This is such a beautifully written book. The events (real and fictional) are woven together so seamlessly and you really feel the fear and sadness throughout.

It is such an intriguing tale of 2 young almost teenage latch key kids who are best friends and their investigation into the Yorkshire Ripper.

At first glance you may think kids investigating it sounds like it is taking the seriousness of the situation away...but this is so thoughtful and heartfelt that it never undermined the awfulness of the whole situation.

The world is so vibrant and well drawn that it felt very real...I had no trouble picturing any of those scenes.

This is a very touching and emotional read. I would have given it 5 stars had it not been something that happens at the end (no spoilers) that I thought was wholly unnecessary. However, would highly recommend this book.

Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A debut novel .. and very readable it is too!

Miv's mum isn't well - she's stopped talking and goes away from time to time. Miv is sure that her Dad is planning on moving them away from the area and she just can't let that happen. Everything seems to be going wrong because of all the women being murdered so it stands to reason that if the Ripper can be found, they can stay in Yorkshire and she will still have her best friend Sharon. So she draws up a list of possible suspects and they begin their investigations . . .

This is a terrific read, set at a time I remember very well. You forget how convinced of things you are when you're young, but this brought a lot of that back. Beautifully written and immensely enjoyable, I really enjoyed this one and will certainly be looking out for more from Jennie Godfrey. One I'm happy to both recommend and give 4.5*.

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is - as always - my honest, original and unbiased review.

Miv and Sharon are 12 year old girls living in a small Yorkshire town as Maggie Thatcher comes to power and the Yorkshire Ripper terrorises the county's women. Miv's mother is a shadowy figure with depression and so her strict Aunty Jean comes to live with Miv and her father restricting Miv's very active imagination. The girls befriend Ishtiaq the son of the only Asian family in their part of town. Both Ishtiaq and Miv are tormented by other children at school because of their otherness. Miv is ripe for adventure and she persuades Sharon that they should find the Yorkshire Ripper by creating the 'list of suspicious things' of the title. As they work their way through the town's 'suspects' the girls learn a lot more than they bargained for about life in general in the mid 1970s - growing up, boys, racism, domestic violence, death and other prejudices to name just a few. An excellent book especially if you're of an age to have been a teenager during this period.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy. All opinions are my own.

This is a really special book and I can’t recommend it strongly enough.
Miv is 12, it’s 1979 and her home life is a mess. Her mother is either locked in her room or in hospital, her dad is distant and often not there, and her Aunt is trying to hold everything together. The only thing that matters is her best friend Sharon.
The Yorkshire Ripper is still at large and, for want of anything better to do, Miv and Sharon decide to investigate - starting with the suspicious people around them. However, they soon find out more than they bargained for and soon their small community is turned upside down.
Jennie Godfrey writes brilliant about being a child in the late 70s, particularly in a small rural community. It’s a lovely yet heartbreaking book, the characters are so brilliantly drawn and you are quickly drawn into their stories. I really couldn’t put it down and it’s the most accomplished debut I’ve read for a long time. A must read.

Miv’s home life is a little challenging. Her mum doesn’t speak, she doesn’t do much of anything. Her auntie Jean’s moved in and her dad works hard to keep the family together. But Miv keeps herself occupied with her detective work - well, investigations into what’s going on in her local area.

And the biggest story in the U.K. is happening in her local area right now. Miv decides that she and her best friend Sharon will find the Yorkshire Ripper. The police haven’t done a very good job so far so why not?

This is a story of friendship and what happens when you start to look a little deeper at the lives around you.

Miv is adorable. She’s smart and loyal and inquisitive - and a little bit eccentric.

On their way to finding the Ripper, Miv and Sharon make new friends and make the lives of their new friends better.

This is a spellbinding story, set against the very real backdrop of life in West Yorkshire in the late 70s and early 80s.

I thoroughly enjoyed it, it was heartbreaking in places but also joyful.

Read it and love it!

Wow! I absolutely loved this book. I can’t believe it’s a debut. It’s just brilliant. It’s funny, sad, poignant and uplifting.
I look forward to reading future books by @jennie.godfrey
A coming of age story set in Yorkshire around the time of the ripper murders and Margret Thatcher.
Miv, along with her friend Sharon, decides to start investigating the identity of the Yorkshire ripper. She begins by writing lists of suspicious things and people. This is how we meet all the other different characters. I loved the character development and their relationships with one another and how they are captivating and hook you in.
The story evokes a real sense of time and place.
I was totally engrossed throughout the whole book. I couldn’t put it down.
Overall, it’s a beautifully written, immersive story that touches on family, friendship, love, mental health, immigration and grief. It’s so heartwarming. I highly recommend this one.
With thanks to #NetGallery, #RandomHouseUK and @HutchHeinemann for an eARC of #TheListOfSuspiciousThings in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are my own.
Book publishes 15 February 2024.

Jennie Godfrey's upcoming novel, "The List of Suspicious Things," set to release on February 15th, is a compelling tale that delves into the dark shadows of fear and obsession. The story follows the young girl Miv, who becomes fixated on apprehending the notorious Yorkshire Ripper. Against the backdrop of escalating fear due to the Ripper's gruesome killings, Miv's family contemplates the possibility of moving to a safer place.

Miv, accompanied by her best friend Sharon, embarks on an investigative journey, exploring the depths of her neighborhood and school in an attempt to unmask the elusive killer. As the narrative unfolds, readers are introduced to a diverse cast of intriguing characters, each of whom is given a dedicated chapter to deepen the complexity of the story. Throughout these encounters, Miv undergoes significant personal growth.

Godfrey's writing is nothing short of beautiful, drawing readers into the intricate web of suspense and mystery. However, despite the novel's merits, I would give it it a four-star rating. My expectation for a more substantial resolution concerning the Yorkshire Ripper was not fully met. Upon conducting further research, I discovered that the Ripper is based on a real-life figure, and the victims in the novel are the actual victims. While the book reaches a climactic point, it wasn't what I expected.

Nevertheless, "The List of Suspicious Things" is a commendable read. The standout elements include the exquisite writing style and the development of the main character, Miv. Despite my slight disappointment with the resolution, the overall experience is one that I would recommend to readers who appreciate a well-crafted narrative and a captivating protagonist.

The List of Suspicious things belies expectations in many ways. I started it thinking I would be reading a comforting book featuring a character who learns something about themselves much like Eleanor Oliphant or Harold Fry. And whilst the book is reminiscent of these, it's also far darker and deeper than I expected it to be.

And this is a good thing - Godfrey writes about the Yorkshire Ripper murders from the viewpoint of a girl living through a changing country and also her changing life, not really understanding what growing up involves and having to navigate through that against a backdrop of 80's Yorkshire.


I was gripped by the book - I wanted an answer to the mysteries that came up but I also wanted to know how the characters would end up and I wasn't disappointed.

A hugely moving, emotional coming-of-age novel which captures the zeitgeist of 1970s Northern England. Margaret Thatcher has just come to power, racial tensions are high, as unemployment and dissatisfaction are rife as the face of industry changes.
Told through the eyes of 12 year old Miv, a girl struggling with adolescence and all its confusion it brings, it puts the reader in the position of knowing and understanding more than the narrator. We see the hidden evil hiding behind the veils of respectability. In some ways, we are made protective of Miv, perceiving much more of the dangers she faces.
Set against the backdrop of the Yorkshire Ripper, constant threat pervades the action, reflecting that insecurity and fear under which we come to learn Miv lives.
A captivating and endearing cast of characters, of which the setting is a significant player, is led by Miv and her best friend, Sharon.
Sharon: unafraid, angry, stoic and resolute in the face of injustice. She refuses to shy away from the wrong she sees. As Miv describes her, she was ‘like the kaleidoscope she once got for her birthday…full of colour, never stuck in one pattern, always moving, always changing, but always landing in a place that was beautiful.’ She is fiercely loyal and full of righteous anger that she never holds back from expressing.
Miv, on the other hand, is intelligent, naive and idealistic. She is so focused on distant wrongs, she is blind to the evil around her. Or maybe she just doesn’t want to see her world as it really is; it’s just too frightening for her to face. Unlike Sharon, who speaks out and asks the uncomfortable questions, Miv is learning the Yorkshire way of ‘you just don’t ask.’
Following Miv’s journey of awakening is heart-rendingly sad in parts, and I was brought to tears several times.
However, the counterpoise to all this is the healing power of connections. The relationships formed between members of a community, united by grief, pain and loss, and love, hope and friendship. The strength to survive is found in having people who will stand by you, no matter what life throws your way. Miv, and others, realise that it is ‘possible to come back from the worst thing that has ever happened to you’ as long as you have someone to love and support you. These moments of healing are some of the most beautiful I have ever read. They are simple. They are real. They are raw in their honesty and truth of feeling. Miv claims she has written ‘a story of a friendship’ but it is actually a story of many friendships and their restorative powers.
I would urge everyone to read this novel. It’s wonderful!

I grabbed a copy of The List of Suspicious Things after being intrigued by the premise - Miv is a 12-year-old living in a Yorkshire town in the late 70s, and the whole community is under the cloud of the Yorkshire Ripper attacks. Miv's family are thinking of moving away from the area to somewhere safer, and so Miv and her friend Sharon take it upon themselves to try to solve the attacks, and so begin to keep an eye on all the locals and write down anything suspicious they see in The List.

There's always a sense of lingering menace from the Ripper, as Miv gets older and people warn her not to stay out until dark, and to run if anyone strange talks to her. However, as Miv investigates the local community, she discovers good people and bad - makes friends with the good, and tries to tell people about the bad - and it became clear that this book wasn't about the Ripper at all, it's about community, friendship, and growing up.

Jennie Godfrey's characterisation is brilliant, and her descriptions of a Northern 70s town great as well.

Overall this was a superb debut - kept me up reading far too long into the night a few times!!

Miv lives in Yorkshire and the ripper murders are on the news and on everybody’s minds. Mivs mom has stopped speaking, her Aunty Jean is a force to be reckoned with and she heard her dad and Aunt talking about moving from Yorkshire and because of this Miv has set her mind to catching the Yorkshire ripper as Miv doesn’t want to move as she loves where she lives but more importantly if she moves she will no longer have her best friend Sharon. Miv decides to make a list of suspicious things so that she can try and solve the problem of the ripper and then Miv won’t have to move. She involves Sharon but doesn’t tell her why.

Mivs search for the truth reveals secrets about her family, neighbourhood and her friendship with Sharon. What if the mystery Miv needs to solve is one that lies closer to home?

This was an interesting idea and story. It is well written and I liked how some chapters were about other characters so for example one chapter is about the shopkeeper Mr Bashir and how he moved from Bradford and is having a hard time with some of the locals due to his Asian heritage. It all ties in really well and it gives you insight into each characters lives. I love how intuitive Miv is and in some points it’s comical but there is an underlying sadness throughout. I really enjoyed reading this book and the ending was a twist I wasn’t expecting. Definitely recommend this book.

When a book gets so much hype before it is published I worry that I’m going to be disappointed but all I can say is WOW this book certainly didn’t disappoint and is probably going to be one of my books of the year! The author gets the tone and atmosphere of Miv’s town and friends spot on and you just don’t want to put the book down but you also don’t want it to end. Being a similar age to Miv in the 1970s I can fully recall the fear and suspicion that the Ripper provoked and I was a soft southerner! But this novel is about so much more. It’s about family and friendship, mental illness, racism, domestic abuse and so much more but the author handles these issues in such a clever manner that it never oppresses the reader and shows how you can never be sure what is happening behind close doors. Some readers may think the girls were naive and unworldly but that’s exactly how we were then before mobile phones and social media. I’m very sad to leave this book and will definitely be looking forward to see what the author does next. If I could give more than 5stars I would. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this novel in return for an honest review.

I barely know where to start, what an incredible book. The emotional attachments you form to the characters really sneaks up on you and by the time you realize, it's already too late and you have all the feelings.

I had no idea what to expect from The List Of Suspicious Things. How do you write a book that has such terrible crimes as a backdrop without it becoming ghoulish or lost in the horror of it all? Well Jennie has managed it spectacularly well, a sensitive and realistic look at a community under a shadow of such violence and uncertainty.

Miv in particular is such a relatable character, as they all are really. It's almost like being in a time machine and being transported back to late 70's Yorkshire and leaves me feeling semi-nostalgic for a time I wasn't even in.

I had forgotten the awkwardness of what it's like to be that age, with newfound freedom but still confined by the short reins of childhood. Does make me think about the freedom I had as a kid, my parents were protective but I was lucky to have a lot of independence (when I wanted it) from an early age.

I loved this! Sweet and gently written, from the viewpoint of a young girl, it leads us carefully through a time of great fear in the communities of Yorkshire. With reflections on racism, sexism, and mental health, not to mention the serial killer, Peter Sutcliffe, it runs the full gamut of very confusing, 'adult', topics children were (and still are, more or less) faced with today, and does it beautifully.

The List of Suspicious Things
Jenny Godfrey

I really enjoyed this and can tell it’s going to be one of the books of 2024. Set in 70s Yorkshire during the time that the Ripper was at large, there’s obviously an atmosphere of darkness and terror running through this novel but there’s also love, friendship, families, and a strong sense of what it means to be part of a community. There is a lot going on and in another book this might have made me roll my eyes a little but the heavy themes are dealt with in such a lovely light & compassionate way that I was totally engaged all the way through. And Miv is an absolute sweetheart! I may have shed a tear or two as well.

Thanks as always to NetGalley & the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this title. I will also post my review on instagram
(@lovesbooksandruns)

3.75-4⭐️

It’s the heartwarming and moving retro coming of age story set in Yorkshire at the time of the Yorkshire Ripper. Miv 11, innocent and naive, a child of the times lives with her mom dad and Aunty Jean.

Miv teams up with her best friend Sharon to try and find the Yorkshire Ripper as the police have failed.
As much as it seems they are naive, children and old people slip under peoples suspicion radar when musing around.

There are various POV, as we also hear from those who make it on to the girls watch list.
There are issues covered that include isolation, bullying, homophobia and racism both within the school environment and the wider world.

It has a bit of a famous five vibe, only in this case the famous two.
It’s a slow rambling story, a pleasant excursion, it’s very long!

I enjoyed reading about the lives of the main characters, all of them experiencing problems of various kinds. It’s a heartwarming story of friendship and triumph over adversity. Most of the characters were very likeable and helpful, thoughtful and caring, but there were a minority who made life very difficult for others with their behaviour.

It’s an enjoyable story, I was engaged and it kept my attention, however it saunters along and I would have preferred it more condensed.

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review. I was immediately drawn into the story from the first few pages. It reminded me of my childhood in so many ways. Going to the local shop for a 10p mix, everyone knew each other and we had an auntie on every street! Although the story centres around the Yorkshire ripper story it also focuses heavily on family, friendships and a huge sense of community. I absolutely loved this book and would highly recommend. 5 stars from me.

Such a fabulous book, it hooked me in from the first chapter and didn't let me go until the last.
Full disclosure, I am from the area where the story is set and it really resonated with me and the atmosphere at the time.

A great read.

Highly recommend

It's the era of Maggie Thatcher's prime ministership, drainpipe jeans are the fashion trend, and Miv is convinced her dad wants to uproot their family and move Down South. The catalyst? The unsettling murders happening around them.

However, leaving Yorkshire and her closest friend Sharon behind is a non-negotiable for Miv, despite the dangers lurking and the peculiarities at home that began when her mum ceased speaking. Determined to defy the possibility of relocation, Miv wonders if unravelling the mystery of the vanishing women could be the key to securing their stay.

In a bid to crack the case, Miv and Sharon create a list—a catalogue of all the dubious individuals and occurrences in their neighbourhood, ranging from familiar faces to strangers. Yet, as they delve into their investigation, the search for truth unravels more than just the mysteries around them; it exposes hidden secrets within their community, within their families, and even between Miv and Sharon.

Amidst the shadows of the outside mysteries, a revelation begins to dawn on Miv: perhaps the true enigma she needs to unravel lies much closer to home than she ever realised.

The E-Book could be improved and more user-friendly, such as links to the chapters, no significant gaps between words and a cover for the book would be better. It is very document-like instead of a book. A star has been deducted because of this.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

Everyone else has given the review I would give for this superb debut novel. The wonderful characters drawn so beautifully enveloped me and I can see them in my mind. Poignant, sad, joyful, this book gives all the emotions. I cried a lot. Chapter 49 made me gasp.

Being a teenager is tough ( and I was one in the 70s and acutely remember the Yorkshire Ripper murders and investigations) and Godfrey reminds us of this. Messy adult relationships are also shown and in a realistic way.

I loved it. Can't wait for the next