Where to Start Reading Caz Frear
If you are new to Caz Frear's work, the absolute best place to start is with her award-winning debut novel, Sweet Little Lies (2017). This book introduces Detective Constable Cat Kinsella, a junior officer with the Metropolitan Police who is dealing with an investigation that hits far too close to home.
If you prefer a standalone psychological thriller over a police procedural series, you should begin with Five Bad Deeds (2023). This book shifts focus away from the police station to a suburban neighborhood, tracing the quick unraveling of a woman's life after she receives a threatening note.
Caz Frear Books in Publication Order
Because Caz Frear’s bibliography consists of a chronological series and a standalone thriller, the publication order is also the chronological order. Here is the list of her books by their original release:
- Sweet Little Lies (2017) – Cat Kinsella Book 1
- Stone Cold Heart (2019) – Cat Kinsella Book 2
- Shed No Tears (2020) – Cat Kinsella Book 3
- Five Bad Deeds (2023) – Standalone Novel
Chronological vs. Publication Order: The Crucial Cat Kinsella Caveat
For the Cat Kinsella series, it is highly recommended that you read the books in strict publication order. While each book centers on a distinct murder case that is resolved by the end of the novel, the overarching narrative details Cat’s deeply dysfunctional relationship with her father, who has ties to organized crime.
Events and revelations from Sweet Little Lies directly impact Cat's position and mental state in Stone Cold Heart, which in turn sets up the atmosphere for Shed No Tears. Reading these out of order will spoil the major twists of the family-drama subplot and make Cat's professional struggles much harder to follow.
Deeper Dive: The Cat Kinsella Series
The Cat Kinsella series revitalized the classic British police procedural by focusing on a junior detective rather than a seasoned, cynical inspector.
1. Sweet Little Lies (2017)
The series begins with a bang. Detective Constable Cat Kinsella is called to a murder scene in London, only to discover the victim is Alice Lapaine. The case strikes a nerve when Cat connects the victim to Maryanne Doyle, a teenager who went missing in Ireland in 1998. The catch? Cat was there in Ireland on a family holiday, and her father was the last person seen with Maryanne. As Cat investigates, she must decide how far she will go to protect her family—or uncover the truth about her father's past.
2. Stone Cold Heart (2019)
After a brief secondment in the Mayor's Office, Cat is back with the Met's Murder Investigation Team. She is paired up with her trusted partner, Luigi Parnell, to investigate the murder of Naomi Lockhart, an Australian woman found dead in a London townhouse. The primary suspect is her wealthy employer, Joseph Madden, who insists he is innocent despite a mounting pile of evidence. While trying to crack the case, Cat is also dealing with the emotional fallout of her father's secrets and a complicated new relationship that makes her question her own judgment.
3. Shed No Tears (2020)
In the third installment, Cat faces a cold case that suddenly turns hot. Christopher Masters, known as "The Roommate Killer," terrorized London before his arrest and subsequent death in prison. When the remains of his final victim, Holly Kemp, are found in Cambridgeshire, Cat and Parnell are sent to wrap up the loose ends. However, the details of the discovery don't match Masters' usual modus operandi, leading Cat to suspect that someone else might have used the serial killer's shadow to hide a separate crime.
Standalone Thrillers: Five Bad Deeds (2023)
For readers looking for a self-contained story of domestic suspense, Five Bad Deeds delivers a gripping, slow-burn mystery. The novel focuses on Ellen Walsh, a teacher, mother, and wife living in the idyllic suburban village of Thames Lawley. Ellen prides herself on being a good person, but she is also prone to thoughtless, self-serving actions.
Her world is shattered when she receives an anonymous note warning her that she must pay for her past transgressions. Soon, her secrets are systematically exposed, threatening her marriage, her career, and her sanity. The novel is told through a mix of Ellen's first-person perspective, third-person chapters from friends and family, and WhatsApp chat transcripts from her teenage daughter, Orla.
What to Know Before You Start
Before diving into Caz Frear's catalog, here are a few things that set her apart:
- Excel Planning: Frear is known for meticulously planning her plots using complex Excel spreadsheets to align the police timelines with the emotional arcs of her characters. This results in tight, logical mysteries with few plot holes.
- Relatable Junior Detective: Cat Kinsella stands out because she is not an all-knowing super-cop. She is a young, flawed junior detective who makes mistakes, worries about her career, and relies heavily on team dynamics rather than solving cases as a lone wolf.
- Suburban and Urban Settings: The Cat Kinsella books showcase London's gritty and realistic urban neighborhoods, while Five Bad Deeds shifts to a classic, claustrophobic suburban English village where everyone knows each other's business.