S&S pre-empts Frear's 'perfect' thriller

Simon & Schuster UK has pre-empted two standalone titles from Caz Frear, author of Sweet Little Lies (Zaffre).

Deputy publishing director of fiction Katherine Armstrong acquired world all language rights, excluding North America, from Eugenie Furniss at 42, for Frear’s thriller, Five Bad Deeds, and another title. Emily Griffin at HarperCollins US has acquired North American rights. S&S UK will publish the first in hardback in May 2024.

Film and TV rights have been optioned, at auction, by 42, whose recent credits include "The Girl Before" for the BBC and HBO Max, based on J P Delaney’s bestselling book and "The Flatshare" for Paramount Plus, an adaptation of Beth O’Leary’s novel.

Five Bad Deeds introduces readers to Ellen Walsh – supportive wife, engaged parent, loyal friend and helpful neighbour. "An archetypal ‘good person’ who would never intentionally do anyone any harm," the synopsis reads. "But intention doesn’t matter to someone. Someone is intent on destroying the fabric of Ellen’s life by tugging on one chord at a time. 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?

Armstrong said: "I’m over the moon to be reunited with Caz and working with her on the exciting next chapter in her career. She is an incredible writer and when I first read the superb Five Bad Deeds, I knew that I had to acquire it. Caz is known for her brilliant characters and bringing an element of humour and humanity to them. In Ellen Walsh we meet someone who we can all relate to – both the good and the bad – and we are drawn into her world, into her worries and insecurities, as well as her fierce love for her family and her friends.

"This is a perfect every-person thriller as it makes us think not only about our perceptions of ourselves but also how other people might view us. As with everything that Caz writes, you won’t be disappointed to be along for the ride. I am thrilled to be publishing Caz and Five Bad Deeds in 2024."

Frear spent 12 years working as a headhunter before she started writing. Her debut, the number one bestseller Sweet Little Lies, was the winner of the Richard & Judy Search for a Bestseller Competition 2017 and went on to sell over 250,000 copies. It was followed by Stone Cold Heart and Shed No Tears, both of which feature her police detective Cat Kinsella, published by Zaffre.

"Five Bad Deeds centres on the idea that so many of us amble through life believing ourselves to be ’good’ people, simply because our intentions are generally honourable even if our decision-making is flawed," she said. "But everyday decisions can have drastic consequences on other people, often without our knowledge, and it was out of this seed that Ellen Walsh’s reckoning was born. I’m so excited to hear what readers think of her, and to work again with editors extraordinaires Katherine Armstrong and Emily Griffin. Both have championed me brilliantly from the start of my career, and their instant passion for Five Bad Deeds blew me away. Roll on publication!"