For such a sensitive subject matter this was so well done. It shows the impact on wider communities without feeling contrived and all of the characters (even the supporting ones) are very well developed.

Without giving any of the story away it shows that to young girls sometimes it isn’t the big issues that have the largest impact on your life and instead it is a web of many, many smaller ones.

The book got off to a slow start for me but as the characters developed and I got to know Miv’s family and friends, I was soon engrossed. Deceptively mild and charming, beneath the surface there are themes of domestic abuse, racism and loneliness all wrapped up in a story about two 12 year old girls trying to solve the case of the Yorkshire Ripper. A great debut by Jennie Godfrey who is definitely an author to watch.

Well what a lovely change, This book took me back to my childhood despite being set a lot later during the reign of terror brought about by the Yorkshire Ripper. The story is based around Miv an 11 year old girl whose mother has suffered some form of nervous breakdown , and Miv's best friend Sharon. The story details the adventures and characters they meet as they set about trying to find who the Yorkshire Ripper is. They also befriend a boy called Ishtiak who is the son of Omar the corner shop keeper which is just like "Open all hours". The story deals with lots of prejudices, but there is always a more heart warming element that keeps your view more balanced. Thoroughly recommended.

You may find it hard to believe when I say what a beautiful book this is. Covering topics including domestic abuse, loss of loved ones, the betrayal of an affair, mental health issues, manslaughter paedophila, racism and all set against the background of the hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper it would be understandable. But this novel is an absolutely beautiful, often tender and very human tale of the lives of a group of neighbours in a Yorkshire village including a shopkeeper and his son, a librarian, her retired father, the workers at a local haulage company. The main protagonist, Miv, a girl on the brink of becoming a teenager overhears her family talking about moving away. She believes it to be due to the shadow of the Yorkshire Ripper hanging over their community and so, with the begrudging help of her two school friends she decides to catch the infamous serial killer herself. I’m going to leave the detail at that as I strongly urge you to read what I believe to be a 5⭐️ read for yourselves.

Full of nostalgia but also a reminder of the toughness of life in Yorkshire in the 80s, especially for women and of course for the victims of the Yorkshire Ripper. So refreshing to see that investigation/news story from a child's point of view. Miv and Sharon are wonderful characters, unlikely friends but ultimately as thick as thieves. Jennie Godrey shows that in almost every house and almost every family there's so much more than meets the eye.

The novel is set in Yorkshire in the 1970s, when Margaret Thatcher was in power and the Yorkshire Ripper was a danger to women. When Miv’s father and strict overbearing Aunt Jean decide to leave the area and move down South, Miv is determined not to leave her best friend Sharon.
Miv’s love of Enid Blyton’s stories helps her to organise a list to determine who the Yorkshire Ripper could be, then the family would be able to stay in the community they know so well.
This is a sensitively written story, told by an author who knows Yorkshire well. It is filled with humour and affection, but also has a dark side. Racism was prevalent at the time, and Mr Bashir the local shopkeeper, and his son Ishtiaq, along with other ethnic minorities suffered terribly at the hands of local thugs, The issue of domestic control and abuse is also explored.
I felt empathy for Miv whose Aunt Jean has little sympathy for her niece, hers is a utilitarian upbringing with little love or affection shown. Her spirit and determination (along with her best friend Sharon) help to see her through. The author’s skilled writing brings both characters and austere settings alive. As this heartwarming story unfolds and characters develop, you begin to feel that you know them and the problems they have.
This is an exceptional debut novel, a unique story about friendships, love and determination, its twists and turns keep you turning the pages. Can’t wait for Jennie Godrey’s next novel. Would enjoy reading about Miv’s next adventures. Highly recommended.

The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey

Growing up in Yorkshire In the late 1970s and as a female from near the area the Ripper carried out his heinous murders must have been a terrifying time.

We meet Miv & Sharon , 2 girls who are wary of what is going on In the world around them .
This is a great book about growing up at a time that the uk is changing. A real insight

There is sometimes you come across a book that is a powerful, emotional story that stays with you for some time and this book is one of them. This will be a best seller, no doubt.
Miv is a twelve-year-old girl living in Yorkshire in 1979 in the times of Maggie Thatcher. She lives in an old Mill town with her father and her mother and her Aunty Jean who has come to stay and care for her mother. Once a loving mother, but something happened to her and now sits spaced out not fully there. So, her father and Aunty Jean are the ones there for her and her friend Sharon.
To cope with the goings on in her life, she develops an obsession to find the Ripper and report him to the Police. Observing all the people around her and making lists to see if there are him. But doing so she gets into all sorts of trouble and ends up being cornered by the police.
The story also includes the times of the National front and what they did to people with ‘Brown skin’ Especially the new shop holder Mr Bashir and his son that have just arrived in the area and not welcomed by the locals and other hard-hitting subjects that are more recognised today.
I thank you for the publisher for this amazing debut novel by Jennie Godfrey. This is a powerful coming of age story, with some hard subjects. But it is sensitively done, this is beautifully written, and I loved the innocence of the protagonist Miv and her bravery. As I am a similar age you don’t seem to experience it now in young people. I loved this so much and can’t wait to see what the author has next in store. 5 stars from me.

A truly unique book one of which I wished would never end! A testament to the power of storytelling and the written word.
It was a suspenseful, emotional, and thoroughly engaging. I absolutely adored it and wish there was more like it!

I'd heard so much about this book that I started to follow the author, Jennie Godfrey, online. I was so happy to receive a copy of this book and it didn't disappoint. I had been married for less than a month when the Yorkshire Ripper began his killing spree and by 1979, when this book is set, was, like the4 rest of the nation, horrified by the frequency with which he killed. This book is so evocative of those days and feels so familiar. The descriptions of rooms: wallpaper, carpets, shades of brown were everywhere, even in my home. Through the efforts of 12 year old Miv and her friend Sharon, the author has transported me back to the world of Margaret Thatcher, sensitively handling the issues of racism, domestic abuse, sexual abuse and mental health that we picked our way through. There is a real flavour of Yorkshire and of the horror and frustration experienced by those living with this fear. Jennie Godfrey has captured the emotion and reasoning of a 12 year old girl and her quest to do what the police have failed at: catch the Yorkshire Ripper. The characters are diverse and authentic to the period with all the flaws and failings of humanity. As in real life, it's not always the people you think who will be strong and Jennie has certainly explored this to the full. A wonderful book. I look forward to reading her next.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this digital ARC.

A fun, enjoyable read. Easy to read, written well and makes you laugh and was fast paced and heartwarming. I would recommend.

Yorkshire, 1979. England has just begun living under the iron yoke of Margeret Thatcher's government, while an unknown killer has been terrorising the women of Yorkshire for four years. When her father mentions the possibility of moving 'Down South', away from their beloved Yorkshire and Miv's best friend, Sharon, Miv fixates upon the murders: if they were solved, surely there'd be no reason to move away?

Considering that it is nominally about a quest to solve a series of brutal murders, Jennie Godfrey's debut novel is a touching, sweet story about growing up, family and community, full of vividly drawn characters and with a tightly-written, engaging plot.

Godfrey was inspired to write a book set against the backdrop of the Yorkshire Ripper murders because she grew up in Dewsbury, the base for the so-called 'Ripper Squad', and her father - a mechanic - even knew Peter Sutcliffe, the man eventually identified as the Yorkshire Ripper, through his work. Through Miv and Sharon, she confidently gives voice to girls who were considered too young to be potential victims of the Ripper, and yet were old enough to know what was happening, and offers an insight into how such an infamous, high profile case may have impacted them and their communities. The mystery of the Ripper drives the plot, but also recedes into the background at times as Miv and Sharon uncover a trove of secrets about their neighbours along the way - some sordid, others just sad.

Godfrey is proud of her Yorkshire roots and it shows through the warmth of her descriptions of the small town and its inhabitants, even as she voices her exasperation at 'this Yorkshire way of talking around the things that mattered, of carrying on regardless.' However, she doesn't flinch at depicting a troubled, fractured community where high unemployment and the collapse of heavy industry were the perfect breeding ground for anti-immigrant, anti-outsider sentiment among those desperate to go back to 'the way things were'. Godfrey also paints a picture of a place where gender roles were entrenched, casual misogyny normal and domestic violence hushed up. The List of Suspicious Things convincingly illustrates how suspicion and mistrust must have infiltrated northern, working class communities during the time of the Ripper murders.

Godfrey tenderly captures the distinct period of girlhood when you straddle the boundary between childhood and fully-fledged adolescence - a time when you are torn between wanting to cling on to the security of childhood and longing to take the first frightening, exciting steps into a grown-up world of make-up, boys and puberty. The friendship between Miv and Sharon is beautifully realised and the reader can feel Miv's pain at feeling her more mature, wordly friend seeming to pull away from her over the course of the story as they grow older. Miv's narration accurately portrays the naïvety of children her age; she tries to navigate the adult word in other to carry out her investigation, but doesn't have the life experience or vocabulary to fully realise the extent of much of what she uncovers. Even as she is being counselled to come home when the streetlights go on, in her innocence Miv cannot comprehend that handsome men can be monsters or that boys she's grown up with could be dangerous. Godfrey also captures the frustration of feeling that you have something important to say, but that no one is listening to you because of your age.

Godfrey takes the time to ensure that the minor characters who live and work alongside Miv's family have interesting, layered back stories, and I found the chapters from the perspective of Omar, the Pakistani corner shop proprietor, and Helen, the shy librarian, particularly compelling. Godfrey develops connections between each of the characters, as befits a small community, and some of the unlikely friendships that emerge throughout the story - which in other hands might have felt contrived - are really beautiful.

The ending felt a little too neat and cosy for me, particularly the resolution to the plotline about Miv's mother's vaguely described mental health issues, but I was rooting for many of the characters to end the novel in a more hopeful position than they began it in.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House UK, Cornerstone and Hutchinson Heinemann for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of this book.

A really great and fun read. I loved the characters and the story. Will look out for more from this author.

THE LIST OF SUSPICIOUS THINGS by Jennie Godfrey is a rare gem. A unique book that defies category: tense, dramatic, funny, thought-provoking and moving. A book that really stays with you long after you finish it. It tells the story of Miv, a young girl struggling with family tensions in the 1970'2 during the time of the Ripper murders in Yorkshire. The writer brilliantly captures the awful atmosphere of suspicion and fear pervading the local community while the murders remained unsolved, by showing the effect on one young girl, Miv, and the people around her. She deflects from her own problems by determining to do the impossible: to solve the Ripper murders. In the process she discovers that everyone has secrets and her driven, heroic and sometimes dangerous meddling shakes situations up - for good and for bad. The writer evokes the historical period with evocative details and handles a large cast of characters with aplomb. A truly impressive debut.

It’s 1979 and the Yorkshire Ripper is on the loose. Miv, a young girl with many problems of her own, decides that she and her friend Sharon will be the ones to capture him. And so begins The List of Suspicious Things.
A thoroughly engaging and thoughtful read, bringing the challenges of life in the late 70s, early 80s to the surface using multiple povs.
I really enjoyed reading this book and, in my opinion, it would work equally well for a YA audience as well as for adults.
Congratulations to the author, I’m sure this book is destined for great things.

The idea behind this book is clever but the reality of reading about two kids trying to solve a huge case like this just didn't do it for me. It was not a book I felt compelled to pick up but I got to the end and it was an ok-ish read. Sorry I cannot be nicer, its just not my kind of book though I'm sure lots of people would like it. If you like mysteries and are not bothered by kids trying to solve the crime, it might be for you.

As soon as I saw the eye-catching cover, I was instantly drawn to 'The List of Suspicious Things' and knew I had to read it after perusing the description. I have a particular fondness for books that evoke a sense of nostalgia, especially those set in the latter half of the 20th century. It was an absolute privilege to have been granted access to an advance reader copy, and I write this review with great pleasure.

A big grin spread across my face after reading a few pages. What a delight to visualise the humorous domestic scenes and be reminded of things I had encountered in a 1980s British school and long forgotten. I absorbed myself with ease and pleasure, relishing in the talented way Godfrey writes from the perspective of a girl on the cusp of becoming a teenager and expertly captures the concerns of a young mind. The experience of nostalgia lit a spark of happiness and contentment within me.

A beautiful equilibrium was drawn between serious social issues and humour, with the flow from one to the other perfectly accomplished. The entire story was packaged with care and sensitivity and the stream of individual struggles explored from the perspective of minor characters were pleasingly concluded at the end. Far from disrupting the flow, this brought additional layers of depth and enhanced the experience: as I progressed in reading 'The List of Suspicious Things', a great fondness of certain characters was borne - as well as a dislike for others, whom I was pleased to witness receiving their 'just desserts'!

The deep, reverberating wounds caused by The Yorkshire Ripper were relayed in Miv's story, with victims' real names interwoven with the main work of fiction. It was believable and suitably honoured the memories of those who died, with Sharon's emotionally mature outlook (which saw the victims as women) complimenting Miv's more determined and factual perspective as she sought to catch The Ripper. It was a wonderful example of how two different outlooks and personalities can both create friction, but still manage to work together, with the bonds of friendship ultimately winning out.

Although this book dealt with tragedy and grave topics, Godfrey managed to blend enough moments of warmth and intimacy to prompt more emotions than sadness in the reader. Friendship was a key theme and consistently precipitated reflection as to how Miv's relationships would unfold. The final conclusion is memorable, heartfelt and marvellous.

I'm keen to read more from Jennie Godfrey and am thrilled to award 'The List of Suspicious Things' a well-deserved 5 stars and a place on Mrs Bennett's Bookshelf - the first to receive a full 5 stars since inception in June 2023.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. This was a different read to what I am used to but saying that I really enjoyed the storyline and the characters so would recommend to other readers.

It's 1979 and Yorkshire is being terrorised by the Yorkshire Ripper. Best friends Miv and Sharon decide to investigate, hoping they can unmask the man responsible.

The List Of Suspicious Things from Jennie Godfrey is one of those novels you become completely immersed in. The style and language draw you in and you feel as if you are one of the characters. It helped that as a child of the sixties, the story felt very nostalgic for me.

Primarily a book about friendship, this novel also reflects on many of the issues of the time; the fear caused by the Yorkshire Ripper, the decline of the industrialized north and racism to name a few. The author has illustrated how these things impacted on tight-knit communities.

Miv and Sharon are chalk and cheese but complement each other. On the cusp of becoming teenagers, they are in that no-mans land of no longer children, but still not adults. Miv is the driving force of the pair. Virtually motherless, with a father who has little time for her, she is tended by a stern Aunt. At home, Miv loses herself in books such as The Famous Five and you can see how she uses these as a blueprint to investigate. Unfortunately, these stories also reflect a different era and we see how the naive friends end up in some dangerous situations.

Some of the things the girls get up to would be considered inappropriate today, but they show how communities rallied together and supported each other. Unfortunately, they also show a time when gossip was freely swapped but things such as mental health and domestic abuse were considered taboo subjects for discussion. It's the things that aren't discussed, both between neighbours and within families, that give the whole novel a tone of sadness. We learn that people keep living by simply putting one foot in front of the other each day. It is only when tragic events take place that people begin to contemplate their place in life and others open up.

I loved this coming-of-age story, it shows the fierceness of innocence, the bonds of friendship and the excitement of first love set against a community terrorised and worn down.

This was such a coming of age book, strongly evocative of the 1970s. I must be about the same age as Miv and she felt authentic, growing up and confused not having a full understanding of events around her. I loved it, despite the bombshell near the end, and would like to read more from this author. Thanks to Netgalley.