Reviews with content warning for Fire/Fire injury - The List of Suspicious Things

There’s a lot to like about this. I really liked the writing style, for one; it was really readable, getting the tone of a kid right without being condescending. I loved passages where Miv’s background shone through;

for instance when she’s wondering why her Muslim friends aren’t at church, and she’s genuinely confused.

But wow, I once again really don’t get the marketing for this. Quotes on the cover read ‘To read it is to feel a bit better about life’. ‘Heart-warming’. Really?

A serial killer targeting women (and women being afraid they won’t be taken seriously), domestic violence and abuse, a literal child falling to her death because of racist/facist kids, another kid committing suicide because he’s clearly autistic and can’t cope with life, and you write that?

I went in thinking this was cozy crime, because of these comments, so I was surprised it turned out to be this dark.

The ending soured my experience reading this too.

Sharon did not have to die for this to be impactful. I didn’t mourn her, instead I just thought: ‘really?’. It also means we don’t get closure; did she know about Ruby and Miv’s dad? Is that why she at times was more withdrawn? I don’t think this is a point to be made about grief; Miv won’t know, so we don’t either, but instead it feels like a cover-up for plotholes or elements of the story which were later erased. Towards the ends it’s also revealed Miv’s mum was likely attacked too, which adds nothing - it doesn’t change her depression or makes it more ‘valid’ (although that’s maybe what this book wants you to think), and because she doesn’t even know if it was him you’re left guessing at its importance.

I had a good time reading this, and would recommend it to others. It’s a great study in how to write kids/early teens as well. The ending just didn’t really feel right to me.

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beate251's review

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Wow, that's one hell of a book. It takes place between 1979 and 1981, when all of Yorkshire was afraid of the Yorkshire Ripper. 12 year old Miv and her best friend Sharon try to find him by starting with their neighbours and writing down everything that is suspicious about them. Turns out it's a lot.

I thought this might be a nice coming-of-age story but it is only partly that. This is a multi POV story about friendship, first love and heartbreak against the backdrop of the Ripper years.

But this is also a story full of misogyny and racism - people being accused of things simply because they have the wrong skin colour or accent or are in any other way different. Kind of ironic if you know that Peter Sutcliffe was a pure Yorkshire man!

It's hard to read about some of the victims being described as "just prostitutes" and the public only getting interested when "respectable" women get attacked.

There are an incredible number of terrible men in this book, terrible for a multitude of reasons. Men with two faces or just one horrible one. You think the Yorkshire Ripper needs to be caught but you find the horrors in your neighbourhood instead, the wife beaters, racists, pedophiles, drunkards, liers and cheats. That will make you grow up fast - if you make it that far that is.

But there were also wonderful characters - Miv, Sharon, Ishtiaq and his Dad Omar, Paul, Helen and Dad Arthur, Jim...
I loved reading about them all.

A few niggles:
It felt strange that after children who were raising concerns about the "tickling uncle" were just being dismissed, there was nevertheless such a speedy conclusion to it.

Also, the book has 450 pages, and the last 50 are almost unbearable. Everything happens at once, tragedy ensues and things are suddenly dealt with within a few pages - I almost got whiplash.

For a debut novel this is astoundingly assured writing. It's absolutely unputdownable - I read this in one Saturday.

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rachel101's review

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dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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coffeekitaab's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The List of Suspicious Things is simply charming. After reading this debut, I am already looking forward to more from this author.

We are introduced to 12-year old, Miv, living in Yorkshire during a time when Thatcher is in power and the Ripper is terrorising the streets. When Miv's dad suggests they should consider moving home given the unsolved murders in the area and the increasing threat, as every teenager, Miv worries life will never be the same - she would be leaving her school, all her friends, her life and her bestest friend Sharon behind. But what if she can solve the case? If there is no risk, there would no longer be any reason to move. And so begins the List of Suspicious Things. Miv and Sharon start playing closer to attention to the prominent characters in their small close-knit Yorkshire community and they realise there is more to them than meets the eye.

Jennie Godfrey is brilliant, genius, author extraordinaire. The honesty with which the various characters and sensitive topics are explored and threaded within the plot of the book - be it, Miv, a curious, immature and sincere little girl, trying to come to terms with the unexplained despondency of her mother, her father's increasing withdrawal from her life, Mr Bashir, the new owner of the local cornershop, trying to belong in a place where people are committed to "other" him, Mrs Andrews, the kind librarian whose handsome and charming husband has won over the neighbours, but what is really going on between them behind closed doors? The narrative stays true, where possible, to the real life crimes of the Ripper, supporting character Jim Jameson is targeted for his geordie accent by the locals after the Wearside Jack tapes are discovered during the investigation.

That said, it is not the case which is the main theme in the book - it is very much this community and their personal demons that form the premise of the story - dealing with sensitivity, issues of racism, alcoholism, depression and domestic violence. The book is a very innate portrayal of the perils that face the middle-class during this time in the late 80s. Arguably, some of these issues still exist today, but the authenticity with which Jeannie Godfrey has presented Yorkshire, the culture and voice is genuinely so rich and very pleasing to read. The changing nature of the streets and disregard Miv had for her own safety, often not asking her parents for permission/informing them of her whereabouts before leaving the house, as a young teenager, brought nostalgia of a more relaxed, community driven/collaborative era but was also chilling in parts. The dialogue between the characters requires a separate level of praise, reflective, humorous and sometimes gut wrenching. This book really brought all the flavours and I definitely shed a tear at one point.

Words will fail me at just how much I enjoyed this book - I felt like I was reading a Dick King Smith, something so wonderful and alot to take away with it, but thoroughly enjoyable. I hope everyone picks it up! Highly recommend this one!

Thank you @Netgalley and Random House UK Cornerstone for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest, unedited review,

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rosecott's review against another edition

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emotional funny mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Such a clever story. I loved the characters, they all felt completely believable and real to me. Miv was so relatable, throwing me way back to what it was like to be 12 albeit in a much earlier decade! I also utterly adored Sharon and her beliefs in what was right.
This book made me laugh, and also broke my heart.
If you’re into true crime, then this was a fascinating look at the Yorkshire Ripper case from a completely different angle but also done in a sensitive way I feel.
Lots of dark themes explored but also somehow lighthearted and through the innocent lens of a child’s eyes.
Absolutely sobbing as I got to towards the end though.
I didn’t expect the turn of events at all.

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