This book is heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. A great insight into the life and atmosphere of the era of Yorkshire Ripper.

This is a well written coming of age novel. It's set in the eighties, so I could easily relate to it. The main character Miv is awkward and intelligent but doesn't have an easy life. She and her best friend Sharon, one of the popular girls, get the idea they can catch the Yorkshire ripper and start a list of suspicious people and things. The story draws you in straight away and it's easy to empathise with Miv and what she goes through. A heartbreaking end that made me a little sad, but overall well worth reading.

I've seen lots of hype around this on social media over the last few months and was delighted to get my hands on a copy to read myself.

Jennie Godfrey has a wonderful way of writing with real empathy and sensitivity for her characters, dealing with some pretty big themes (mental health, racism, domestic and child abuse) and in an accessible way with a lightness of touch that never feels too heavy.

Miv and her best friend Sharon start their list to try to solve the Yorkshire Ripper case, and through their investigations we get to meet their local community and the impact the case has throughout the area. We get to see the good where the community pulls together in crises, and also bad where the case amplifies underlying negative attitudes.

So much of this story was about the little details and growing awareness of Miv and her surroundings, the realisation that grown-ups dont know it all or have everything all figured out.

Although the story is mainly told from Miv's POV I did like the chapters from other character's perspectives to help build the story and drive it forward. I found all the characters to be really well developed and easy to picture.

This is an incredible debut, and a story that will linger with me for a long time. I am excited to see what Jennie's next book is about!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for this ARC. This beautifully written debut is both charming and bittersweet. Miv is a relatable narrator with an engaging voice and I loved the attention to detail.

📚📖 Book Review 📖📚

📖 Book - The List of Suspicious Things
✍️ Author - Jennie Godfrey
📕 Publisher - Random House Uk
📆 Publication - 15th Feb 2024. 📕📕📕📕📕📕📕📕📕📕📕📕📕📕📕. Righty I’m going to hold my hands up, when I started this book, I wasn’t sure if it was for me (I’m very much a mood reader!) BUT I’m so glad I did. I was born in 1971, so felt like I was back there, recognising things from the era of my childhood ! 📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚 Miv & Sharon have a very important list! a suspicions list of people. Things/people who could be the Yorkshire ripper. This got the girls in all sorts of predicaments lol! This book makes you think back to your own childhood, wondering if you would make the same decisions as these girls. “🥛 Maggie Thatcher,
The milk snatcher” came to mind! A bit of an unexpected event near the end. Be prepared to go through some emotions reading this ❤️📕 #likes #like #follow #likeforlikes #love #instagood #instagram #followforfollowback #followme #photooftheday #photography #bhfyp #instalike #l #instadaily #likeforfollow #picoftheday #fashion #beautiful #me #followers #smile #likeforlike #myself #followback #f #comment #followforfollow #likesforlikes #art

Realism, terror and adolescent friendships/games immerse the reader in the Yorkshire Ripper era.

Born just after the events of this story, and not living in Yorkshire at the time, this really brought home to me just how frightened whole counties were about the murderer attacking suddenly and brutally.

This comes through very strongly in Godfrey's writing, as does Miv's world, a grey and brown world of old-fashioned values, unemployment, hidden family secrets, hard workers and stiff Yorkshire lips.

Deciding to try and keep her friend Sharon interested (as one grows up faster than the other) by making a list of suspicious locals who COULD be the Yorkshire Ripper, 12-year-old Miv becomes our portal to a small town world, where reverends, husbands, wives, parents, shopkeepers, even lorry drivers all have their secrets. And Miv and Sharon may unwittingly uncover some of them.

Miv's a lovely creation. With a mother who's not spoken for months - she doesn't know why - cared for harshly by her aunt, given some freedom to explore and investigate, she's in that sliver of time between childhood and adolescence, trying desperately to keep her life to one she can comprehend. But also not blind in many ways to what's going on around her. Even when it comes to boys her own age shaving their heads and showing definite National Front tendencies. Scary times.

This is part growing-up story, part detective, with snippets of narration from other characters Miv is watching, shining the spotlight on their lives, the hidden one we don't see until we look hard enough. And Miv does, even if she doesn't always understand what she's seeing.

This fits quite a lot in, with several plots about various characters in Miv's town all having their moments, and all fitting together by the end, even if their conclusions are explained quickly.

I enjoyed the narration, mostly by Miv, and the expose of a whole little town. It did bring the era to life, the values and just what was going on, in both society at large and in this one little corner of it.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.

🎧Audiobook Review🎧

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I want to thank NetGalley for approving me for an ARC of this book. Special thank you to my fellow buddy reader @wendyreadsbooks, as usual, I loved our chat along the way.

🏘️Community
🥰Family
🫱🏻‍🫲🏻Friendship
🤫Secrets

Wow, what a book! I did not know what to expect going into this one, but I was pleasantly surprised. Jennie Godfrey has written a beautiful story that captures the rawness of a community at its worst. These characters and their stories will stay with me for a long time.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The List of Suspicious Things is that rare novel that balances sweetness with gritty authenticity. It is a dark time in the 70s, when everyone lives in fear of the Yorkshire Ripper. Miv, a school-aged girl decides she is going to catch him with the help of her pretty friend, Sharon. Naive, she may be, but full of heart as her search for a killer leads her to learn a vast amount about the people around her. The good, the bad and the ugly is revealed to her in ways she will not expect but makes her more aware of her community and the true nature most try to keep hidden.

A really lovely book that will touch your heart, The List of Suspicious Things is a joyous execution from this talented debut author.

On the list of books that made me cry. I loved Miv and the chorus and community. Thought of them when I wasn't reading.

Ended with a wish that more current books were as emotional and everything as this.

Impatiently waiting for Jennie Godfrey's next book.

Miv and Sharon are two best friends, aged 12 or so, in Yorkshire when Margaret Thatcher becomes Prime Minister. More prominent in the news for them is the Yorkshire Ripper. Miv becomes obsessed with the hunt and thinks she could do a better job than the police. So begins a list of everyone acting at all suspiciously and any places that may need investigating. At one point her own dad makes the list. Sharon goes along with it to some extent. This is a social commentary of its time- more poignant to me as I was only a year or two older than they girls at that time. Miv is looking for a connection that's been lost at home and as they investigate they make a difference to people's lives. I was not expecting what happened and found it quite shocking. A great read. #netgalley #thelistofsuspiciousthings

As usual in my reviews, I will not rehash the plot - there are other reviews like that out there already!

This is an amazing debut novel - the writing is very accomplished, with a well thought out plot and believable characters. I loved Miv, her insecurities about herself, her friendships, and her future reminded me a little of myself (and probably most working-class lasses of my generation) at that age. Her determination - perhaps even obsession - with the Yorkshire Ripper - uncovered more than she expected, and had unexpected consequences too.

Frienship is at the heart of this story - along with the bittersweet realisation that hits you when you start to realise that there is a lot more to the world than you think - and how much "grown ups" keep some things under wraps to protect the youngsters in their family.

I was a student at the time of the Yorkshire Ripper, and remember all too well the fear we young women felt at being out alone after dark while he was still at large. I hadn't really considered until now how men must also have felt - not only fearing for their women, but being considered as possible suspects until they were ruled out! This novel captures those feelings extremely well for both men and women.

I was in tears more than once whilst reading this book - as well as a great plot and chunks of fabulous observational humour, there are layers of sadness, loss, loneliness, and the bittersweet sorrow of leaving childhood behind. Always a sign of great writing if the author makes you care for their characters - so well done to Jennie Godfrey!

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC. All opinions my own.

I loved this. I read it all in a weekend. It was really atmospheric. Miv was a neglected Yorkshire lass whose Mum is suffering from crippling depression and takes to her bed for months on end. Her Dad is useless and has passed the buck to his sister. Auntie Jean has moved in and taken over the role of Matriarch begrudgingly bus is trying her best to do a role she’s not good at and also doesn’t really want to undertake. This book is set in Yorkshire at he time the ripper murders are occurring and Miv is obsessed with finding the Ripper. She sets about this with her friend Sharon by assessing the locals around her. This story was so good and I was gripped. It’s a coming of age story and is very sad in parts along the way.
Thank you to the author and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I'm going to make a huge statement here and say the List of Suspicious Things is probably going to be one of my top books of the year! And I think anyone who reads it will probably feel the same!
The story drags you in with its humour but also the emotion and fear that you can see in the characters. It's written in such a way that you get a full, rounded picture of most of the main characters and with the alternative perspectives it really adds to the overall atmosphere of the story and the uncertainty of people. I don't want to say too much .. because spoilers but I will say this, this book packs a real punch, it was unexpected and I'm definitely going to be buying a few copies for friends!

This has to be one of the best books I have read. A book I won't forget for a while. not only was it a homage to the women and girls who died in the hands of Jack the Ripper but it was also a book about friendship, culture and being kind. How when others care it makes a huge impact on others. Five stars from me.

Although the story is based around the horrific murders committed by the Yorkshire ripper, this book was a joy to read. It brought to light that even though there can be great evil in the world, there is much more light and love.
The characters of this book I believe will stay with me, this is one of those stories you need to take a minute to recover from before moving onto the next book. This is simply a wonderful story and one which should be read.

I'd heard so much about this book but sadly I found myself unable to connect with it. The child's eye view on the story was well executed but, for such a weighty topic I found the novel somewhat slight.

This has got to be one of the best books that I have read in a very long time. The story is set in a Yorkshire mill town at the time when the Yorkshire Ripper was still roaming the streets and fear in the older generation was palpable, it is about the love that only best friends can share, it is about the heartache when that love is fractured, it is about racial hatred, abuse, infidelity, all these subjects the author has written about with great sensitivity, it is about the awakening awareness of two pre teen girls to the opposite sex and the jealousy that it can evoke.
The author has created wonderful characters and has set the scene of a Yorkshire mill town with it's rows of terraced houses, of washing lines strung across the streets, of neighbours gossiping as they scrub their front door steps, there are so many detailed observations that I was transported right back to that era, the era when Britain had its first female Prime Minister.
Miv and Sharon came from different backgrounds but it didn't matter that their home lives were so different, they were best friends, they shared everything, even the idea that they may be able to catch the Yorkshire Ripper, with notebook and pen they started making their list of suspects.
This book had me gripped from the first page to the last, it made me laugh, it made me sad, it is one of the very few books that I will most likely read again.
Thank you Net Gallery for my free book, my review is voluntary.

As a kid growing up in the 70s I was emotionally connected to this book straightaway
Set during the time of the Yorkshire Ripper murders - Miv and her friend Sharon start their own investigation, keeping a ‘list of suspicious things’ especially if that person ‘isn’t from round here’
The feelings of familiarity and recognition were so pleasantly intense - donkey jackets, giving sugar cubes to the rag n bone man’s horse, women cleaning the front steps of their houses with a scrubbing brush
Loved all the Yorkshire sayings - ‘laik out’ ‘nowt’ ‘dyed in the wool Yorkshire man’
It was heart warming, tender and funny, with a strong sense of place and time, while dealing with some heavyweight topics, capturing the racial tensions and economic struggles and fear the people were feeling.
But ultimately the book is about community, friendship and coming of age - it perfectly captures the awkwardness, angst and uncertainty of the teenage years, realising that adults are only human and not perfect.
And that ending, not what I expected.
Well done Jennie Godfrey for a lovely nostalgic romp of what if was like to be a kid in the 70s - it’s gonna be one of my top reads of 2024 for all the happy memories it brought back.
Thanks @jennie,godfrey @hutchheinemann & @netgalley for the lovely nostalgic read

A quintessentially wonderfully British book, considering this is a debut I am beyond excited to read more from Jennie Godfrey! What a read!!

My heart is full and breaking. What a brilliant novel. Twelve-year-old Miv and her story of growing up in times of trouble, when the Yorkshire Ripper was at large, terrorising the area, while her home life was imploding under the weight of her mum's nervous breakdown, will stay with me for ever. It's a story of growing up, of falling in love, of family and of friendship - Miv's friend Sharon is a glorious study of character and strength.
As the narrative progesses, and Miv makes her list of suspicious things which she hopes will help her and sharon track down the Ripper, the story shows how life goes on for people in a community where awful things are happening, as they tackle their own life issues of loneliness, racism domestic violence and sorrow and in their various ways.
Problems big and small - twelve year old Miv can't sort them all, but she does her best in a scary world.
This book is peopled with honest-to-goodness true to life characters, whose lives will resonate with you. You'll laugh and cry for them all, but it's Miv who will steal the lion's share of your heart.
A superb plot, a cracking narrative and people you'll grow to love makes for a book that is difficult to put down, and a story that will stay with you forever.