Five Bad Deeds
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- Create Date：2024-01-05 07:21:55
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Caz Frear
- ISBN：B0CG2XX6PT
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Summary
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， 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。
Reviews
Vanessa Dunning
，
Thank you for NetGalley for providing me with this book for review。 My first read of this author and it won't be my last， what a rollercoaster of a read， plenty of twists and turns to keep me turningbthe pages。 Thank you for NetGalley for providing me with this book for review。 My first read of this author and it won't be my last， what a rollercoaster of a read， plenty of twists and turns to keep me turningbthe pages。 。。。more
Barbara
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I have mixed feelings about this one。 There wasn’t a single likable or sympathetic character in the story， usually a deal-breaker for me， but the plot was compelling enough that I kept reading and reading。 Lots of surprising twists， especially in the final chapters。
J
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2。5
Donna M
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Twisty book about a woman whose excellent life goes suddenly， badly wrong。
Kim
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This book has a fascinating sounding blurb which really suckered me in with wanting to know what was happening and what would be the result of those bad deeds that we had heard abut。 Sadly this is just another domestic 'thriller' with mostly normal people reacting to events in their lives with one odd ball person who may kind of remind you of someone you do or used to know！It was fairly slow paced with nothing really encouraging me to keep picking the book up once I had put it down again。This wo This book has a fascinating sounding blurb which really suckered me in with wanting to know what was happening and what would be the result of those bad deeds that we had heard abut。 Sadly this is just another domestic 'thriller' with mostly normal people reacting to events in their lives with one odd ball person who may kind of remind you of someone you do or used to know！It was fairly slow paced with nothing really encouraging me to keep picking the book up once I had put it down again。This would be a great book for those of you who prefer sedate 'thrillers' but I'm much more a blood and guts， extremely fast paced thriller reader so this just wasn't for me。 。。。more
Alisha
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3。5 stars that I’ll round up。 A good domestic thriller is right in my wheelhouse and Five Bad Deeds certainly fit the bill。 I liked the casual storytelling of the book…。 like a friend giving you the tea。 There were multiple POVs and they were done extremely well。 I felt like each character had a unique， distinguishable perspective。 I could nitpick the ending but overall this was a highly-bingeable， engrossing book。 Would recommend！
Arella Satter
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Dnf
Erin
，
The protagonist was insufferable and pretty much every other character was nearly as bad。 Max and Kian were the only likable characters and they're toddlers so they barely count。 The "twist" was。。。 okay？ Kind of a reach more for the sake of having a good twist than something that actually made sense。 This would have been a DNF if I hadn't needed to finish 3 more books asap to hit my goodreads reading goal for 2023。 The protagonist was insufferable and pretty much every other character was nearly as bad。 Max and Kian were the only likable characters and they're toddlers so they barely count。 The "twist" was。。。 okay？ Kind of a reach more for the sake of having a good twist than something that actually made sense。 This would have been a DNF if I hadn't needed to finish 3 more books asap to hit my goodreads reading goal for 2023。 。。。more
Gina
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I’m a big fan of the three Cat Kinsella novels from this author， so I started this book with much anticipation。 I know it is a stand alone novel but what happened？ Trite， boring， convoluted。So。 Much。 Foreshadowing…。 It doesn’t work as a plot device if you beat people over the head with it！Please return to Cat Kinsella。
Jennifer
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3。5 stars。 This is a slow psychological thriller that takes a while to get going。 Ellen is a mom of a teenager and 2 toddlers， she is a wife， a teacher/tutor， and the owner of the house she has always wanted。 She is also a sister to Kristy， who is living in their guest house， and a good friend to Nush and Gwen。 However， when she gets stopped by the police and asked to submit to a breathalyzer， things start going downhill for Ellen。 All the 'bad deeds' in her life start coming back to haunt her。 3。5 stars。 This is a slow psychological thriller that takes a while to get going。 Ellen is a mom of a teenager and 2 toddlers， she is a wife， a teacher/tutor， and the owner of the house she has always wanted。 She is also a sister to Kristy， who is living in their guest house， and a good friend to Nush and Gwen。 However， when she gets stopped by the police and asked to submit to a breathalyzer， things start going downhill for Ellen。 All the 'bad deeds' in her life start coming back to haunt her。 She also starts getting some ominous notes from someone stalking her and， as it seems， someone that wants to ruin her life。 Who could possibly be doing this to her？ I felt like there were parts of this book that dragged a little bit， but I did like the ending。 It definitely got more interesting as it went on and there were so many things with her friends， family and acquaintances that weren't quite divulged from the beginning。 Little secrets （aka bad deeds） start being revealed， and something is going to come back and bite Ellen in the butt。 Overall， it was a good book， just a bit slow and repetitive in parts。 。。。more
Erica
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DNF。 I started this book a good six times and just couldn't follow it。 Probably a me problem。 I also don't do well with so many character povs。 DNF。 I started this book a good six times and just couldn't follow it。 Probably a me problem。 I also don't do well with so many character povs。 。。。more
Kathleen
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I especially enjoyed Beth Eyre's narration of this story。 I identified with Ellen， the protagonist， in so many ways！ I especially enjoyed Beth Eyre's narration of this story。 I identified with Ellen， the protagonist， in so many ways！ 。。。more
Chrissy D （Chrissysliterarybites）
，
It’s been a long time since I rated something a 2。 I really really couldn’t get into this book。 Every time I picked it up I put it back down a few min later。 It was a very intricate web of terrible people doing terrible things。 It was hard to find a likable character but also hard to care about the point of it。 I did like all the dirty little secrets throughout and when you discover something someone did and tried to keep it secret， you discover another。 Everyone had secrets and bad/mean thought It’s been a long time since I rated something a 2。 I really really couldn’t get into this book。 Every time I picked it up I put it back down a few min later。 It was a very intricate web of terrible people doing terrible things。 It was hard to find a likable character but also hard to care about the point of it。 I did like all the dirty little secrets throughout and when you discover something someone did and tried to keep it secret， you discover another。 Everyone had secrets and bad/mean thoughts toward each other。 。。。more
Melissa （Semi-Hiatus until January）
，
Decent story overall， but too long and drawn out and way too many POV characters。 Also， I was turned off from the beginning because I dislike the wrongly accused trope。Ellen and Adam Walsh have purchased The Meadowhouse， with the financial help of Adam's parents for the purchase and upcoming renovations。 They are parents of the rebellious teen Orla and young twins Max and Kian。 Ellen is a teacher， and Adams travels a great deal for his job。 It's a big balancing act for Ellen to do everything she Decent story overall， but too long and drawn out and way too many POV characters。 Also， I was turned off from the beginning because I dislike the wrongly accused trope。Ellen and Adam Walsh have purchased The Meadowhouse， with the financial help of Adam's parents for the purchase and upcoming renovations。 They are parents of the rebellious teen Orla and young twins Max and Kian。 Ellen is a teacher， and Adams travels a great deal for his job。 It's a big balancing act for Ellen to do everything she needs to do。 Then she gets a threatening note， and strange things keep happening。 Is this related to Ellen's past？ What secrets are hidden behind closed doors？Each point of view character seems to have a reason to threaten Ellen。 For me as a reader， I knew that Ellen was being wrongly accused of at least some of the things， but others in the story believed them and it was just irritating to me as I really dislike reading this type of storyline。 However， Ellen is not a great person， so some of it she deserved I suppose。 I loved the Cat Kinsella series， and while the writing is equally as good here， it just got bogged down for me。 Plus， none of the characters are likable， I didn't really feel like I had anyone to root for。 I also didn't have buy in for the ultimate resolution to who was behind everything and why， it just didn't seem like a strong enough motive to me to cause SO much drama。 If you like juicy domestic drama， this is a decent choice and I look forward to seeing what Caz Frear comes up with next。I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book， all opinions are my own。 。。。more
Its Val Carolina
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I've never heard of this book or the Author but I randomly came across it while browsing my library。 I read the summary and was instantly intrigued as I'm a sucker for a good domestic thriller。 I felt it was pretty fast-paced but there was no need for this to be 400+ pages。 The whole book was about Oh Woe is Me Ellen and the POV from her "friends" and family who basically can't stand her。 I got to 75% of the way through this book and seeing as how there didn't seem to be an end in sight， I read I've never heard of this book or the Author but I randomly came across it while browsing my library。 I read the summary and was instantly intrigued as I'm a sucker for a good domestic thriller。 I felt it was pretty fast-paced but there was no need for this to be 400+ pages。 The whole book was about Oh Woe is Me Ellen and the POV from her "friends" and family who basically can't stand her。 I got to 75% of the way through this book and seeing as how there didn't seem to be an end in sight， I read the spoilers and skimmed the final pages。 What a disappointing ending and solidified for me that this could have been way shorter。 I get it， life is tough for Ellen /s， but did I really need 400 pages to get that memo？ It's like watching a movie that drags on and on， and you start checking the time on your phone， wondering when it's gonna wrap up。 Overall， I'd pass on this one。 。。。more
Michelle
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*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review。*I am so happy I received a copy of this book because I loved it。 It was so fun and I didn't really see where it was going until it was revealed。 Everyone hates Ellen。 When the book starts out， she in prison so while you are reading， you are wondering exactly what she did to get there。 Everyone in this book is awful， so really anyone could be the person making Ellen's life a living hell。 And true to almost every mystery， Ellen *I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review。*I am so happy I received a copy of this book because I loved it。 It was so fun and I didn't really see where it was going until it was revealed。 Everyone hates Ellen。 When the book starts out， she in prison so while you are reading， you are wondering exactly what she did to get there。 Everyone in this book is awful， so really anyone could be the person making Ellen's life a living hell。 And true to almost every mystery， Ellen handles everything badly and usually makes the worst decisions possible。 。。。more
Marybeth Taranow
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This was a rollercoaster ride。 I tore through this。 It kept me guessing almost until the end。 There are so many despicable people in this book doing so many awful things， you really don’t know who to trust。 There was not one likable character and I’m okay with that。Thanks too NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for a honest opinion。 3。5⭐️
Janet
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Headline: An easy， one-sitting， fun read。 This book， although with a few minor typos， had me invested。 It was interesting and compelling， enough so to make me finish it in one go。 It features a few questionable tropes， but would still recommend it to anyone who loves a quick， approachable mystery。
Kelly （and the Book Boar）
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I don’t know how this got on my TBR， but whoever is responsible I say many thankings！ I didn’t read much while I was on vacation the last week and a half， but I picked this up on Festivus and flew right threw it。 The premise here is simple: Ellen is a gal after my own heart 。 。 。 。 Who has finally managed to snag her dream home （of sorts） after perusing the Zillow for the perfect location。 Now she just has to wait out the remodel in order for this to be the family’s forever home。 But when an I don’t know how this got on my TBR， but whoever is responsible I say many thankings！ I didn’t read much while I was on vacation the last week and a half， but I picked this up on Festivus and flew right threw it。 The premise here is simple: Ellen is a gal after my own heart 。 。 。 。 Who has finally managed to snag her dream home （of sorts） after perusing the Zillow for the perfect location。 Now she just has to wait out the remodel in order for this to be the family’s forever home。 But when an ominous note appears threatening to shatter Ellen’s glass castle， we find out maybe our leading lady isn’t as squeaky clean as she would want us to believe。Okay， so this was fun。 As you probably know， I love trash and reality T。V。 and Lifetime Stabbies and this was on the high-end of that particular genre。 Loads of fun。 。。。more
Victoria
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I just did not enjoy this book but it was well written。 I did not expect the twist at the end。 It was quite wild and honestly sickening， but I won’t spoil it for you。 Overall， the story was a slow build。 Ellen was incredibly insufferable。 Really all the characters annoyed me。 I didn’t finish it and feel satisfied。 I think it just wasn’t the book for me。
Kyri Freeman
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 That was four pages spent with some of the most deeply unpleasant and mind-numbingly tedious characters ever to grace a page。 DNF。
Denise
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Pros :: Thought the way with Ellen being in prison for the first chapter was an interesting and captive way to start the novel。 Really liked this book and eagerly awaited to get it from my library。 Enjoyed the all the characters， with Ellen and Adam with their kid twins， Kian and Max and especially enjoyed reading about Orla， their 16 year old daughter。 Thought Ellen's sister， Kristy， was well developed， especially with her backstory of being a model and loaning Ellen money for a hen party and t Pros :: Thought the way with Ellen being in prison for the first chapter was an interesting and captive way to start the novel。 Really liked this book and eagerly awaited to get it from my library。 Enjoyed the all the characters， with Ellen and Adam with their kid twins， Kian and Max and especially enjoyed reading about Orla， their 16 year old daughter。 Thought Ellen's sister， Kristy， was well developed， especially with her backstory of being a model and loaning Ellen money for a hen party and the consequences of Ellen being a couple of days late with the repayment。 Interesting story line there！ The side stories of Nush and Tom Delaney （and Nush's growth by the end of the novel about her anger over kicking Tom out）。 Zane Jackson was well written， too -- seeing his morph of being a tutor student， what he means to Ellen （due to her past growing up in a dysfunctional household with poverty） and what he did to her with the blackmail/imputes of Gween Bale， who was the harbinger of loving the Meadowhouse and her wonky psychotic even？ background。 Cons :: Although Jason Bale was an important character （he was the police） was a little hard to believe that he'd leave his career as a detective in London to be with his sister Gwen to watch over her behavior and try to mitigate it。 Cover art :: 3 out 5 Although there was mention of a fire， it never really happened。 This would have to be taken figuratively， not literary。 。。。more
Mary
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。5。 Good story and fast paced
Lee Baker
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Hmmm。There were a lot more than five bad deeds but I couldn’t keep track and try to keep straight who was stabbing whom in the back at the same time。Didn’t like anyone in the book。 There should be at least one likable character。 Maybe add in a dog next time？ Only then we’d have to spend the whole book worrying someone would poison or kidnap them。 Maybe make dog narrator。
Lani （I’m here for the books）
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This book bored me。 I was ready for it to be over almost as soon as it began。
Hannah
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Ellen， a tutor and generally good person， is renovating her dream home and juggling the usual commitments when she starts receiving threatening notes from an anonymous sender。 Why are they targeting her？ Could it be the five bad deeds that have come back to haunt her？This is the first book I’ve read by Caz Frear so I didn’t really know what to expect。 I found that I really enjoyed the writing style and the different points of view。 The characters， although unlikeable， are well written and I enjo Ellen， a tutor and generally good person， is renovating her dream home and juggling the usual commitments when she starts receiving threatening notes from an anonymous sender。 Why are they targeting her？ Could it be the five bad deeds that have come back to haunt her？This is the first book I’ve read by Caz Frear so I didn’t really know what to expect。 I found that I really enjoyed the writing style and the different points of view。 The characters， although unlikeable， are well written and I enjoyed the dark humour in some of their thoughts。 The story flowed nicely and I enjoyed learning what the bad deeds were。 There were a few twists and turns which I found entertaining。 Although the overall story is a bit of a slow burn it worked well in this instance。 This was definitely an intriguing revenge thriller and I will be reading more books now by this author。 Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an honest review。 。。。more
Lydia Omodara
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Ellen is a good person。 Okay， she knows she can go on a bit when talking about renovating her dream home， and she could try harder with her teenage daughter， but she is confident that， on the whole， she is a good friend， wife， mother and teacher。 But someone has other ideas; someone who is sending threatening notes to Ellen's home and orchestrating malicious 'pranks'。 Can she work out who her anonymous enemy is and stop them before her reputation - and her family - is in tatters？A shocking openi Ellen is a good person。 Okay， she knows she can go on a bit when talking about renovating her dream home， and she could try harder with her teenage daughter， but she is confident that， on the whole， she is a good friend， wife， mother and teacher。 But someone has other ideas; someone who is sending threatening notes to Ellen's home and orchestrating malicious 'pranks'。 Can she work out who her anonymous enemy is and stop them before her reputation - and her family - is in tatters？A shocking opening sets up the arc of the story perfectly: the reader knows - or thinks they know - how the story is going to end and that the plot will now focus on discovering the 'how' and the 'why' of it all。 The cleverness of this set-up lies in the way it frames the character of Ellen and thus colours how the reader perceives her from the outset， and it's one of the more effective choices in the book。Ellen is a decently nuanced character， especially as we learn more about her and her history。 She's struggling to balance the competing needs of a teenage daughter and toddler twins， she's stressed about the renovation she's sure will finally give her the perfect family home she longs for， she craves getting back to work but feels guilty for not being totally fulfilled by motherhood alone， and above all， she can't shake the feeling that she doesn't deserve her comfortable life and will never truly be accepted。 Unfortunately， however， the rest of the characters are over-the-top versions of the people that tend to populate this kind of story set in a well-to-do small town， and all of them are totally self-centred and awful。 This made it difficult to buy into the story， as everyone was so irritating and unlikeable。 Five Bad Deeds also features one of my least favourite literary stock characters， the teenager （in this case， Ellen's daughter Orla）。 It perplexes me how many authors are able to write fiction with a largely teenage cast and portray them with subtlety and warmth， yet as soon as an adolescent shows up in a book about adults， they exist only to behave obnoxiously and make withering remarks， making it hard to take them seriously as characters。 The titular 'bad deeds' which serve as the narrative engine of the story are largely underwhelming， to the point where I kept thinking， 'Is that it？' I understand that for the plot to work there have to be multiple plausible suspects with an axe to grind against Ellen， but the motivation of some of the characters stretches the bounds of credulity and actually really detracts from their characterisation in some instances。 Nush， for example， is an oxymoron of a woman - an ambitious， highly motivated and successful entrepreneur whose identity is almost entirely bound up in her failed marriage because the plot needs it to be， not because it makes any sense for the character， and her potential reason for contriving to bring Ellen down is even more unlikely。 Other characters' motives are similarly thin。 In fact， though Ellen has her flaws， she is genuinely altruistic in her actions and I felt sorry for her that no one in her life seems to appreciate her。 The ending was surprising， but mainly because the groundwork had not been laid to make the denouement pay off。 Overall， in spite of these issues， Five Bad Deeds is an engaging thriller， which held my interest all the way through and had enough potential for me to look out for Caz Frear's next stand-alone work。 Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of this book。 。。。more
Valerie
，
This was a very good novel， but a slow burn type of read。 It's a complicated story of a woman who buys her dream home and plans to renovate it。 Her history， the house's history and the neighbors all play a role in this complicated story of secrets and betrayal。 This was a very good novel， but a slow burn type of read。 It's a complicated story of a woman who buys her dream home and plans to renovate it。 Her history， the house's history and the neighbors all play a role in this complicated story of secrets and betrayal。 。。。more
Pj
，
I really enjoyed this book。 I was a little hard to keep up with all the characters， the end was surprising。
sophie sablich
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Took FOREVER to get to a subpar revenge plot。 Once you hit 85% it’s all gas no breaks and then kind of just ends。
Tag
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Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Five Bad Deeds
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Five Bad Deeds&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Five Bad Deeds&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0