On my blog today, I’m sharing my thoughts on the new novel by Caz Frear, Five Bad Deeds. With thanks to Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part.
BLURB
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.
MY THOUGHTS
I’m a big fan of Caz Frear’s writing and I’ve been desperate to read her new novel, Five Bad Deeds, which is Caz Frear’s first standalone psychological thriller. It begins with a really tense and intriguing opening where Caz Frear shows us a woman in prison. I immediately wanted to know what it was she had done to land herself in this position, especially as she has a family. Caz Frear gradually begins to reveal who this woman is, and what happened in the days, weeks, and months leading up to this moment, and it does make for a gripping read. Caz certainly takes her main character on an emotional and terrifying journey.
The characters in this book really do shine through on the page, and it’s the characters that really drive this story. I think Caz Frear did a brilliant job of bringing their voices through really strongly. It’s as we get to know the main character, Ellen, that the tension really begins to pick up, and very soon her life begins to spiral out of control, especially when Ellen realises she is being threatened. She has no idea who the person is who is trying to ruin her life, and this is what makes her position so terrifying. Her life, up until this point, has seemingly been perfect; she has everything she could wish for, so why would someone want to ruin it for her? And what secrets has Ellen been hiding that someone else is now threatening to expose?
I loved how Caz Frear gradually increased the tension in her writing and how she upped the stakes for Ellen as the plot develops, it seemed that wherever she turned to for help, she was constantly being met with more problems that made her situation even worse. I really did not know how Ellen was going to get out of the situation she was in and what action she would end up taking. That’s what makes this book so entertaining. She is someone who is pushed to breaking point and this is what makes her extremely unpredictable as she fights to gain control of her life. Like Ellen, I wanted to know the truth about what was going on and why she was being targeted this way.
Five Bad Deeds is another riveting read by Caz Frear. Once again Caz has created a brilliant cast of characters who will keep you utterly hooked. I really enjoyed this book; it really does keep you on the edge of your seat.
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication date: 11th April 2024
Print length: 416 pages
Five Bad Deeds is available to buy:
FOLLOW THE BLOG TOUR
Hooked From Page One 
Sounds like a great read – thanks for sharing
LikeLiked by 2 people