The Yorkshire Ripper is on the loose and killing women.

Miv is a 12 year old girl whose family life is troubled. Her mum has stopped talking, her aunt Jean has moved in and her dad is keeping secrets.

Miv can’t control her family life and there’s a lot of things, the adults in her life aren’t sharing with her. But one truth she can at least find is who the Yorkshire Ripper is. So she makes a ‘list of suspicious things’ and sets off, along with her best friend Sharon to find the truth.

Along their journey, they come across the usual young teenage dramas of boys, bullying and daily life, along with the added extras of domestic violence, death, racism, afairs and more murders. Can Miv find out the name of the Yorkshire ripper? Will her family also tell her the truth?

This was a good read although to start with, I found it hard to get into but eventually I did. I found the word ‘laid’ very annoying as it was used a lot and I couldn’t quite find out the meaning for it but eventually worked it out to mean, ‘play about.’ Miv is a likeable character and you could tell what she was going to be like from the beginning, always up to mischief and getting others into danger. I couldn’t quite find the relevance of the list though, as I would pop up every now and then but wasn’t used as much as what I would expect with the book title.

Wow, this is such an evocative story. It takes us back to 1979 and the fear that the Yorkshire Ripper brought to communities. 12 year old Miv is obsessed with finding the Ripper convinced that finding him will make her home life more stable. Miv and her friend, Sharon, start making a list of all the men they come into contact with who may have something to hide, could one of them be the infamous killer?
The story is mostly told from Miv’s point of view but also delves into the lives of some of the people in her local community. It is a poignant story, dealing with racism, abuse and mental illness . It is not always an easy read but so worthwhile. I love this book, it evokes so many memories for me of growing up in the 70’s. The characters are well drawn and believable and the descriptions of a Yorkshire town that has past its prime are perfect.
I can thoroughly recommend this book and look forward to reading more by Jennie Godfrey in the future.

JENNIE GODFREY – THE LIST OF SUSPICIOUS THINGS ***

This is the tale of schoolgirl Miv and her friends and neighbours and their attempts to identify and catch the Yorkshire Ripper. It also involves abuse of the Pakistani community, prevalent back then, one family of which are her friends.

Miv starts lists of suspicious people, itemizing the reasons for her suspicions and does her best to track them down, while her friends start relationships and get tired of her constant detective work.

It is an engaging period piece with interesting characters and social comments of the class divides as perceived by a young northern girl brought up within that community. The author apparently is familiar with the setting and what happened back then.

In a sense it is risky, using a real-life serial killer for this girl to obsess over, as everyone knows Sutcliffe and what happened (and presumably there are relatives of those he killed who might object to their deaths being used for entertainment) and that it wasn’t a young girl who caught him. A bit like Frederick Forsyth’s Day of the Jackal – you knew the outcome before the story even started. But this isn’t as clever. I also found the writing slapdash – surprising given the praise lavished on the author and her literary qualifications.

All in all, an enjoyable story that could have been better.

In exchange for an honest review, I received an advanced copy of this book from Netgalley.

As a Bradford lass living through the terrifying era of Thatcher and the Yorkshire Ripper I totally get this book. Can't wait for the next one.

Not my usual sort of book but I really enjoyed it.
Set in a small Yorkshire town during the time of the Yorkshire ripper and a time of prejedice.
Miv is a child growing into her teenage years in a family where her mother is ill. Miv becomes obsessed with tracking the Ripper down which starts with a list of suspects.
Instead she discovers secrets in the close knit supportive but close mouthed community.
Once I started I couldn't put it down.

A good read. The story starts in 1979 when Margaret Thatcher was Prime minister Miv is worried about having to move down south with her somewhat dysfunctional family so she had an idea with her friend Sharon to try and find the Yorkshire ripper and between them they make a list of different people who they think might be involved. They uncover many things about many of their neighbour's and friends as they begin their journey with terrible consequences for more than one family but also find themselves in danger at times.Its a good story list of interesting characters with some humour and lots of excitement and emotion as you would expect from thirteen years old girls. Whether they ever manage to find the ripper you will have to read the book to find out

Such a joyful book!

Being a 70's born kid, I didn't live through the Yorkshire Ripper story but have always been fascinated by it. Having this as the backdrop to this tender tale gave this novel a gritty feel and without it, the story could have evolved with a twee feeling. It wouldn't have been so successful in my opinion.

I connected with Miv and her family very easily, even spiky Aunty Jean! I felt sorry for all they were going through. I recognized so many elements of the friendship between Sharon and Miv- who wouldn't?

There were many social references- toys, music etc. Being back in that more innocent time was a real treat.

Well done!

Set in the fearful time of the Yorkshire Ripper, The List of Suspicious Things shows us the world from Miv’s perspective. A child on the cusp of adolescence, she has a mother at home who has stopped speaking, a dad who is just about holding it together, Auntie Jean who has moved in to cope with the practical side of life but not the emotional bits, and all the awkwardness of growing up. There is also talk of moving down south, away from Yorkshire. At school she is not the most popular but she has a kind and lovely friend, Sharon who Miv can hardly believe would even be her friend. Sharon is pretty, blonde and everyone likes her. Moving away would be the last straw for Miv. The talk of the Ripper is everywhere, despite adult attempts to keep it from young ears. Miv, in an attempt to make sense of her world and keep her dad from wanting to move away, enlists Sharon to try and catch him, and they make a list of suspicious things, or more accurately, people, of which there are plenty in their town. Their sleuthing uncovers many things, some incompletely understood, such as adultery, racism, domestic violence, all happening in their small community. It is not as bleak as it sounds - this is a gentle book with dark things happening just out of shot. At least most of them. This is an accomplished novel which vividly brings to life a certain period with memorable characters and good storytelling.

I am a sucker for a story told from a child's point of view, I am also keen on true crime so the list of suspicious things really sucked me in! Set in the late 70s when the Yorkshire Ripper had yet to be caught young Miv, who is trying to distract herself from her homelife decides to try and catch the killer herself. Creating a list of suspicious things to investigate and roping in her friends to help.

This tale is touching, heart warming and tear inducing at times. Whilst not a rollercoaster thriller I felt that I went through a rollercoaster of emotions. The tone of Miv and her friends evoked memories of my own northern upbringing, I think Jennie got the tone just right.

Thank you NetGalley and Hutchinson Heinemann for my opportunity to read and review this book.

The story begins in 1979 and is told over several years. The book covers period of time where Margaret Thatcher is the PM and The Yorkshire Ripper Murders are occuring. It is set in Yorkshire. The chapters are told by several characters. I loved how the characters were well written and so descriptive. The relationship between Miv and Sharon was told so well over the years. Miv and Sharon decide to make a list of suspicious people and things just as Miv seen Aunty Jean do and then they can investigate them. This leads them on a path of meeting and interacting with various people and going to locations they think are likely locations for murder. All through the book, it highlights Miv's family background and how Aunty Jean has joined the family when her Mum is unwell. However, it does touch on subjects that I felt it was hard to read about such as mental health, grief, racism. The friendship between Miv and Sharon was a theme that runs throughout the book and it was lovely to read.

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 like 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-like, and she would have smelled my inattention like 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.

First off, what a joy this book was - and my first NetGalley experience! I first came across Jennie Godfrey’s debut at the Women’s Prize for Fiction earlier this year, but wasn’t lucky enough to get a copy - until my recent NetGalley request :)

Set in Yorkshire during Thatcher’s time as Prime Minister and when the Yorkshire Ripper was rife, it follows young Miv who wants to find out who the Ripper is, creating her ‘suspicious’ list of potential culprits, acting as her own detective.

Despite the underlying dark plot, this is like a warm hug and mug of Yorkshire Tea, all in a novel, taking you on a trip around Yorkshire, from Howden to Leeds and more. I’d best describe it as a mix of crime, thriller and cosiness, where I like to claim on my own Yorkshire roots, which is probably why I loved all the wittiness and Yorkshire-isms (in t’pub, that Yorkshire, how-do).

My mood has been super low recently, but thankfully I had this for company as something to look forward to on my commutes to and from work. Godfrey perfectly blends a few themes in her debut, including racism, adolescence, friendship and young love, all whilst Miv makes her way through her suspicious list…

What an enjoyable read!

A tender and unflinching look at the friendship of two girls on 1970s Yorkshire when the Ripper was about. Through their investigations the two girls make many discoveries about life, grown ups, love and heartache.

Yorkshire, England in the nineteen eighties. Scarred by the battles of the Miners Strikes, Yorkshire is not a colourful place. It is not wealthy, in the main. Life for working families is hard and dreary....and then to make matters even worse, along comes the Yorkshire Ripper. Now in addition it is a place of suspicion and for two teenage girls it is fertile ground for their clever minds and dreams of being detectives.
The background of the story is perfectly researched from the homes and daily grind to the corner shop, run by a man from Pakistan with a teenage son - the first asian immigrants in the area.

I loved this book. The cover made me think it would be 'cosy' in some way, which would have been fine, but this was a lot more satisfying - full of beautifully described characters, all dealing with darkness but showing their humanity in the ways they help each other get through the day. I have been recommending this to everyone I know, and I'm sure it will be a massive success. I can't wait to see what Jennie Godfrey writes next.

I really liked the idea of this book. I'd read in an interview that the author's father had worked alongside Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper, at some point and thought that with the author also coming from the area that he had targeted it would give it a really personal feel. We are taken back to 1979, I remember the time well although I was down the other end of the country! Miv and her friend Sharon make it their mission to try and work out who the Yorkshire Ripper was after overhearing Miv's dad talk about moving away because of the danger the Ripper posed.

The book flowed along very well with Miv and Sharon choosing their suspects and trying to prove or disprove their theories. The topics and language used in the book are typical from that time, but there are references to race and sex which may be seen as offensive now and does feature scenes of bullying and domestic violence. Miv is a lovely character who has a very difficult home life with her mother unwell and her Aunty Jean living with them to care for Miv and her father. It's a wonderful book to read, not just for the Ripper investigation aspect, but the heart-warming and sometimes traumatic journey through young Miv's life. I found myself in tears as the book moved on, and for a debut novel the author has done a fantastic job!

A very clever idea, I loved the personal aspect the author has added to it and it has been so well written! I can see this book doing very well indeed! Would definitely recommend!

It‘s Yorkshire in 1979 and 12 year old Miv overhears her father talking about moving away, which Miv is convinced is due to the Yorkshire Ripper murders so, along with her best friend Sharon, she decides to try to catch him.

Along the way she encounters many other dirty neighbourhood secrets, including racism and domestic violence, so it‘s not an easy read but I still loved it.

I grew up in Yorkshire and, although I‘m a bit younger than Miv, I still recall being petrified of the Yorkshire Ripper. Interesting though that some of the Yorkshire dialect (one word in particular - laiking ) wasn‘t used at all where we lived, but you could place Miv almost to the nearest town (I think Wakefield 🤔) by that dialect and some of the things mentioned in the book.

This reminded me somewhat of The Trouble with Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon.

This was a bit of a slow burner, but well worth finishing because itis a fantastic book.
The evolution of the understanding of the naive girls was brilliantly done and all the characters were wonderfully drawn. The overall story is heartbreaking on many levels, so well written. Amazing

Jennie Godfrey writes a remarkably assured historical fiction debut, a marvellously astute, beautifully observed piece of nostalgia, of its place, and time, a coming of age story set amidst the background of the darkest of times in Yorkshire, the chilling impact of the menace of Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper, on women and girls. It is 1979, Maggie 'the milk snatcher' Thatcher is Prime Minister, and it is widely understood that her presence will result in the decimation of Yorkshire. Young Miv's homelife has been devastated with her mother's sudden withdrawal from life and her leaving for 'breaks' at the hospital, a fact well known by others outside their home, eliciting both sympathy and pity. Her father, Austin, is struggling to cope, and her well organised and opinionated Auntie Jean has come to stay and help.

When her father talks of leaving Yorkshire, the bright and neglected Miv is galvanised into action, she cannot bear the idea of being separated from her best friend, the blonde and pretty Sharon, who attracts the kind of attention she could only dream of, she might be intelligent but she is used to being constantly overlooked. She decides to investigate 'suspicious' characters and behaviour, documented in her notebook, in the hope of uncovering the Ripper so they would not have to relocate. Sharon agrees to join her, although as time goes on, she becomes markedly less enthusiastic, setting off panic in a Miv frightened of what it will mean for their friendship, in which Sharon serves as a role model for Miv to develop qualities like resilience, learning to not be swayed by others on important matters of principle.

Godrey's characters are skilfully developed, she insightfully depicts Miv's naivety when it comes to the adult world and not understanding what is really going on, a highlight is Miv's blindness to the suspicious behaviour within her family. The characters feel authentic, and the issues raised are powerful reminders of a time period that I became immersed in, the insularity of communities, attitudes to women, putting up with abuse, the racism experienced by shopkeeper Omar Bashir and his clever son, Ishtiaq, the worrying presence of the National Front, children running wild and free from adult supervision, although that is curtailed with the growing atmosphere of fear and restrictions faced by women and girls. There is suicide, alcoholism, bullying, violence and brutality, particularly with the tragedy at the end, but this is balanced by hope and light with the strong community links that are forged.

This is a memorable 'must read' historical debut that I am sure will do well, that I loved, and recommend highly to other readers! Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book with no obligation to review.

When I started this book I was a bit worried because the girls seemed to treat the Yorkshire Ripper murders as a bit of a game and I was afrais that the book would be in poor taste and disrespectful to the victims and their families. I wondered if it was too soon to start having a story based round those terrible, terrifying times.

I need not have worried because this is a coming of age book and just uses the Ripper as a hook for the unfolding story, although that is not to say that some other hook might have been in better taste.

Miv is an interesting character, inquisitive, restless and trying to make sense of the world especially the secrets behind her own unusual domestic set up. Miv is also somewhat tactless and obsessive but this can be put down to the naivety of youth and in my opinion the character is well drawn and authentic. In fact, the whole cast of characters seem entirely authentic to me and I think the author has captured the spirit of the times and beliefs of small communities in those days, long before mobile phones and the internet, multiple media and the more cosmopolitan lives young people lead now.

The book is never slow or boring - lots of plot threads, all strong, interesting and all largely believable and although some Social Issues are covered, it is all done with a light and non preaching touch. In may ways I think the book could serve as a slice of social history for those who do not remember the 1980s.

It is an absorbing read and you do care about the characters, especially Miv, Sharon and the Bashirs.

No spoilers, but apart from a devastating event, the ending is satisfying and hopeful, looking forward to better times ahead.