I thought this book would be a harrowing read, but although there were some emotional parts, it is very well written. Thank you for the ARC,

An absolutely superb debut from Jennie Godfrey, from the perspective of a you g girl Miv, growing up in Yoirkshire during the murders of the Yorkshire Ripper. Miv becomes obsessed with discovering the culprit and manages to unearth sinister secrets in her neighbourhood. There is innocence in her perspective touched with a lightness and humour, despite some of the dark experiences touching her life, like the rampant racism directed at her friend Ishtiaq and hus father, and the uncomfortable tickling forced on her fellow choir friends from an "uncle" serving squash, her mum's mental health decline, and witnessing domestic violence, and aggressiveness. A wonderfully woven story that sees justice to the historical accuracy of the original crimes. #thelistofsuspiciousthings #jenniegodfrey #penguin #netgalley

Lovely book. Truly great read on so many levels, back to Yorkshire in the 70's/80's, childhood friendships, the Yorkshire ripper, the rise of the national front and the affect that had on people as well as complex relationships.
Miv and Sharon make a list of suspicious things and people to try and solve the mystery of the Ripper which takes them in many directions, making new friendships as well as tragedy. It really is a multi layered book and well worth a read. Astonishing that this is a debut novel, I'll definitely be looking out for Jennie Godfrey's next books.

I’ll admit that I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book. I’m not one for reading grisly crime stories, but the synopsis suggested that there was much more to this book than that. I’m so glad I decided to give it a try.

Set in the late 1970’s, the story follows young Miv and her best friend Sharon as they navigate growing up under the shadow of the Yorkshire Ripper and the rise of the National Front. Wanting to help her local community, Miv decides to start looking for clues about who around them could be the Ripper. She starts to notice things hiding in plain sight that point to other problems people are living with in their day to day lives. Through these ‘investigatations’ we slowly uncover a cast of characters that will play a pivotal role in Miv and Sharon’s live, bringing together a community cowered by fear of a serial killer in their midst,

Essentially a story about the power of friendship, love and compassion, there is a definitely a dark side to this ambitious debut novel. Exploring themes of sexual abuse, domestic abuse and racism, there’s plenty in here that makes this as less than easy read. But Godfrey does a brilliant job of telling the story in a sensitive and honest way. The characters are all so well written that they feel like real people, and their reactions to the situations that they find themselves in are all wholly believable.

It might seem like an odd thing to say given the subject matter, but there’s a real heart to this book. I felt so deeply the things the characters experience that it’s quite a moving book. I thoroughly enjoyed The List of Suspicious Things and would definitely recommend it.

Heartwrenching, brave and unexpected. I'll be recommending this to everyone I know! It's such a unique look at the Yorkshire Ripper case, harrowing and dark in places but with an ultimately uplifting theme. I'll be looking out for more titles from such a talented writer.

Set in Yorkshire when the Yorkshire Ripper was at large, racial tensions high , Miv a young girl and her friend Sharon try to track down the Ripper, using a list of suspicious things about individuals.

They befriend a young boy from Bradford who lives with his Pakistani father running a corner shop after his mother died.

The book reminds us of how things were in the 1970's a less tolerant society, the scary news of the Ripper and how we relied on the TV and newspapers for our knowledge of what was happening around us.

A heartwarming story of growing up during those times, with humour, love and sadly tragic consequences.

A coming of age story during a time of political upheaval and the hunt for a serial killer. I was a teenager at the time so remember vividly the culture, Mrs Thatchers rise to power and the terrible crimes of the Yorkshire Ripper The author evokes very well the atmosphere of the period.

I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. Set in the 1970's in Yorkshire this is the story of friendship and family, it had such wonderful characters and a great story, it will stay with me for a long time and I will be recommending it to everyone I know.

This book has just transported me back in time to my preteens and early teens growing up in Stanningley, Pudsey, West Yorkshire. It felt like in many ways I was literally in the pages of the book with Miv and Sharon. I was the mousy brown haired skinny girl and my best friend the blonde Sharon. I was obsessed with mysteries and The Secret Seven, always suspecting our neighbours were up to something and spying from our garden shed, our club house. But we were never as brave as Miv. Just like Miv I remember not really fully understanding the gravity of the situation at first and all the hushed talking around us. Then school closing early and my neighbour who was at high school having to walk a girl home so she’d get home safe, all the boys had to. Then starting high school at 13 having much more understanding and all us us carrying our rape alarms in our school bags and walking home on the white lines in the middle of the road in the dark after netball. The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end just typing this.
Jennie Godfrey has absolutely nailed this story. The innocence and naivety of Miv and Sharon at the start of their investigations is absolutely how we were back then. The way they matured is such an accurate portrayal of how we did, gradually picking up on things we overheard and piecing everything together until it started to become clear. And not just the Ripper storyline, but all the other threads and issues running through the book. Everyone knew what was happening around them and yet nobody addressed it head on like they would today. That was just how it was back then. Such a powerful way to convey all of this through the eyes of Miv. I sobbed my heart out at the end and felt totally bereft leaving Miv.
This truly is an incredible debut novel and it deserves all the praise and all the stars. I think it’s set to be the book that stays with me this year and takes my number one spot.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher Cornerstone, Penguin Random House UK for an arc in exchange for a review.

Wow. I loved this book so much. Set in the 1970’s in Yorkshire, the Ripper murders provide the background for an utterly engrossing story about a young girl named Miv. In order to avoid being uprooted and moved down south, away from her beloved best friend Sharon, Miv decides to find the Ripper so she can stay.
Firstly the Ripper murders while important and well handled, are only a part of this novel. The novel is really a masterclass in family, friendship, community, tolerance (or lack thereof) and growing up. The perspective of Miv, a young girl trying to understand an increasingly adult world is really well done. The nostalgia is strong, as the 1970’s are brought to life so well. Anyone that attended an average secondary school in the 70’s, 80’s or 90’s will relate to a lot here! I loved how the viewpoints were mixed so we heard from the adults in Miv’s life as well. The story builds cleverly and I loved how the characters lives overlapped. It’s quite a long book and yet it seemed to fly by, I really couldn’t put it down. I’ll recommend it to everyone I can. If you love writers like Joanna Cannon, you’ll enjoy this one. Thank you to the Publisher for the chance to read this one early. It’ll take some beating as my book of the year.

The List of Suspicious Things - Jennie Godfrey

What does a 11 year old do when the news of a serial killer on the loose threatens to displace her family? Try to catch the perp of course!
This is a brilliant debut novel set in the times of the Yorkshire ripper. Miv starts a list of suspicious things in an attempt to catch the killer. What she does come across is fault lines in her closely knit community papered over and over again because heaven forbid someone chooses to not confide to the societal norms. Topics like Racism, domestic violence and mental health are handled with such care and all the characters seem so well fleshed out with their own convincing imperfections. The author does a brilliant job of switching the tone of the narrative between the 11 year olds and the adults and you feel like she could’ve written this book from anyone’s perspective.
Though the Yorkshire rippers sets the perfect backdrop to this story, what it really is about is the lives of ordinary folk in small towns and how everyone has their own demons to conquer and find the strength to carry on. An absolute soul warmer, I highly recommend you get yourself a copy when its out in two weeks.
Thank you to Netgalley and Hutchinson for the ARC.

I’ve been seeing this book everywhere so while I initially thought it wasn’t for me I thought I’d better give it a go! I was quickly drawn into 11 year old Miv’s world and realised that all the good reviews were right. It’s got such warmth and heart, despite the serious topics covered and will leave me thinking about it for some time.

Thank you to netgalley for the arc.

This was a cute story about horrible things, I saw some of myself in Miv. But while it's not totally unbelievable, the amount of horrible things that happen to the same tiny group of people in such a short time was a little bit Hollyoaks at times?

This book is beautiful written and drew me in straight away. I was born in the 70's and was too young to remember the Yorkshire Ripper but have watched many documentaries about this time and the dear of women in particular at that time. A truly magnificent debut novel that deals with serious issues in a sensitive way . A truly nostalgic read about a difficult part in Yorkshire's history. This definitely is at the top of my best books read so far this year.

This book will stay with me forever. Emotions that I did not even know that I had surfaced. A brilliant well written book.

Wow wow wow. All the rave reviews are worth it, Jennie Godfrey has written something so wonderfully captivating and real.

The 1970s childhood feel is perfectly pitched, Miv’s childhood felt familiar and real. The nastier 1970s elements- the racism, the domestic violence, the vicious teachers doling out beatings with no comeback- note perfect.

Miv’s obsession with the Yorkshire Ripper - again, spot on. The pre-teenage fixation with an issue - and the feeling that Miv might be the one to crack it, with no thought of any consequences, was skilfully written and utterly understandable.

There are already 100s of reviews telling you to read this book - here’s one more! It’s going to be massive and you don’t want to miss it.

What a beautifully written book- one that I will not forget for a while. I wish this book had been around when I was a teenager. It portrays the troubles and heartaches with growing up and how challenging life can be when you are not quite ready to be treated like an adult, but you start to see the world around you and have lots of un answered questions.
This was very true to life and you felt for the characters of the book and I could vividly imagine them as the writing as so good.

I am so glad I was able to read this book and it left a big lump in my throat. I could not stop thinking about it for days, which is when you know a book has really made a difference to you. Poignant, realistic and crushingly sad at times, which made it all the better for reading it.

An excellent debut novel and I would be keen to read more from this author!

This book takes us back to the time where the Yorkshire ripper is at large. Miv is concerned her family might be moving away because of the attacks. This would mean leaving her whole life behind including Sharon, her best friend, which of course is not ok with Miv! ⁣
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She decides to start a list of suspicious things with Sharon in an attempt to try and catch the man responsible.⁣
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Initially this book starts off quite jokey and juvenile. Things like Mr Smith is suspicious because he has a moustache or the guy who owns the corner shop because he knows everyone in the village. But as it progresses the list and story line gets progressively more in depth and mature. It's almost like the story grows up as the girls do. ⁣
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During their investigation they end up uncovering all sorts of village mysteries. Getting a deeper understanding of the people in their everyday life. ⁣
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As the victim list gets longer the obvious panic intensifies around these young girls. You get a real sense of unease as you go on making it quite a creepy read.⁣
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This book is wonderfully written with so many unexpected twists. A beautiful coming of age tale during what much have been a very harrowing time for woman. There are true moments of heart break and fear throughout as the mystery unwinds. ⁣
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One thing I would say is this book might need some trigger warnings. It does cover some gritty moments which could upset some people. ⁣
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Overall a hugely enjoyable read that kept me guessing until the very last page! ⁣
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Thank you to netgalley, cornerstone and Jennie for my review copy of this book. I absolutely loved it!!

What a fabulous read. I was enthralled from start to finish. A story set in North Yorkshire at the time Jack the Ripper was at large. A story about community spirit and how a young girl of 12 strives to find the Ripper so her dad does not move her away from the area for safety. A really gripping read not to be missed.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review.

In this book we meet Miv. It's 1979 and Thatcher is PM (remember those days) and the Yorkshire Ripper has still not been caught. Miv lives with her parents and Auntie Jean (who has some great dialect dialogue - trouble at t'mill etc) is also staying with them as mum is a bit delicate. Miv has a good friend Sharon who is a bit chalk to her cheese in many ways, but they rub along together. Things change when the Ripper strikes again, this time closer to home and, even though Miv doesn't really understand the whole victim type streetwalker thing, she starts to get a bit scared. But not scared enough to realise that it could all be better again if she could catch the Ripper herself. Especially when she overhears the old talking about moving away. Well, her and Sharon who she also ropes in. And so begins the titular "List of Suspicious Things" which is really a list of potential Rippers and the Things that make them Suspicious...
But all that said, the Ripper is a peripheral story as the main crux of the book is family, and Miv's coming of age really. How her home life dictates what drives her for distraction. But also relationships that go against the grain of what certain people think is right. It's also about how the community deals with things for better and worse. No spoilers but there are some quite heavy themes also contained herein. Remember that the 70s and 80s were very different times for "minorities", that's all I'm saying. (Although, I might rethink that statement later).
And I also fell in love with Miv's character right from the start which also drew me fully into the book. She's also the age I would have been in that year too so there was a lot of connection there too, although I grew up on the south coast and was far enough away from the Ripper hunting ground for it not to affect me in the same way.
It's hard for me to say much more about this - most impressive debut book - YES - DEBUT! What a stellar performance by the author. It's so much more than I can ever express in a review. I can only say that this has screamed into my top 10 so far this year (of 36) and I'll be surprised if it's not still there come December 31st.
So... my advice, stop reading reviews and read the darned book. You can thank me later!
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.