Right from the first sentence you get a sense of what The List of Suspicious Things is about and the tone it is going to adopt; there's an element of childhood reminiscence of what it was like to live in a northern Yorkshire town in the late 70s/early 80s with a little nostalgia for more innocent times without overlooking the hardships endured in the Thatcher years. That view is expanded to take in the dangers faced by women in those times and the more openly racist attitudes expressed, but you also get a sense that it's not going to be all grim, that there is an affectionate look at the peculiarities of growing up with friends and family from a bookish young girl who hasn't quite grasped why things are the way they are.

What is key of course is the way the story is told, and this one has a nice little macabre twist. Horrified by the snippets of news that she hears, Miv decides that she is going to find out who is the Yorkshire Ripper with the assistance of her friend Sharon. Inspired by Enid Blyton's Famous Five (what young book reader wasn't?) Miv is going to compile a list of suspects on a notepad just bought from the corner shop, the main suspects being those “not from around our way”. The first name to go into it is indeed Mr Bashir, the cornershop owner and father of their schoolfriend Ishtiaq. The more she observes, the more she finds that there are a lot of other adults whose behaviour is suspicious to a young girl, but that doesn't necessarily make them the Yorkshire Ripper.

What Miv and Sharon really discover in their investigation is actually how other people live with a great deal of personal challenges during these times, how difficult it is for a Pakistani family in a town that is mistrustful of outsiders, how other factors can explain why people are angry and why they behave the way they do. The List of Suspicious Things however isn't just a coming of age story of the brutal awakening of an innocent childhood becoming aware of the challenges of being an adult and looking for reassuring answers to troubling questions. The late 70s/early 80s also see a kind of coming of age of a country under the Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, where the fault-lines in society were being exposed and exploited by some. All of this provides a good realistic background, and prevents the novel from being merely a nostalgic period snapshot of a significant period, although it has that quality as well.

The coming of age is inevitably a painful one for both Miv, the people of Yorkshire and for English society in general. The problems of older ingrained social attitudes towards toward immigrants and women are still very evident in the lives of the people Sharon and Miv "investigate", but they are even closer to home than that. Even if she is not wholly aware of what she is really investigating, Miv's list manages to record all manner of suspicious behaviour in adults, and see how the worst of their actions are covered up or not spoken about. The List of Suspicious Things identifies this conspiracy of silence that exists in English communities around this time, an attitude that still persists to a large extent. Mind your own business, don't interfere. Miv however knows this is wrong and is prepared to do something about it, as scary as her discoveries might be.

Miv stumbles across a few too many dangers within a relatively short period covered in the book, which makes it look like she is lucky to get through childhood to adulthood in one piece, but none of the situations that she uncovers is in any way unrealistic. I think we can all consider ourselves lucky if we didn't have to deal with at least one of the problems that Miv stumbles upon here. What lifts the story above that, and what perhaps would see many of us through those times (not just late 70s, but through childhood) is Miv's discovery that her list is also a way of holding onto something tangible, a way of forging a meaningful connection with a friend who she is worried will slip away, as well as find stability within her own family. Jennie Godfrey's wonderful writing subtly brings out then how friendship and family are the cornerstones of society, and supports the belief that when good people come together, it may be possible to change things for the better.

This a coming of age story that I throughly enjoyed reading. It is set in the seventies in Yorkshire at the time of the Ripper murders. Miv and her friend Sharon decide to try to find out who the Ripper is by writing lists of suspicious people. It is such a nostalgic novel , with themes of racism, domestic violence , bullying, and mental illness. I love the innocence and naivety of the two girls, whilst they are trying to solve who the Ripper is. There are such beautiful friendships formed between the girls and the boy from the corner shop. It is such a tight community and everyone looks out for one another, even when times are tough at home.. I would like to think that times have changed and moved on from the issues that are so well described in the novel. I think it would make a great TV series. Such a great debut.

This was a brilliant debut novel & I look forward to reading more by this author.
Thanks for the opportunity to read & review it.

This book isn't even out yet and all I've been seeing is positive early reviews, rating this as one of the best books people had read. It meant I was really keen to read it. And I've also got Jennie on Twitter and she seems like the most lovely lady, and I am so pleased that this - her DEBUT novel (unbelievable) - is doing so well.

I've had it on my Kindle for a while and had been lusting after it for ages, but for some reason, I didn't actually know what it was about. I obviously had read the blurb at one point, but for whatever reason, it hadn't stuck. And so I had no idea it would be centered around the search for the Yorkshire Ripper. It gives it such a powerful feeling that took my breath away.

I've said before that my ideal page count is about 300-400, no more than 450 maybe, and that I dislike overly long books as I never think they warrant being that long, and so the fact that this book was over 500 pages long was a bit of a worry. But I read the first 1/4 in the same time it would have taken me to read the equivalent in a shorter book. It is so thrilling and fast paced (but never rushed) that you're drawn into and it holds your hands and holds your breath and only gives it back to you upon the last page. I read it in less than 24 hours, which was pretty impressive for me given the page length. So if you're like me and panic at the sight of a longer book, you don't need to with this one as the time just whizzes away.

I don't know much about Yorkshire (except that I think it's beautiful and I want to live there), and I know even less about Yorkshire in the 70s and 80s, and yet Jennie has created such a sense of place, even within the first few pages, that it feels like coming home. She doesn't describe Yorkshire in the obvious way of depicting what it literally looks like. But it's in the characters, the way they walk and talk and dress, it's in the local establishments and community, and it's in Jennie's blood, and you can feel it in every line.

I may not have been around in the 70s, and yet I still remember the joy of being able to go to the local shop in the 90s and being able to buy sweets for pennies. Jennie has managed to display that sense of nostalgia beautifully, and whilst not necessarily important to the plot as a whole, it was a nice touch.

It's got an interesting format. It's mainly told from the viewpoint of Miv, out main protagonist, alongside her friend Sharon. But then we get chapters written from the viewpoint of the people Miv adds to her list of suspected. It gives us a fantastic look at what's going around. And whilst some of us readers know the real identity of the Yorkshire Ripper, and so knows when Miv might be barking up the wrong tree, it's still so exciting that you really end up believing her suspicions and willing them on. This change in viewpoints is such a cleverly crafted way of giving us the opinions of a child and comparing it with the opinions of an adult, and you really see the different perspectives throughout the book.

As much as I didn't want to put it down, I had to go in order to go to sleep, but I couldn't stop thinking about it. It's so addictive that I couldn't wait for the morning to pick it up again. As it would happen, I didn't get much sleep that night and so read a good chunk of it at about 43am, but that was fine as it meant I got back to it sooner.

There are some very serious topics in this, obviously death and murder, but also mental illness, employment worries, bullying, racism, unwanted sexual attention, violence, the threat of violence, political differences, the idea of being displaced and not belonging - it's heavy, it's a heavy book, and yet it never feels hard to wade through. Which, for me, shows that Jennie has balanced the good and the bad perfectly to make it a very good piece of entertainment.

She has balanced grief beautifully. I've had my fair share of it over the years, and it's different for each relative or friend you lost. I won't spoil it, but there is a certain amount of grief in this book, of the typical bereavement type, but also the grief of losing a job, losing a friend, losing your home. Jennie has handled them so well that I can feel she must have her own personal experience with it, because every word has been thought through and it is perfect for every situation.

Another thing I really loved was her handling of the victims. It's hard when dealing with a serial killer not to stray into the gratuitous, but she's done it nicely. She's not overplayed it and used their deaths in a violent way, nor has she brushed them under the carpet as if they were unimportant. And also, Jennie has listed all of the Ripper's victims at the back of the book in recognition of these women, which was a nice touch.

I hadn't expected to be so moved by it. I was in floods of tears at various points for various reasons. It's got to be one of the most beautiful uses of language I've ever read.

Having said all that, I cannot fully find the words to explain how much of a masterpiece this book is. It's something you will feel for yourself. But if you want to read oner book this year that will stay with you over the next years - choose this one.

Wow! What can I say about this brilliant book, except wow!
Written from the perspective of 11 year old Miv, this story covers everything eg; poor mental health, racism, domestic violence, however, the overriding thing that I took away from it was friendship.
Set during the late 1970’s when the Yorkshire Ripper was prevalent, Miv makes a list of things that she thinks are suspicious and with the help of her best friend Sharon, they try to investigate and help catch The Ripper.
Things don’t always go well, but that doesn’t make Miv want to give up.
An easy read that provokes emotions.

What a moving and outstanding novel - the best I have read in a long time. A narrative voice that is authentic, relatable and pure. The warmth in this novel as it navigates such very heavy themes is one that will stay long after you’ve finished reading. The writer has an eye for detail, a talent for conveying the complex and I cannot wait to read more from her. Just a beautiful novel I’ve already recommended to others.

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗧 𝗢𝗙 𝗦𝗨𝗦𝗣𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗢𝗨𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦
—𝗷𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗱𝗳𝗿𝗲𝘆 | 𝟰🌟

‘𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯’ 𝘢𝘭𝘭. 𝘐 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯, 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘰, 𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘣𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘸.’
𝘐 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘴.
‘𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭,’ 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘦. 𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘮𝘱 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮. ‘𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦?’

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲:
✨Coming of age story
✨Small town community
✨Ey up, this is Very Northern 😂
✨A quest to reveal the Yorkshire Ripper
✨Exploration of tough topics

𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀:
This was 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 from the very first line:

“𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳.”

Set in 1970s Yorkshire and told from the POV of a 12 year old girl, The List of Suspicious Things captures the 𝘄𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 and the 𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹 aspects of a small town community. It explores horribly tough topics such as: 𝗽𝗲𝗱𝗼𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗮, 𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵, 𝗮𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗺, 𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗺, 𝘀𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘀𝗺, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝘂𝗹𝗹𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴. So it was quite a heavy hearted story. But it also explores kinder topics: 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽, 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆, in such a sweet and fierce manner. The friendship between main character, Miv, and best friend, Sharon, was so lovely, even as their friendship was changing.

This book appears to follow the arc of one storyline—revealing the Yorkshire Ripper—whilst the actual story unfolds in a quieter and more 𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 way that made me feel 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗳𝘂𝗹 and 𝗻𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗴𝗶𝗰. It’s so incredibly 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗱 and the story was full of charming 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗡𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲.

For me, the pacing was a bit slower than I would have liked. Otherwise it would have been my first five star of 2024!

𝗞𝗮𝘆𝗹𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵 | 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗵 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗙𝗮𝗶𝗿𝘆

This was an absolutely stunning debut! I loved the setting of 70s/80s Yorkshire where my dad lived, he'd have been a couple of years younger than Miv so a little insight into what the Yorkshire villages were like back then. Although I've not read lots, I've always really enjoyed the fictional books I've read based around a true event and the idea of this story of Miv and her little village around the very real events of the Yorkshire Ripper murders was enticing. Having most of the book set from the 12/13 year-old eyes of Miv meant that although she was fixated on finding the Ripper she was enough removed from the gore of it that it didn't read like a true crime book (a genre I'm not a fan of). Miv focussed more on what he looked like, who he might be and where, with the appropriate amount of sympathy for his victims and their families.
Desperate to try and help catch the Ripper, Miv starts to investigate anyone in the village who could be suspicious and there's a lot options. A lot of the residents have something going on in their lives they don't want to talk about, a secret they're keeping that no one will question because that's not the Yorkshire way, but is it related to the Ripper? Starting out with just her best friend Sharon, the friends the girls make and lose along the way and the journeys it takes them on is such a lovely tale of coming of age and friendship and I think a very important read. I loved so many of the characters (and hated others) but Sharon in particular was such a lovely young girl, always sticking up for people and what she believes in.
Some secrets I guessed fairly easily and others I had no idea about and some I was worried weren't ever going to be explained, but that ending is not one I saw coming until the last minute and really surprised me. This is an excellent book and I'm so glad I got to read it early. I highly recommend it and am excited to see what Jennie will write next!

Read this book

It's everything people say it is and more

I loved its innocence, its warm heart and nostalgia

Just read it - you won't regret it.

This is a beautifully written, engaging and strangely heart-warming book, by an author who I am excited to see more from. Miv, our young, lonely and heartbreakingly earnest protagonist, is one of the most believable children in literature I have read in years. Her dogged determination that she is not only capable of solving the Ripper murders, but that this is sure to stop her family from moving Down South, forms the perfect backbone to this exploration of growing up at a very particular point in time. You can tell that the author is drawing on her own experiences here, and the descriptions and details are just thorough enough as to be evocative, without being overdone. Omar and other supporting characters are equally well-drawn, and although the cast and scope of the book is comparatively small, this is to its benefit, as it demonstrates the size of Miv's world, and allows us to explore every avenue to its fullest extent. A perfect little window into a tumultuous time in British history, and more importantly, into one little girl's life - I loved it.

I find this a hard one to review as I wasn’t keen on the central premise which is that Miv, a young 12 year old girl, has decided she is going to catch the Yorkshire Ripper. She starts eyeing those around her with suspicion and writes ‘lists of suspicious things’ for people she thinks need further investigation. The Yorkshire Ripper’s years at large were a terrible time for women in Yorkshire and I don’t like any reminding of the horrors that he brought during those dark days.

Miv has a tough home life as something has happened to her mother as she remains in her bedroom most of the day and is barely taking any interest in everyday life. Her sister, Auntie Jean, has moved in to look after Miv and the household. Meanwhile, Miv and her best friend Sharon, embark on a series of adventures to try and investigate all the people around them who make it on their list of suspicions. Miv is a fan of the Enid Blyton ‘Famous Five’ series so some of the adventures resemble those but some take a serious tone as Miv comes to see that her interference is not always a good thing and can have serious and unexpected consequences.

The writing is good in that the author captures the late 70s/early 80s period very well with her character based novel. We have the family who have come from Pakistan running the corner shop who are now subject to racism. Also abusive marriages, school children bullying one another and a lot of things that were considered the norm in that era which would be unacceptable to most now. It was also a story of community coming together, forging unexpected friendships and helping one another out in the face of much prejudice and adversity.

I think many will enjoy this book and it was a great piece of character driven writing.
With thanks to NetGalley and Cornerstone, Penguin Random House UK for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely stunning! If this is the standard of a debut novel by Jennie Godfrey, then I can say with absolute certainty that she has a phenomenal talent for writing and I can’t wait for more!

This story, set in the late 1970s/early 1980s, is primarily told from the point of view of Miv, a 12 year old girl with a difficult home life. Life in Yorkshire is dominated by fear of the Ripper and Miv and her best friend, Sharon, decide to begin their own investigation and track him down themselves.

What actually happens, is that each suspect they “investigate” has their own story and their own challenges, which we read in the intervening chapters. As the girls get to know their community, they grow to understand some of life’s complexities; racism, acceptance, love, loss, friendship and abuse, amongst other things, and their actions inadvertently bring members of the community together, to help and support each other when they all need it the most.

An emotive and beautifully written coming of age story, with wonderful characterisation. This is going to be one of 2024’s top books, I have no doubt.

5⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Jennie Godfrey and Random House Cornerstone for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Jennie Godfrey has certainly come up with a very original storyline. By setting the background in a gritty N..Yorkshire town in the era of the "Yorkshire Ripper" murders we are guaranteed an intensely human story. And that is just what we get.
The main character is Miv, an 11 year old girl who is experiencing tough times at home. Overnight, her Mum has fallen completely silent and isolates herself for hours, if not days, at a time. It turns out she is hiding a dreadful secret. Meanwhile Miv's Dad is struggling to cope and mulling about possibly moving the family somewhere else. Then, to cap it all, Aunty Jean has moved in as a "substitute " Mum with her own very set ideas on discipline.
What can Miv do to reduce her worries? Perhaps, she thinks, if she discovers who the Yorkshire Ripper is her life will get better, the family won't need to move and life will return to normal. So she buys a notebook and, with her close friend Sharon, sets out to make lists in it of incriminating details of any possible suspects. Little does she know what unexpected consequences this seemingly harmless activity shall lead to.
Her naïve approach to identifying the potential killers is both endearing and concerning It exposes her to racial prejudice, opens up a gap with her best friend, damages then resets her relationships at home and exposes her to some truly harsh realities. But above all it causes her to re-evaluate her opinions of people and to recognise, if she rushes to judgement, that the biggest loser is her.
By the time she closes her notebook for the last time Miv is, without doubt, a much stronger, happier and empathetic person with a new found appreciation of family and acquaintances. It’s not often you read such a well constructed and uplifting novel. A book that very definitely succeeds in promoting the benefit of practising tolerance.

A book about life and lives, what goes on behind closed doors and how not everything is what it seems. This book is written with the story of the ripper story in the background and how it takes over a young girl’s life. Heartbreakingly sad, joyous and I’m rather glad I didn’t give up on the slow start.

Where do I start in reviewing The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey? Firstly, she is a fabulous writer. - it is hard to believe this is her published debut. Secondly, this book is proof that it is possible to fall in love with made-up teenagers. I absolutely loved Miv and her friends. I completely identified with them (I was just a few years older than them in 1979) and the author has absolutely nailed their 'voices'. Thirdly, the seamless inclusion of the perspectives of a number of the characters in Miv's community adds depth to the book, and allowed me to consider the adult themes as well as the children's world. I didn't want to put it down and I read it in record time.
I have no hesitation in wholeheartedly recommending this book. Book clubs will love it, and I am buying it for my teenager, as it is really modern, with a 1970's vibe. All my friends will be sick of me raving about this charming, heartbreaking and funny book. I just know that all of them will find something of themselves in Miv.
I am so glad this was my first book of 2023 - it is going to be hard to beat.

'The List Of Suspicious Things' by Jennifer Godfrey - Call Off The Search, A New Bestseller Has Arrived!

'The List of Suspicious Things' by Jennie Godfrey is a book which struck so many chords with my teenage memories of South Yorkshire in the late Seventies, that the resonance of the notes still linger in the air, weeks after reading this wonderful novel.

A rites-of-passage book set against the paranoid background of the savage 'reign' of the Yorkshire Ripper, it sensitively highlights the humanity of some of the folk who battled through those harrowing times, through the eyes and growing pains of 12-year-old Miv, and her family and friends, and the community she grows up in.

The prose and narrative flows effortlessly like a river from source to sea, meandering and rippling through the consciousness with ease. What a journey !

As a boy (4 years older than Miv) then, I well remember those years, as my family decamped to a mining village in God's Own County for five years between 1974 and 1979, after living in 'That London' (as well as periods in Africa, and Suffolk), so I well remember the shadow the Yorkshire Ripper cast, as well as the prevailing attitudes and issues of the time, which the author so vividly portrays. To say, living there *then* was something of a culture shock (after Africa, Brixton, and Ipswich, anyway), is putting it mildly !

They say 'The Past Is A Different Country', as it ever was; Yorkshire especially, as some might say it has always been a 'country', for better or for worse, in it's own right (I love it so much, Reader, that I moved back 10 years ago!). The humanity and spirit of the people shines brightly through magnificently in this wonderful book.

'The List of Suspicious Things' by Jennie Godfrey is a stunning achievement for a first novel, heartily 'Highly Recommended' to the max, and I look forward to catching the Author's further tomes!


Big Thanks to NetGalley for providing a ARC, very much appreciated :)

This book is a love song to strong women, Jennie Godfrey has packed the pages with them and set the story in a time a lot of us can remember when it was particularly scary to be a woman.
I grew up in Yorkshire, near to where this book is set, and although I was too young to really grasp what was going on at the time, the events surrounding the Yorkshire Ripper had a large impact on the way I was parented and the stories my mum and aunties shared with me as I grew up. There's so much nostalgia in the writing - the phrases, the things Miv and Sharon do when they are laiking out, the sense of community and your whole world being within a small geographic area, and the corner shop being the heart of everything. Also, the way that women just took what was thrown at them in their stride and picked up whatever slack was needed.
This theme can be seen in auntie Jean who comes to live with Miv and her parents to run the house whilst Miv's mum is in the midst of a breakdown. She just packs up her life, rolls her sleeves up, and gets the dinner on! It can also be seen in Miv herself - when she hears her dad and auntie Jean talking about moving away, with the presence of the Ripper being one of the reasons, she decides that she will prevent this from happening by catching the Ripper herself. she enrols her best friend Sharon ( the prettier, more popular one of the two...did any young girl not feel this way about their best friend!!) to help her and they have their eyes opened to what is going on around them in the process.
This is a coming of age tale that deals with some really dark topics - murder, racism, abuse, alcoholism, depression to name a few - but it's not a doom and gloom read at all. The skill of Jennie Godfrey and her writing is that she made it heart-warming and reminds us that amongst the bad, there is good everywhere.

A lovely coming-of-age story with added mystery and humour. Miv, the main character, and her friends, family and antagonists are so wonderfully written and believable; warm, funny, brave, flawed. The backdrop of 1970s Yorkshire and the hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper provide a really evocative setting and Miv's determination to find the killer help propel the plot. It's a gently epic book in all it covers, a real journey from childhood to adulthood, and thoroughly enjoyable. I can't put my finger on why this isn't a five-star read for me- perhaps it's just not my usual genre- but I can imagine a reader who was at a similar age to Miv during the 1970s, or who grew up in the same area, feeling a real connection and love for Miv and her story in a way that I maybe missed just a little.

What a fabulous book. Thoroughly enjoyed this tale of Miv and her bestie Sharon, and all the other beautiful, and some awful characters… many of which I felt I knew from my own childhood.
The life of Miv is hard and the circumstances she’s in are explained subtly and with great diplomacy and often wit. Will definitely be looking out for more books by Jennie Godfrey. Highly recommend. Thank you NetGalley and Random House for the proof copy.

THE LIST OF SUSPICIOUS THINGS

Thank you Netgalley the author Jennie Godfrey and the publishers Random House UK, Cornerstone for my e-Arc copy of
The List Of Suspicious Things in exchange for my honest review.

A good Debut for Jennie Godfrey, a story which really evokes a strong sense of time and place. Godfreys’ writing really bringing the reader into the story with the strong descriptive pros really making you feel as though you’re there too.

My only negative is that I think the story at times lost pace and I became slightly bored.

But in general I was impressed with this debut and think Jennie Godfrey will go far in this genre of writing.

#NetGalley #TheListOfSuspiciousThings #Author #JennieGodfrey #Debut #GeneralAdultFiction #Publication #15thFeb1024