Book Review: Five Bad Deeds | Caz Frear

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…

About the Book | Five Bad Deeds

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. (Synopsis from Goodreads)

Review | Five Bad Deeds

It 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.