantastic read.

I loved reading all of the character's perspectives, the story was so intriguing, and there were just enough hints without being too obvious or the end coming out of nowhere. Every time I picked up the book I was always so hooked. I loved stepping into this story.

Ellen was highly likable to me and getting the others' opinions of her was really interesting. I liked that the end did not just bring everything to light and there were still some issues that were left hidden from Ellen. There was just enough justice served at the end, which made the story really realistic. Everyone is written to be pretty realistic with both good and bad sides to them.

I would really recommend this book to anyone and am looking forward to checking out more from Caz Frear

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper for the ARC. This book kept me guessing, for sure. My first by this author and I really liked the writing style. Easy yet well done. Solid domestic suspense.

I admit I was a little disappointed it wasn’t part of the series she writes. I did enjoy it and learned a lot about the bizarre British world of home buying. I thought the twist was interesting and opened up some questions—what would you do if it was your family member who was like this?

I also liked how the main character harmed other people she knew but didn’t realize it because no one actually ever talked to her about anything.

I thought it raised a lot of interesting points about interpersonal relationships for a mystery/thriller!

Five Bad Deeds…

Here we go…

When this showstopper appeared available on NetGalley it not only didn’t have a cover, it didn’t have a synopsis. I requested this book solely on the author and the title.

When it comes to Caz Frear, you don’t need to know what the book is about, you just know you need to read it.

I have zero regrets. Five Bad Deeds has my vote for book of the year. It already climbed right on up to my number one spot as my most favored book of this year.

Frear, has natural born talent and it emulates on every page . Five Bad Deeds must be pre-ordered and read by all.

Anything less than 5 stars would be criminal. Here’s a bit of a teaser :

Acclaimed, internationally bestselling author Caz Frear ratchets up the suspense in this outstanding standalone psychological thriller—a gripping tale of revenge, loyalty, and the secrets hidden between the walls of the most beautiful home in town.

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 nonstop 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:

People have to learn there are consequences, Ellen.

And I’m going to teach you that lesson.

Right under your nose.

Why would someone send her this? Ellen has no clue. She’s no angel—a white lie here, an occasional sharp tongue there—but nothing to incur the wrath of an anonymous enemy. She’d never intentionally hurt anyone.

But intention doesn’t matter to someone. Someone blames this supposed “good person” for all the bad they’ve experienced. And maybe they have reason to? Because few of us get through life without leaving a black mark on someone else’s. 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 reputation and her future, Ellen continues to receive increasingly threatening messages . . . each one hitting closer to everything she cherishes.

Finally a standalone from Caz Frear! -Bringing her signature style to the behind the scenes in suburbia trope.
You can love to hate Ellen, or just kind of hate her like I did, always fun to see the perfect mom get her due.
4 1/2 beachy read stars rounded up .