The year is 1979. In London, Margaret Thatcher has taken office as Britain's new Prime Minister. Meanwhile, in northern England, a whole county lives in a state of fear as the Yorkshire Ripper continues his horrendous killing spree.
It is against this backdrop that we meet Miv, an ordinary 12-year-old schoolgirl who is as appalled and fascinated by the news of the murders as anyone else. But Miv has her own problems too. Without warning, her mother has collapsed in on herself following some form of mental breakdown. With her father seemingly unable to cope and spending more and more time down the pub, Miv's Aunty Jean (not an easy person) moves in to help out. But much to Miv's alarm, there is soon talk of the family moving away from Yorkshire entirely and going 'down south'.
This is when Miv persuades her friend, Sharon to help her launch their own investigation into the Ripper case.. Soon everyone become a potential suspect, as the two girls uncover a wealth of dark secrets about their local area, which it emerges is a hotbed of unhappy marriages, domestic violence and simmering racial tensions. But as things get more and more serious for the girls, it soon becomes clear, this is not a game any more.
This impressive debut novel from Jennie Godfrey is an endlessly compelling read.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

This is a fantastic debut novel, and definitely worthy of five stars. Hard to put down and definitely a "just one more chapter" read!

A beautiful, nostalgic coming of age book, following Miv and her friend Sharon as they decide to track down the Yorkshire Ripper.
They start to become aware and curious of the people in their community and make a list of suspicious things in a little notebook.
With a host of wonderful characters, Jennie Godfrey brings Yorkshire to life in the late 70’s early 80’s. A tale of friendship, love and loss, I laughed and cried in equal measures.
With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Everyone has their own story, their own secrets, and their own pain even if it's not always obvious to outside observers.

Miv is a thoughtful, imaginative 12-year-old girl living in late 1970s/early 80s Yorkshire. She fantasizes about going on adventures like the heroes of her favourite book: The Famous Five. The people living in her small, very close-knit community see her as somewhat of a sad case, because her mother had a nervous breakdown several years previously. The brightest spot in Miv's life is her best friend Sharon. Sharon is pretty and extroverted, where Miv is shy and feels that no one notices her, but they have a close and loving friendship.

In the background are the real life murders of the Yorkshire Ripper. Miv decides that she and Sharon are going to catch him. Thus The List of Suspicious Things comes about. Miv focuses on one member of her community after another, following and investigating anyone who doesn't seem quite right. Sharon is reluctant, but goes along with the plan to keep Miv happy.

Miv is a sympathetic protagonist, even when she's making terrible choices that make you want to shout at her. She's an adolescent on the cusp of becoming a teenager, torn between those two states of being, and the writer does a great job of showing that mindset in a believable way.

The writer also brings the period setting brightly to life with language, culture, and many specific details that feel organically woven into the storytelling. She has a knack for including a single detail that makes the rest of the scene flood into your imagination: purple wallpaper, brown furniture, a swirl patterned carpet. I could feel and smell every room described.

I thought the way the plot was ostensibly focussed on catching the Yorkshire Ripper, but included numerous examples of everyday violence towards women that was seen yet accepted by the community very cleverly handled. A young wife abused by her husband. A schoolboy tormenting his female classmates with games of "Ripper chase". The story also pulls in the horrible reality of the rise of the BNP and how the movement indoctrinated young men. There's a Muslim family at the core of the story and the bigotry they endure was horribly believable.

I really enjoyed the multiple povs. There was a bit of a Rashomon quality to the storytelling, with the reader knowing more than many of the narrators, and that was fun. It did a fantastic job of portraying a small community in which everyone knows too much about everyone else. It showed how assumptions about others, a little bit of knowledge, can be toxic and even deadly. Everyone was concentrating on the sensational news story, and not paying enough attention to the abuse between friends and neighbours going on under their noses. It's not a cynical story, though, as it ultimately showed people coming together to support each other during hard times and giving each other the strength to go on.

The basic prose varies from vivid and involving to quite basic and on the nose. While I enjoyed the book, I think it would have benefited from a more literary flavour as occasionally I wasn't sure if it was meant for an adult or YA audience. It works as YA, but less so as a book for adults. Ultimately, the prose was nothing special and too often defaulted to explanatory description as if the writer couldn't quite find some of the characters' voices.

While I enjoyed my read, I did feel that the story began to drag about a third of the way in. There was a lack of tension as we know that the girls won't catch the ripper and know he's not amongst their suspects. Despite the lack of narrative momentum, my enjoyment of the characters themselves kept me reading. And the story picked up again once the various characters' stories started to converge.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

Set in 1970s Yorkshire when the Yorkshire Ripper, Peter Sutcliffe, was ensuring that all women felt vulnerable when out and about, this novel is a coming-of-age portrayal of Miv, an intelligent and brave young girl who is dealing with dysfunctional family life by ensuring that her interests are firmly focused on catching the Ripper. Together with her best friend, Sharon, she puts together lists of ‘Suspicious Things’ about any number of men in her community, after which the girls play detective. Whilst this provides a useful distraction from her unhappy home life, over time the Miv and Sharon being to appreciate that what they are doing is at best morally suspect and, possibly, downright dangerous.
Jennie Godfrey’s novel is a memorable depiction of a working class community, of racism, domestic abuse, and paedophilia. Whilst these topics make for grim reading, she also imbues her narrative with the strength of familial love, with the importance of resilience, and the warmth of friendship. This is an unusual and impressive debut. ‘The List of Suspicious Things’ explores the, sadly, still relevant subject of violence towards women whilst also celebrating imagination and loyalty, and reminding us of the awkwardness of navigating teenage emotions.
My thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

Reminded me too strongly of a similar territory first novel from 2016 3.5 rating raised

I struggled to really surrender and engage with this one, for some time, before eventually fully yielding to it.

This was because, on first reading the publisher’s blurb, I thought “But I’ve read this before, this must be a reprint”, so I nearly didn’t request it, as I was so sure I had read something very similar, some years ago, which was also a lauded first novel, and I’d read it prepublication as an ARC.

That prior first novel, which I remembered was set in the mid to late 70’s (1976) had involved the fierceness of childhood friendships, and was told from the childrens’ viewpoint, and was about a detective investigation they instigated which uncovered the adult darkness and dysfunction in their small community, was of course Joanna Cannon’s first novel, The Trouble With Goats and Sheep. Which I had adored from the off, and surrendered to.

Dealing with slightly younger children, and with a fictitious crime, this has stayed in my memory, so that inevitably, this one seemed, rightly or wrongly, derivative.

The inhabitation of child voices here did not seem fully from the child’s point of view, unlike Cannon’s book. In fact, there were valid reasons for this. Had I read this without having read Cannon’s I know I would have liked it more.

I don’t think I would have fully adored it though, since, as we neared the end, it felt like plot had taken over a bit, and some coincidences were driving the high and searing finish.

I certainly would like to see where Godfrey goes though, with her next novel. This is an assured and well-written debut novel

Loved this book, the characters were so real you could relate to them and their problems. Also a look at life not that long ago that is hopefully miles away from now

Wow I loved this debut novel! Set in Yorkshire in the early 80s ( my era) so completely relatable , this book told the story of Miv and her family and friends! It was an easy, quick read, well written and the characters were very real! Would highly recommend.

Young Miv lives in a small West Yorkshire town (which is never really named) at the end of the 1970’s and her home life is far from perfect - her mother is suffering from a total mental health collapse and her dad is finding it difficult to cope (and he’s threatening to do the unthinkable - moving away from Yorkshire). On top of that, hateful prejudice and racism are on the rise in her little community and all around her local women are living in fear of the vicious Yorkshire Ripper. Miv wants to make the world a better place and so she decides to try and solve the mystery of the serial killer’s identity; the papers are all saying he could be “hiding in plain sight” in anyone’s village or town - could he possibly be someone she already knows? Miv persuades her kind hearted best (and pretty much only) friend, Sharon, to join her in her quest and their exploits along the way make for a thought provoking and heart warming read.

This novel deserves to become a Yorkshire classic for many years to come. I would highly recommend it for young adults as well as general readers.

Many thanks to all concerned for allowing me to read and review this excellent book.

This is an absolutely gorgeous book, the story of two 12 year old girlfriends who live in a northern exMill town at the end of the 1970s .One of the girls has a difficult home life with her mother is severely affected with mental illness and needs an escape. What better way to escape home than to plan to investigate the Yorkshire Ripper case which is all over the news at the time. The two girls are determined to catch the Yorkshire Ripper and the list in the title of the novel is a list of things that they get they find suspicious or not quite right about people in the community. Of course with the innocence of children, they don’t get this quite right, but they do have the sensitivity to pick out issues with other peoples lives that mean that they are struggling.
As a story progresses, we meet a whole host of characters from their community from the father and son, who run the local Cornershop to teachers and librarians girls meet in their day-to-day life. The girls auntie is a fabulous Nora Batty like character.
The book is firmly set in the era of Maggie Thatcher in the Yorkshire Ripper, and the northern setting is also as important as an extra character in the novel. Reading the book, it really took me back to the tight tight to that time when I was the same age as the narrator of the novel.

All the people that we meet a real people there characters are mapped out beautifully, and you felt that you knew similar people in your own life.. I love the way that one of the characters describes two delinquent boys as short haircut boys. They are obviously what we would know is skinheads at the time of prevalent youth movement.

The author has a beautiful flowing prose style, which was a pleasure to read. This really is a delightful novel.
The novel is highly Visual and I think it would make a fabulous TV series. I suspect that rights will be taking up quickly.
Strongly recommending this novel I have a suspicion it’s going to end up on my top reads off 2023 list If you liked The Curious incident of the dog in the nighttime, by Mark Haddon, or the diaries of Adrian, mole by Sue Townsend, then he would like this novel.
I read an early copy of the novel on net galley UK The book is published on the 15th of February 2024 by Random House, UK This review will appear on NetGalley, UK., Good reads, and on my book, blog, bionicsarahsbooks.wordpress.com. The review will also be placed on Amazon when the book is released.

This was a fantastic read, set at the end of the 1970’s during the unsettled time of the Yorkshire Ripper, told primarily from the view point of 12 year old Miv. The tone of this often reminded me of Joanna Cannon’s The Trouble with Goats and Sheep however this also covers many issues including abuse, racism, mental health and more although mostly through Miv’s eyes although in some ways that made it sadder. There were some real emotional moments in this but some absolutely wonderful characters too in amongst the traditional Yorkshire community of the time. Although this wasn’t always the easiest read it was very memorable and I would highly recommend. 9/10

A book with the Yorkshire Ripper as a focus doesn’t sound that appealing but this is a great story. It’s a coming of age story too. Miv and Sharon are friends growing up in 1979. Thatcher has just been elected and there is optimism that a woman Prime Minister might be good for the country. But the Yorkshire Ripper is still killing and the police are no closer to catching him. Miv and Sharon decide that they can. They begin compiling lists of anyone who fits the profile the police have suggested with appropriate ‘evidence’. The story is rich in details about growing up in a tight community - everyone knows everyone and their business but some things are never discussed only hinted at such as domestic abuse, racism. The book reminded me of ‘A Terrible Kindness’ by Jo Browning Wroe (set in a similar community and facing a disaster with huge consequences) .
I liked the structure of the story. Each character has a voice so the reader can understand what the girls in their innocence can’t. I’m not sure the cover of the book is right, it looks too cosy. I’m not sure I would have picked it up in a bookshop - it gives nothing away as to the story. I’m glad I did read this book, I remember the time in which it was set, the fear the Ripper caused.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a prepublication ebook.

Thank you to net galley and Hutch Heinemann for sending me a proof copy of this wonderful book.

When Miv hears about the Yorkshire Ripper she decides that she wants to investigate to help to catch him. She ropes in her best friend Sharon to help and they start to investigate the people in her town, meeting new people but in the meantime uncovering secrets people have tried to keep hidden and proving that you don’t always know what’s happening behind closed doors.

I was in deep from the very beginning. I kept saying to myself “just one more chapter” but I could not put this down. The book was completely different to what I thought it was going to be.
There is so much interwoven in to this story with friendship, secrets, lies, racism, prejudice, community to name a few but what struck me most was the different perceptions between an adult and a child and you can really sense Miv growing up through the pages with the realisation of the secrets she’s uncovering.
I absolutely loved the characters and how all their stories were linked, I really came to care for them.
The ending I was not expecting at all and it completely threw me.
I cannot recommend this book enough.

Hard to believe this was a debut novel. It was well written and a lovely story about family and how a community can come come together. I really enjoyed it and couldn’t put it down. I will be recommending it to all my fellow book readers.

Wow! What a debut from Jennie Godfrey! The story focuses on Miv and Sharon who, n an attempt to forget problems closer to home, decide to try to catch the Yorkshire Ripper hence their list of suspicious things.
As someone who has the 'moors and mills running through our veins' and who was a teenager in the 70s like the two main characters, this book initially made me feel nostalgic as it reminded me of growing up in a neighbouring county. However, the underlying strands of Miv's mum's depression, the expectations on women, Thatcher's Britain, unemployment and racismm(including the NF) and their impact on the community serve as a reminder of the stark and gritty reality of life in the north.
Relationships, friendships and love and loss are key themes in the book and are dealt with sensitively and honestly. The story is beautifully crafted with every thread woven together to create a masterpiece. Thoroughly enjoyed this one - can't wait to read more by the same author. This comes highly recommended.

This is a book about Miv and some people she knows or gets to know. At nearly 12 she is growing up in Yorkshire at the time that the Ripper is murdering girls. Things are not great for Miv, she doesn't have many friends though Sharon is her best friend. Her household consists of her dad and Aunty Jean who really runs the household. Her mother is around some of the time. However she suffers from depression and is rarely seen and never heard. Once Miv does hear about the Ripper she feels she should do something about it and try and find him. She persuades Sharon that they should start a list of suspicious things about people and places and investigate them.

At the start of this book there is still a real feeling of freedom to the lives there. It may be rather industrial but people look out for each other and the youngsters can roam on their own. Over the course of the book things affect that freedom. People of far more conscious of the Ripper murders and the safety of women. However there is also a growth of National Front culture too. This affects the man who owns the corner shop and his son who is rapidly becoming friends with both the girls. The girls do investigate the people/places they put on the list though Sharon with rather less enthusiasm (for a variety of reasons) than Miv. Sometimes there are dangers…

Miv really is the main character here. However other people appear either by going on the list or because she sees them around. These do include the man at the corner shop, a librarian, a teacher, a rag and bone man and a man who helps out at the church choir meetings. I found all the characters interesting and, given the short time some spend in the tale, convincing and well created. Some of these characters have their own chapters and I rather liked this approach.

It's fair to say I liked this a lot from the start and it got better for me as it went on. There is a wonderful sense of the atmosphere of the time and era being caught well and mostly gently here. I think there's little doubt that people of a "certain age" will be able to relate to the times very well indeed! For me I loved seeing the world through Miv eyes. She sees things that I as an adult understand quite well, but which puzzle her. Sometimes she fails to see what to an adult would be very obvious. She is learning how things work and what things mean. It's great to walk that path with her. The fact I felt like that speaks volumes for the writing here. I found this powerfully insightful and understated too in the main.

The book can be quite dark at times even seeing the world through Miv's eyes. However in among all this there is some humour. Given that parts, certainly to an adult, are quite dark I enjoyed the smiles. For me this is a rare book - I have no doubt that Miv and her story will stay with me for a long time to come. While there are depths there is also tremendous warmth too. Encountering both aspects sometimes led to less than dry eyes…

My thanks to Netgalley for my ecopy of The List Of Suspicious Things. I have to say that had I been in a bookshop neither the cover nor the title would have called to me and how sad that would have been because this book is a real gem.
It is nostalgic of the era in which it is set but also nostalgic of at least my own childhood which was two decades earlier so I'm sure will resonate will others. The is a whole host of characters, all very different but all so very real all showing varied actions and reactions to the difficulties or pleasures that life throws at us all.
Finishing this book has left a hole in my life.

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 likes 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.

This novel starts off as a coming-of-age-story by an individual growing up in difficult circumstances. This individual is Miv, who grows up in the late 1970s and early 1980s in a small Yorkshire community overhshadowed by the sadistic crimes of a prolific killer. Miv and her friend Sharon embark on a quest to catch this dangerous perpetrator and start looking into certain individuals in their local community. Their naïve but high-spirited school-girl investigations lift the lid on the serious issues that lurk behind the seemingly wholesome rural lifestyle, such as racism, chauvinism, domestic abuse, addiction and untreated mental health conditions. The novel manages to portray a convincing slice of life at the turn of the 1970s/80s and whilst there is no happy ending, the novel has the potential to make its readership more alert to the latent violence that only the determined combination of increased individual insight and communal activism can address. My thanks go to the publishers and to NetGalley for the free ARC that allowed me to familiarise myself with Godfrey’s work and to produce this honest, unbiased book review.

This book is a total gem!

Set in Yorskhire during the late 70s/early 80s 12 year old Miv isn’t having an easy time. Not only is the Yorkshire Ripper on the loose but closer to home her mum is suffering from depression and is absent from her life & her dad is thinking of moving them away. To distract from her troubles and to feel useful and grown up, Miv and her friend Sharon embark on a quest to catch the Ripper and start to investigate people in the local community.

I thought this was such such a clever premise and it really is brilliantly executed. Through Miv & Sharons investigation, we meet the characters that make up the local community and learn of their troubles and secrets.

Jennie really can write characters and there are so many great ones in this book. From the main character Miv to Omar at the local shop to Yorkshire itself it was a pleasure to spend time with them all.

I grew up in a small town and there were so many of the ‘personalities’ I could identify with. Miv really stands out and is a character that will stay with me. Jennie perfectly captures the uncertainty and awkwardness of adolescence when you start to discover that adults are less than perfect and begin to understand a bit more about the world while still trying to figure out who you are and how to be.

There is a strong sense of place and time in the book and although I grew up a few years later than the setting, much of it was nostalgic - the games of Bulldog, the excitement of a new lip gloss and the anti Thatcher sentiment definitely very familiar. Also a time of innocence when children played freely in the streets but also an era where adults didn’t quite want to grasp just how dangerous characters like ‘Uncle’ Derek were.

TLOST is a truly wonderful read and one that I will be recommending far and wide.

Huge thanks to Hutchinson Heinemann & Netgalley for the chance to read an early copy.