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I saw this book all over Twitter for the last nine months, Jennie Godfrey has a debut hit on her hands for good reason. A coming-of-age mystery set against the backdrop of the 80s while the Yorkshire Ripper does his bad deeds The List of Suspicious Things captures the essence and time and place brilliantly. Godfrey's characters are wonderful and I felt something for every one of them, I either loved them or loved to hate them.

Our spunky, pre-teen protagonist, Miv deals with a lot of issues in her life and community, there are of course the murders but there is also depression, suicide, racism and domestic abuse to name but a few. Miv has to deal with these issues at home, school and even during her playtime. To give herself a sense of control over what is happening in her life she decides to make a list and investigate The Ripper herself with her best friend Sharon.

Godfrey is realistic in her writing and sensitive to the issues she writes about and I loved the friendship between the kids in this story not to mention first loves. It was so endearing and the book also showed how The Ripper and all the other things in their family lives gave them each a loss of their innocence. Wonderfully done and so different from the usual mysteries out there and the ending was simply shocking.225 s89 comments Lisa of Troy683 5,831

Shall I reveal a mysterious metaphor?

When I reached the end of The List of Suspicious Things, I snapped the book closed as one normally does upon finishing a book. As I glimpsed at the cover, my attention was drawn to the bird. Why is this bird on the front cover and featured so prominently on the stencilled edge?

Then, it clicked.

Page 3 of Daemon Voices by Philip Pullman, […] the raven, that picker-up of bits and pieces here and there.”

Very clever.

Set in the late 1970’s, the Yorkshire Ripper is at large! Mavis “Miv” a 12-year-old girl is on the hunt! Together with her best friend, Sharon Parker, they develop a list of suspicious people/places and begin to investigate.

However, people in her local village aren’t nearly as simple as they appear on the surface. And, some truths are difficult to face.

This charming and stirring tale is powerful and heartwarming. It has many characters with depth, leaning into the beauty of human complexities, good people doing “bad” things and “bad” people doing good things.

Currently, The List of Suspicious Things is not available in the United States, and it is decidedly British. However, I enjoyed learning a bit more about the British vernacular. But, my American friends, don’t be surprised if you have to look up Horlicks, waltzers, kitchen roll, ginnel, chippy, biro. But I have confidence you will survive!

Plus, the mere mention of glitter lip gloss makes me happy!

On the other hand, this book does move a touch too slow. To be clear, this isn’t really a murder mystery—that’s more in the background while Miv is discovering more about herself and her community. The paragraphs and sentences are a bit long for the mystery/thriller genre (although Godfrey’s prose is impressive), and it is a bit too verbose overall.

In regard to Sharon, the foreshadowing is too heavy handed, and the narrative voice of Miv is faintly underwhelming. Where are the 12-year old snarky comments? Where are the laser eyes at Aunt Jean or Dad?

Miv is supposedly very scholarly. Why doesn’t she drop in a line or two from her books? Miv’s character reads a bit a very self-aware, watered down adult than an intelligent, slightly impulsive 12- year-old. And what happened to Mr. Ware?

And of course….

The ending. Ugh! Come on! It is overly sentimental, not very strong, and predictable. Some of the best endings have come out of the UK (The Golden Compass/Northern Lights, The Magician’s Nephew) that made me want to immediately and compulsively rip open the second book. Godfrey could have at least teased readers with a new quest for Miv.

A timely work gently challenging the readers’ paradigm.

The Green Light at the End of the Dock (How much I spent):
Hardcover Text - £29.99 purchased at Goldsboro Books – The PREM1ER Edition (signed by the author and has a stencilled edge)

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Blog Twitter BookTube Facebook Insta223 s3 comments Maureen 1,568 7,015

It’s 1979 and in the UK Margaret Thatcher has just become Prime Minister, (forever remembered by many as ‘The Milk Snatcher)’. More worryingly however, in particular for the women of Yorkshire, a monster known as ‘The Yorkshire Ripper’ was making a name for himself by routinely and viciously killing young women, thereby leaving every woman feeling terrified and vulnerable, frightened to even venture out at night. It’s against this backdrop that The List of Suspicious Things is set.

Miv lives with her Dad, her Mum (when she’s not having one of her regular spells in hospital, having completely withdrawn from life) and auntie Jean. She caught her Dad and auntie Jean talking about moving away from Yorkshire, citing the Ripper as one of the reasons, so if Miv can discover the identity of the killer, maybe she won’t have to move away from her dear friend Sharon, and so it is that 11 year old Miv decides she’s going to catch The Yorkshire Ripper, and persuades her best friend Sharon to help her.
Auntie Jean s structure in her life and makes lists for everything, and Miv begins a list of her own, of all the suspicious things about the people she comes into contact with, and that might lead her to The Ripper!

Gosh this is a fantastic coming of age story, and a debut novel to boot (hard to believe). Having grown up in Yorkshire I recognise and felt connected to many of the characters, this may be a small community but there is much going on and plenty of women who can’t wait to spread the gossip, but they make for amusing characters (mostly!) I also remember the level of fear that the murders generated and the impact it had on local communities. Peter Sutcliffe (The Yorkshire Ripper) didn’t just rob women of their lives, he also robbed thousands of women of their right to feel safe going about their daily lives in the 1970’s.

A heartwarming, and moving experience, and I loved it. I shall be very surprised if this debut novel isn’t a runaway success, and one that the author justly deserves.

*Thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone, Hutchinson Heinemann for my ARC in exchange for an honest unbiased review *netgalley191 s6 comments Ceecee2,332 1,938

‘There’ll be trouble at t’mill’, there sure will Aunty Jean. It’s 1979 and Aunty Jean is in full flow about Margaret Thatcher being elected Prime Minister, she’s not happy about the “milk snatcher“, it’ll spell the end for Yorkshire that is if the Ripper doesn’t do that first, our own homegrown West Yorkshire bogeyman. Not that Miv entirely understands what’s going on, especially about his victims, after all, she’s only eleven but when 19-year-old building society clerk Josephine Whitaker from Halifax is killed, she takes more notice as she’s not that many years older than her. The dark cloud of the Ripper looms large over Yorkshire, especially to the west. When it’s mooted that Miv’s family may leave Yorkshire, cricket and all, she is determined to stay especially for her best friend Sharon. What if …. what if… she could solve the murders? So she starts to make a list of the suspicious things she notices around her and ropes Sharon into her investigation. This stunning debut is told over a period of about 2 to 3 years by Miv with alternating chapters from the adults around her, offering some illumination of sharp eyed Miv’s observations.

You know when you just know a book is going to be huge, that a talented new author has burst on the scene?? Well, here we have it. First of all, the characterisation is exemplary. I love Miv and she’s an unforgettable character and yes, you could say she’s obsessive but she’s only looking for distraction from difficulties at home. Miv has good instincts even if she doesn’t entirely understand what she sees which is certainly true at the start when her naivety is clear to see but not at the end. Her friendships are a thing of beauty especially with the lovely Sharon, the “Terrible Twosome” and their friendship is wonderful. It isn’t all plain sailing by any stretch as they witness some cruelty and meanness that beggars belief but sadly is all too believable. All the characters spring to life, even the ones you’d rather didn’t.

The hunt for the evil Yorkshire Ripper inevitably means there are some dark themes and the storyline also includes racism, bullying and some domestic violence too. It captures West Yorkshire to perfection especially in the context of the late 70’s and early ‘80’s with its derelict satanic mills of Blake’s poem, with its ghosts of the past, the attitudes and gossip of a small town with firmly entrenched views. You definitely feel the tension and fear of the hunt for Peter Sutcliffe, I was in Yorkshire at the time though not the West, but we all felt the fear. Yet, despite all the obvious darkness, there’s Miv, wonderful Miv. You watch her grow up and you just know she’s going to be a fine young woman and one you’d most certainly want to know.

This is a superb coming of age story cleverly entwined with the mystery of the identity of a serial killer, it’s a story of unbreakable friendships, a life that is better just for knowing that person and the strength we derive from them. It’s beautifully written and I will not deny I have tears rolling down my face at times, this book is truly an experience and one to savour. It isn’t hard to imagine this will be one of the smash hits of 2024. Highly recommended, obviously!!

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Random House U.K., Hutchinson for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.66 s2 comments Kate O'Shea845 89

If this is a debut I can't wait to read more by this author.

I could probably write a list of why I thoroughly enjoyed this book: I'm from Yorkshire (not far from Dewsbury), I was around the same age as Miv when the Ripper terrorised the streets, I too had a pretty friend who boys were attracted to but she was nicer than Sharon so there the similarity ends. However the main reasons are the plot, the characters and the dialogue of this great first novel.

Jennie Godfrey has drawn on her own life to produce Miv, an immature, nervous little girl who is trying to deal with the unexplained withdrawal of her mother from her life, her father's increasingly worrying behaviour and having a best friend who she is desperate to keep (without knowing she doesn't have to try at all). But Miv is not the only totally believable character - from Mr Bashir who has lost his wife, moved from Bradford and is trying to deal with the NF element that is threatening his life and livelihood or Mrs Andrews whose charming and handsome husband, Gary, is not quite all he seems to much lesser characters Jim whose Newcastle accent makes him a target for a while after the Wearside Jack tapes.

All of these events were blurry in my mind but as the book unfolds they came back to me with startling clarity. But this is not a book about The Yorkshire Ripper it is about the people in a small Yorkshire town dealing with their own demons be they the National Front, racism, the changing nature of the streets, alcoholism, domestic violence, mental health. Lift the rooves of any street and you'd find the same problems but Jennie Godfrey has given them a voice, made them real through the eyes of Miv, whose desire to catch the Ripper is sometimes funny, sometimes ridiculous and sometimes somewhat terrifying as she tries harder and harder to keep Sharon close and her family together.

I don't think I've done this book justice with this review. It is seldom dark, despite the issues revealed. Miv is a wonderful vibrant character who positively bursts off the pages as do so many of Ms Godfrey's characters. I mentioned the dialogue earlier and that too rings true. It's an art writing believable dialogue and Ms Godfrey pulls it off with aplomb.

Highly recommended. It'll keep you spellbound to the end.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK Cornerstone for the advanced reading copy.50 s3 comments Susan (on semi hiatus)489 162

Making a list...
Checking it twice...
Gonna find out who's naughty and nice*

The List of Suspicious Things is a love story. Not limited to romance, it encompasses the love of family, best friends, and community. And most beautiful love stories, it also includes heartbreak.

I was enthralled with this book. So lyrically written, it brings to life a pre-teen’s growing up years in 1970??s Yorkshire and had me smiling and shedding tears alternately.

I highly recommend this uniquely written novel which I found elevated in every respect. Not only a favorite for this year, but for many to come.

My hardback copy purchased at Blackwell’s is sitting at the forefront on my shelf.

* Santa Claus is Comming to Town written by Haven Gillespieblackwells historical-fiction mystery ...more40 s19 comments Jules351 259

As a child of the 80s and a born and bred Yorkshire lass, as soon as I read the first line of this book, I knew I was going to love it. It invoked childhood memories of growing up in Yorkshire - the dialect, the accents and growing up in a small community.

The main character, Miv, is a very strong willed not quite teenager, who gets it in her mind that she can solve the case of the Yorkshire Ripper. She begins to make a list of suspicious characters and places in her town, roping in her not-so-keen-on-getting-involved friend, Sharon. Along the way, we meet the other residents of their small town, with many giggles and traumas along the way.

This is a book not to be spoiled by a long review. I want you to meet the characters and experience them for the first time within the pages of the book, just I did. And what a wonderful journey you will have. You'll laugh, you'll gasp out loud and you'll cry (more than once!).

A book so full of heart that your own will explode with the sheer joy of the goodness of humans, even when faced with pure evil in its many guises. And on top of all that, it carries a message to women that we should remember every day.

Bravo to Jennie Godfrey for an exceptional debut!26 s Mark295 27

I'm afraid it's one of those awkward times when you review a book everyone loves...and you don't.

The List of Suspicious seems to be getting 5 stars from one and all but I'm an outlier on this one.

It's a coming-of-age story set in Yorkshire around the time of the Ripper murders. A young girl called Miv decides to try to solve the mystery of the murderer.

A nice set-up, but the execution left me feeling a dispassionate observer of the story, rather than reeling me in. Miv is a good central character but some of the other characters were thin, to the point I often forgot who was who.

I think my main two issues with the book were the pacing and the unremitting bleakness.

In terms of pacing, i almost DNF'd the book around a third of the way through because it was dull. Then in the last 20% of the book suddenly no end of crazy shit starts happening. Perhaps if some of these events had happened earlier it would have got me invested. It would also have prevented the climax of the book feeling somewhat unrealistic, with a huge amount of stuff suddenly happening concurrently. It was exciting, but also felt a bit silly.

In terms of bleakness, if this is Yorkshire life, I'd recommend Miv, and everyone else, moves to another area. Life can throw challenges at us from time to time but Miv appears to be fucking jinxed! Over the course of the few months the book covers she encounters severe mental illness, adultery, racism, arson, manslaughter, paedophilia (which felt bizarrely levered in as a sub-plot near the end), deviant vicars, domestic abuse, suicide and tragic death.

It wouldn't have been surprised to find out the postman was a Nazi war criminal in hiding. I certainly hope Miv's following few months were a little more chilled.

The List of Suspicious Things had some good things going for it but ultimately seemed suspiciously a list of melodramatic YA events, which felt uncomfortable alongside the very serious subject matter.

Thanks to the publisher, author and NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review.

25 s1 comment Clare PooleyAuthor 16 books2,055

You know how you see a book everywhere, and think HOW CAN THIS DESERVE SO MUCH HYPE? Then you start reading, and you think IT DESERVES THE HYPE. Then you finish, and know it NEEDS EVEN MORE HYPE! Brava Jennie Godfrey! This book is gorgeous ??24 s Cathy1,299 279

I'm going to be in the tiny minority of readers who weren't completely ecstatic about this book.

Although I thought the author captured the period brilliantly - Jackie magazine and Wagon Wheels - and there were some wonderful characters, especially Omar and Arthur, I found the story being set against the backdrop of the horrific real life serial killing of women distinctly uncomfortable. Sharon summed it up well when she says to Miv, 'I just worry about what we're doing here, and why... It feels, I don't know, a game. And it's not a game, what's happened to these women. It's not.' Yes, you could say Miv is naive but visiting sites similar to where actual bodies were found and visiting the area where attacks occurred were, for me, just morbid.

I appreciate the author may have been trying to communicate how the wider fears of a community can mask what's going on under their noses. However, in this respect they seemed particularly unlucky that this involved alcoholism to zenophobia and seemingly everything in between.

Sorry, not a fan.advance-review-copy contemporary-fiction publisher-review-copies15 s Chrissie766 22

This book is set in Yorkshire, England, during the period of the serial killer dubbed "The Yorkshire Ripper" - a truly terrifying time for all women in the area. Two school friends decide that they are going to track down the "Ripper" themselves. This is the theme running throughout, however, lots is going on otherwise for the two girls, not all of it good. The author captures the girls' naivety nicely, and we see them having to grow up as the story progresses.

I loved this book. It reminded me of "The Trouble With Goats And Sheep" by Joanna Cannon, but darker.13 s2 comments Marianne3,752 267

The List Of Suspicious Things is the first book by British author, Jennie Godfrey. It’s about two years since Mavis Senior’s mum, Marion stopped talking, now spending her days in the armchair or her bedroom. In that time, Dad’s sister, Aunty Edna has come to help out, Maggie Thatcher has become Prime Minister (and Aunty Edna has plenty to say about that), and Sharon Parker, at first sort of co-opted, has become her best friend.

The other thing is the murders: young women are being brutally killed by the man everyone calls the Ripper, and the police don’t seem to be getting any closer to catching him. When twelve-year-old Miv hears Dad and Aunty Edna talking about moving away from Yorkshire, away from it all, she dreads the idea of losing everything familiar, including her best friend. She reasons that, if she could investigate, work out what the police are missing, and catch the killer, they would be able to stay.

Miv is a fan of the Famous Five books and, following Aunty Edna’s example, she buys a notebook and, after carefully studying the newspaper reports about the murders, starts listing the suspicious things she observes around her. Sharon is a bit sceptical that they can catch him, but indignance at the way the victims are described in the press gets her over the line.

Everyone in their small Yorkshire town, Bishopsfield, comes under scrutiny, but dark-haired, dark-eyed men with moustaches, especially if they “aren’t from around here”, drive a certain car, or have a certain accent, qualify for entry into Miv’s notebook. The pair check out places suitable for hiding a body and where the Ripper might find his victims. When the press mention “hiding in plain sight” and “the women in the Ripper’s life” the range of people they feel need watching expands.

After each new killing, “the streets themselves felt unsettled, as though the news had seeped into the bricks and mortar of the town. Whispers of the news seemed to be all around us: women were outside their houses in small groups, muttering his name, their eyes darting around as if he might appear at any moment.”

As they investigate suspicious behaviour and gradually eliminate various suspects, they learn quite a lot about the people of their town: some of it sad, some of it surprising, some of it disturbing. When Sharon’s enthusiasm for their project wanes, she tells Miv “I don’t know if any of the people we know are suspicious or whether they’re just trying to live their lives.” Miv realises “a growing awareness that behind every grown-up was a story I knew nothing about.”

In trying to catch the Ripper, they discover that Bishopsfield harbours: some right-wing thugs who to intimidate; an arsonist; sexists, racists and xenophobes; a paedophile. There’s infidelity, domestic violence, bullying and cruelty, alcoholism, divorce and suicide.

But they also encounter plenty of ordinary people leading ordinary lives: people grieving losses, trying to cope with life’s challenges, keeping secrets and telling lies, showing concern and kindness and care. The pair make assumptions and jump to conclusions; there are few narrow escapes and some tragic deaths; new bonds of friendship are formed and there are budding romances.

Godfrey’s debut is somewhat reminiscent of Joanna Cannon’s The Trouble With Goats And Sheep, but this is by no means a copy of that. Her descriptive prose is marvellous: “though Aunty Jean’s hearing was less than sharp, her other senses were razor-, and she would have smelled my inattention a hunting dog.”

She gives her characters wise words and insightful observations. Omar, the Pakistani shop-keeper: “He heard talk about everyone in the shop, so often he wondered if people knew he could speak English, the things they would say to each other in his presence.”

Omar on surviving grief: “I suppose what I do is try not to think too far ahead,’ he said eventually. ‘If I’d considered for a second that I had to live months, or even years, without her . . .’ Omar stopped for a moment and cleared his throat. ‘I’m not sure I could’ve . . . kept going. But if I only think about the day in front of me, sometimes the hour, or even the minute, then I can do it. I can keep living.”

And Miv on adults: “I had already discovered by then how much people would reveal when you stayed quiet” and “Adults were always doing this in my experience, saying one thing and meaning another, the truth a blur in between” and “I was used to grown-ups having conversations that left the important things unsaid, they happened in my family all the time.” This is a brilliant debut and more from Jennie Godfrey is eagerly anticipated.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Random House UK Cornerstone.
12 s Stephaniesbooks 464 35

I first heard about The List of Suspicious Things on booktwitter and decided to read it as the premise was interesting. I’m glad I did as it will be one of my favorite reads this year. It’s been receiving a lot of well-deserved praise and is on bestseller lists in the UK.

This is a beautiful, heartfelt coming-of-age story set in 1979 in Yorkshire, England. It is about 12-year-old Miv whose family seems to be falling apart, with her mother sick, her father distant, and her aunt unfeeling and cold. Miv hears about a string of murders of young women (the real-life Yorkshire Ripper) and that her father may move the family to another town for their safety. Miv, feeling bereft, decides that can’t happen so she determines, with the help of her best friend, Sharon, to investigate who in their town might be the murderer. And so begins Miv’s writing of a list of things/people she thinks are suspicious.

As Miv and Sharon observe those around them, the veil of childhood starts to lift as they come to learn about the secrets in the town. Miv, in particular, starts to understand that there is both good and bad in people and that things and people aren’t always as they might seem. Told primarily from her point of view, we also see life in 1970s Yorkshire unfold through the eyes of a few others, including Omar, a Pakistani newcomer dealing with racism and Helen, a woman being abused by her husband but whose neighbors choose to turn a blind eye.

This is a story about self-doubt, friendship, family, loss, discrimination, being young and trying to figure out who you are, and about the fact that life can be difficult at times. But it is also about hope and resilience - one line near the end in particular really stuck with me: “..and I realized, just for a moment, that it was possible to come back from the worst thing that ever happened to you.”

Kudos to the author on this, her debut (!) novel. The characters seem real, particularly Miv who is a funny, able person, the setting feels authentic (the references to 1970s politics, Margaret Thatcher, and culture are spot-on), the pacing is very good, and the plot culminates in a bittersweet ending. I enjoyed being in Miv’s world and was sorry to leave it when I turned the last page. Highly recommend this moving and emotionally fulfilling read.11 s2 comments Ellie54

What a fantastic book.
I adored the main character, Miv, and her incredibly different attitude to all the grown ups around her.
What I loved most is that it showed just how accepting and lush children can be (sometimes!!!). Many adults/teenagers we came across in the book were racist, but it was the Miv and Sharon who didn’t even see Ish for their race but for who they were.

I enjoyed the community and since I grew up in the 2000s I was shocked to see how lax parents were, especially when there was a serial killer on the loose.
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