Five Bad Deeds

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.

This book is very hard to get into and very confusing

It took a few chapters for the book to grab me and grabbed me it did. I would highly recommend “Five Bad Deeds”.

At it’s core, Caz Frear’s novel, Five Bad Deeds, is about a woman named Ellen who has a blessed life, great family, beautiful home, and is surrounded by people who she thinks are her friends but all of whom secretly despise her. A story full of secrets, lies, hidden motives, and the truths we don’t dare speak out loud to those closest to us…Review | Five Bad DeedsIt took me several chapters to get into Five Bad Deeds, and I think that’s because it took a minute for me to get the hang of how the story would be told. The book opens with a bang—a woman named Ellen Walsh is in prison and reflecting on what brought her there and looking forward to the day she’ll be released.Backtracking in time, we learn more about Ellen. She may not be perfect, but she seems to be a loving mother, wife, and friend to many. In fact, Ellen’s worst quality seems to be that she is privileged and can at times be somewhat oblivious to how her privilege may come across to others.Ellen and her husband Adam have a desirable home named The Meadowhouse located in a Thames Valley that is about to undergo several expensive renovations. Ellen sees this house as their forever home, and believes it is worth the expense to make it their dream house. Her husband has a successful job and comes from a wealthy family, so the budget isn’t out of grasp for the couple.Ellen has three children—a set of 4-year-old twins who are a handful and a teenage daughter named Orla who seems to resent everything her mother does (typical teenage girl, in other words). Ellen may drink a bit too much wine on occasion or show understandable frustration with her kids, but overall she appears to be a great mom who has her flaws but loves her family.As the book progresses, we learn quite a bit about Ellen. Told in alternating perspectives, the story of Ellen is one of a woman who makes mistakes but is largely well-intentioned. At least that’s what it seems when we hear from Ellen… But interspersed between Ellen’s chapters are stories from those around her—her sister Kristy who is a former model whose career was cut short after an accident, her friend Nush who has recently gone through a divorce, her neighbor Gwen who is always available for a glass of wine and gossip, her daughter Orla whose teenage resentment veers towards malicious, and several others in her life.The more we hear from the people closest to Ellen, the more bizarre the story becomes. They all seem to secretly…hate her? Hate might be a strong word, but they seem to wish Ellen would get knocked down a few pegs. When it is contrasted with Ellen’s perspective, it’s hard to know who to side with. Is Ellen a good person who is mislabeled by those around her, or is this a case of “where there is smoke, there is fire”?It's hard to not wonder if Ellen deserves the hate, but at the same time the chapters from her perspective suggest that Ellen has good intentions and is more caring than she may be perceived. Although, eventually we do learn that Ellen is keeping a secret. She is tutoring a teenager named Zane, but for a reason she is keeping to herself, Ellen doesn’t want anyone to know. She’s not being paid to tutor Zane, but she repeatedly lies to those in her life to help Zane in one way or another.I was so curious to know what was going on with Ellen! Why does she get arrested? What is her pull towards the wily but sympathetic Zane? Why is she so desperate to keep her good deed a secret? And most intriguing… why do so many of her closest friends and family hate her?I read Five Bad Deeds with my book club and we had an interesting discussion about this book. Most of us took about 20% until we were invested, and from there we were hooked. We were split on whether we thought Ellen was likable or unlikable, and those who found her unlikable cited that so many people around her disliked her and that must mean something. None of us were able to guess the twists or how the ending might play out! Our most interesting theorizing was around what secret was tying Ellen to Zane. I won’t spoil it though—you’ll have to read to find out what it was!This is an engaging book that centers around an imperfect woman who is imprisoned for something she didn’t do, and the secrets in her life that put her there. Expect lots of twists and turns, and your mind to change some depending on whose chapter you are reading.Thank you to Harper Books for my copy. Opinions are my own.

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