ONE WOMAN’S SECRET
TWO SIDES TO EVERY STORY
THREE DEADLY BETRAYALS
FOUR POTENTIAL SUSPECTS
FIVE BAD DEEDS
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.
Book Info: Print length: 413 pages. Publisher: Simon & Schuster. Publication Date: 11 April 2024
My Thoughts:
Caz Frear is the author of the wonderful Cat Kinsella series and Five Bad Deeds is her first standalone psychological thriller.
This twisty tale centres around Ellen Walsh. She’s a teacher, a stressed mother to a teenage girl and twin toddler sons, a loving wife to Adam and a good friend to everyone in the small village of Thames Lawley where she lives and works.
Having recently bought her “dream house” she and her husband are undertaking the renovation of all renovations (think Grand Design meets Extreme Makeover) but money is a little tight despite her husband Adam’s family being very rich, Ellen still struggles with her own childhood background being brought up on a council estate with several siblings, living hand to mouth with extremely dysfunctional parents.
When Ellen is pulled over for suspected drink driving in front of everyone after an “anonymous” tip off, things go from bad to worse. With a malicious letter and several threatening messages, someone seems to be intent on ruining her life and exposing her secrets, but who, why and what remains a puzzle.
This book is absolutely full of despicable characters and I absolutely loved it. The author skilfully creates a village full of a shady and suspicious individuals who all may or may not have reason to want to destroy Ellen’s life.
I absolutely loved reading Ellen’s slightly unreliable point of view, how she refused to see herself as anything except a great person, a role model, a supportive friend and all round fabulous human being, yet her friends chapters show a slightly different version of Ellen.
If you are looking for your next great read, then I can give you five good reasons to read FIVE BAD DEEDS; it’s clever, it’s got some brilliant twists, it’s full of fabulous characters, it’s full of secrets and has wonderful dark humour running throughout.
