I absolutely loved The List of Suspicious Things! What a heartwarming and moving tale from start to finish. The characters were brilliantly drawn, the setting and time period was rich and well-wrought, and the story was intriguing. I'll definitely recommend this

I am stunned this is Jennie Godfrey's debut novel. 'The List of Suspicious Things' was my book club's book for May and universally loved by all members of the club as well as sparking some very interesting debates. Miv is our primary protagonist, a child growing up in the 80s in Yorkshire, a small community plagued by racial and class divides whilst being terrorised by the threat of the Yorkshire Ripper. She, along with her best friend Sharon, decide to investigate the ripper, noting suspicious things that they see around their town. As we progress through the story, we learn much about the lives of the townspeople behind closed doors, as well as having some chapters from their perspectives.

This is an incredible coming of age story. We get to explore the trials and tribulations of growing up in a household where Miv never seems to really be noticed and her mum is constantly withdrawn and in bed. All residents of this small town have their issues but the plot is incredibly moving as they overcome any sense of social divide to become a true community. Omar and Ishtiaq are personal favourites although many of the characters warmed my heart!

At the end of it all, the ripper fades into the background as a spectre, the true story being the intersections between the characters. It really is fantastic and it would be hard to say anything else without spoiling key plot points. Easily 5 stars! Bring on Godfrey's sophomore outing.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What a brilliant book! The nostalgia made me smile as I also grew up in the 80s, and I related to so many cultural references. Roll on lipgloss, chip shop scraps being two that made me smile.

The story is set in 1980s Yorkshire as Margaret Thatcher becomes PM and the community is increasingly terrified by the murder of women at the hands of the Yorkshire Ripper.

Miv lives with her Mum, Dad and Aunty Jean. But her Mum is a ghost of her former self and Miv doesn't know why. Only that she misses her. When her Dad mentions moving, she's so anxious at the thought of leaving her best friend Sharon, that she makes a plan. If she can solve the mystery of the Yorkshire Ripper, then maybe they won't have to move.

And so begins the list of suspicious things. Sharon and Miv start investigating people and places in their community, but they discover that almost everyone is hiding a dark secret. And as events take a terrible turn, the community will need to pull together more than ever.

A coming of age novel with a difference, this was so beautifully written, so evocative and engaging. A five star read for me.

"The List of Suspicious Things" by J. Godfrey is a captivating novel set in 1979 Yorkshire during the terror of the Yorkshire Ripper. The story follows young Miv and her friend Sharon as they attempt to identify the Ripper using lists, inspired by Miv's aunt's organizational habits.

Godfrey's debut has strong character development woven with portrayal of serious social issues such as domestic abuse, racism, and mental health within the narrative. There is a clever balance between the innocence of childhood and the realities of the time, making it both poignantly emotional and engaging. Godfrey has an ability to create realistic and relatable characters, making it a compelling, if difficult, read that leaves a lasting impact.

A gripping coming-of-age novel centred around 2 pre-teen girls who decide to undertake an investigation to identify the Yorkshire Ripper. What follows is a series of unintended consequences that results in dramatic and life-altering events involving everyone around them. I picked this book up because of the interesting title, and I was quickly drawn into the story and the mind of Miv as she struggles to find her place in a scary world.

An enjoyable read. Vivid and convincing.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advance review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Set in Yorkshire during the years of the ripper this book is fascinating. It gives a real insight into the fear and anger of the community.

Beautifully told from a child's point of view it is not as graphic as most ripper novels.

I loved the characters and got really invested in them. You will laugh out loud and cry, sometimes both at the same time!

This was a real page turner that hooked me straight away.
This book is full of tension and twists but it's also about the beauty of friendship.

A wonderful read.

I'm late at the party but fell hard for this story: a coming of age story, historical fiction and young girl turned sleut all in one.
It broke my heart, made me smile and made me feel how was Yorkshire at the beginning of 80s, a world very far fromt the lights of Londong.
I loved Miv and Sharon, their changing world and the risk of a serial killer free.
Loved every moment of this story and it's highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

When I read the blurb for this one, I was instantly reminded of The Trouble with Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon and if you liked that one as much as I did, then I recommend picking up The List of Suspicious Things.

Set in England in the late 1970s, this touching coming-of-age story blends fact with fiction, as Miv tries to help the police (who are clearly quite useless) find the man behind the notorious Yorkshire ripper murders. She often hears the sentence "hidden in plain sight" so she shortlists some people in her town who are acting suspiciously so she can investigate. The list has many purposes - 1) it takes her mind off the strange and uncomfortable happenings at home, 2) it helps her prove to her best friend Sharon that she is a worthy best friend, and 3) it gives her a purpose as she imagines a future where the ripper is behind bars, all thanks to her effective sleuthing.

There are so many moving parts to this story which made it a refreshing and enjoyable read. While the ripper plays a pivotal role, this is not a story about his movements and murders; instead, he hovers in the background while a community of characters try to navigate their own difficulties a little closer to home. In this close-knit town, we've got people battling mental health, grieving loved ones, hiding their suffering, and facing racially-provoked prejudice on a daily basis. Each character has their own distinct arc with Miv at the centre fighting her own demons. It was a lot to keep track of at first, but as the story progressed, these secondary characters became pivotal to the story and felt like my own neighbours (or neighbours I could picture having if I lived in 70s Yorkshire).

The only thing I would critique is the POVs - while Miv was the main narrator, there were multiple POVs that seemed conveniently placed when the author wanted to reveal something about that character. It felt like a bit of a lazy way to do this and made the story feel disjointed. Other than that, I thought the themes and characters were really well developed and the ending (though unexpected and not necessarily what I wanted) actually worked really well and pulled everything together.

The List of Suspicious Things is simply charming. After reading this debut, I am already looking forward to more from this author.

We are introduced to 12-year old, Miv, living in Yorkshire during a time when Thatcher is in power and the Ripper is terrorising the streets. When Miv's dad suggests they should consider moving home given the unsolved murders in the area and the increasing threat, as every teenager, Miv worries life will never be the same - she would be leaving her school, all her friends, her life and her bestest friend Sharon behind. But what if she can solve the case? If there is no risk, there would no longer be any reason to move. And so begins the List of Suspicious Things. Miv and Sharon start playing closer to attention to the prominent characters in their small close-knit Yorkshire community and they realise there is more to them than meets the eye.

Jennie Godfrey is brilliant, genius, author extraordinaire. The honesty with which the various characters and sensitive topics are explored and threaded within the plot of the book - be it, Miv, a curious, immature and sincere little girl, trying to come to terms with the unexplained despondency of her mother, her father's increasing withdrawal from her life, Mr Bashir, the new owner of the local cornershop, trying to belong in a place where people are committed to "other" him, Mrs Andrews, the kind librarian whose handsome and charming husband has won over the neighbours, but what is really going on between them behind closed doors? The narrative stays true, where possible, to the real life crimes of the Ripper, supporting character Jim Jameson is targeted for his geordie accent by the locals after the Wearside Jack tapes are discovered during the investigation.

That said, it is not the case which is the main theme in the book - it is very much this community and their personal demons that form the premise of the story - dealing with sensitivity, issues of racism, alcoholism, depression and domestic violence. The book is a very innate portrayal of the perils that face the middle-class during this time in the late 80s. Arguably, some of these issues still exist today, but the authenticity with which Jeannie Godfrey has presented Yorkshire, the culture and voice is genuinely so rich and very pleasing to read. The changing nature of the streets and disregard Miv had for her own safety, often not asking her parents for permission/informing them of her whereabouts before leaving the house, as a young teenager, brought nostalgia of a more relaxed, community driven/collaborative era but was also chilling in parts. The dialogue between the characters requires a separate level of praise, reflective, humorous and sometimes gut wrenching. This book really brought all the flavours and I definitely shed a tear at one point.

Words will fail me at just how much I enjoyed this book - I felt like I was reading a Dick King Smith, something so wonderful and alot to take away with it, but thoroughly enjoyable. I hope everyone picks it up! Highly recommend this one!

Thank you @Netgalley and Random House UK Cornerstone for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest, unedited review,

A book that stays with you for a long time. It dis make me teary eyed. It was a complex subject matter which was written very well. I will definitely recommend this book.

Beautifully captured the self-blinded naivety of youth, with a tangible feeling of time and place. I wanted to make the obvious known to Miv so many times but she had to make her own mistakes - a true coming of age.

The narrator of this debut novel is Miv, a young girl in Yorkshire in the late 1970s. Thatcher, skinheads and the Yorkshire Ripper loom large on the national news. In the meantime, Miv’s mum isn’t very well and her Dad is talking about moving somewhere else, plus her best friend is changing and she’s starting to think about boys and she doesn’t really have anyone to talk to.

Centering an unreliable narrator is a bold move, and a good one - we see everything through Miv’s perspective but we’re able to bring our adult experience to what she’s telling us, sometimes understanding situations before she and her best friend, Sharon, do.

Godfrey writes so well in the macro and the micro - we’re aware that the girls are gathering information on the Ripper, so they can carry on with their lives and not be worried about being murdered. At the same time, they’re making friends with the corner shop owner and his son, helping an old man who misses his recently deceased wife, and a hundred other improvements in their community. Like so many novels based on fact, it’s not really about ‘the thing’, but more about how it affects the people living in and around the news item, long since resolved.

The creeping dread which must have hung over people in Yorkshire over the years that Sutcliffe was active, must have been awful. Unfathomable, in fact. Wikipedia tells me he first killed someone in 1969 and was caught in 1980 - across three decades. It’s no wonder that some people thought about moving, especially those with young daughters, sisters etc.

Miv and Sharon are great characters, firm friends despite their differences, and Miv’s matter of fact explanation that they’re friends because Sharon’s mum felt sorry for her about her mum, is heart wrenchingly honest.
They’re so compassionate, and clever, and I found myself invested in their quest to identify the Ripper while also being afraid for them to get sucked in and find themselves in danger, as well as mistakenly pointing the finger at innocent men in their area.

This book gets you when you’re not looking, and the fact that it’s dedicated to the victims of the Yorkshire Ripper, whose names are listed at the end, made me cry. While Miv and Sharon and the other characters are fictional, there were real people living those lives.

I’d recommend it for people who like an interconnecting cast of characters, a real village feel - such as Libby Page, for example.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House as always, for the DRC. This is now available to buy in the usual places.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book as it brought back memories of times I’d lived through in my youth. Not all of them good ones though.
Everyone remembers the Yorkshire Ripper from the regular media reports we received and also how long it took to capture him. Caught by old fashioned good policing not clever detective work. I remember it was an especially scary time because I lived in the same town “Wearside Jack” was from.
The book tells the story of two girls (Miv and Sharon ) and the trials and tribulations of them growing up. It shows their naïveté and over-active imagination thinking they will be able to catch the Yorkshire Ripper. It also covers other aspects of ordinary life such as violence and racism.
All set against the backdrop of Miv’s troubled home life with a mother suffering from mental illness and the family struggling to cope.

I'm often in complete awe of authors, but the fact that The List Of Suspicious Things actually blows my mind! It's getting rave reviews, and you can add mine to the list because this book is absolutely stunning!
From the first page of this book, right until the last page, I was completely obsessed.

Miv is going through a lot in her life, dealing with her Mum being emotionally unavailable, and her father's increasingly worrying behaviour she spends most of her time with her best friend Sharon. With the threat of moving away playing in Miv's mind, she decides that she will solve the case of the Yorkshire ripper, the police haven't solved it, and there's becoming more and more victims With her less than enthusiastic friend she vows to write a list of anyone who's suspicious and hopefully catch him and make sure justice is served.

I loved the nostalgia this book evoked growing up in the 80s. The sense of place is brilliant, especially with the Yorkshire dialect, which I loved! It's the characterisation for me, though, and not just Miv and Sharon but all of the characters. I felt anger on behalf of Mr Bashir facing the racism he did, and I felt sadness for Miv's mum. Every single character is well thought out and feels so real.

There's an element of darkness in the story, but ultimately, it's full of warmth and community and belonging. The sensitive topics are written with compassion. I absolutely adored Miv her courage shines through this beautiful novel, and it was a complete joy to spend time with her.

Overall, I can't recommend this one enough. I tend to waffle on in reviews, and the ones I love most are often incoherent, but ultimately, this book is special, and if you haven't read it, then you absolutely should!

This book actually blew me away with how unexpectedly gorgeous it was. I say unexpected because I’d seen a lot of hype about it but didn’t really know a lot about the plot. It follows Miv in the time of Thatcher the Milk Snatcher and the Yorkshire ripper, and details how the events of the late 70s shaped her childhood. This is a beautiful story of friendship, belonging, community, and all kinds of love. Miv and her best friend Sharon, both around 11, take it upon themselves to discover the identity of the Yorkshire Ripper by listing all of the suspicious things they see in the people around them. Miv is a funny and headstrong character, loyal and adventurous and was the absolute star of this story. So much to love about it and I can’t wait to see what Jennie Godfrey does next

I felt like I needed to suspend belief a bit too much for this book - it wasn’t for me - and it’s a shame as I really wanted to enjoy it. Review not posted on goodreads/ Amazon

Sensitive portrayal of horrific events.
This story is told from the prospective of eleven year old Miv, she lives with her Father and Aunt, sometimes her Mother is there but is often in hospital as she has had a breakdown. Miv overhears her Father talking about moving and thinks it is to do with the Yorkshire Ripper whose tally of dead Women is on the increase. Miv's best friend is Sharon, she has all the attributes that Miv does not see in herself, blonde, pretty, charming and liked by boys, Miv decided they will track down the Ripper and Sharon reluctantly agrees. The story centres round the list that they compile, One of the suspects is a Teacher, another a disturbed young man, a violent husband and even Miv's own Father at one point.
The plot is filed with tension, first love, betrayal, racism, abuse but this is tempered with a lot of kindness and love.
A key point in the story is about Sharon and whether Miv can ever forgive herself.
Thank you Jennie and NetGalley for this ARC.

What an outstanding read.
I was the same age as Miv, the main protagonist of this book, when the Yorkshire Ripper was active.
It was a time when it was still okay to talk to random adults. A time when you were supposed to be out all day to play.
The spectre of violence hangs over this book, and not just because of the Ripper. Racism is everywhere, just as it is today.
The central friendship between Miv and Angela is beautiful and render.
It's a real gut-punch of a book that leaves you reeling at the end, although it does make perfect sense.