Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - 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 Is that why she at times was more withdrawn?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 against another edition

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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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emilyandthewhippet's review

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

I rarely cry when reading but I sobbed at the ending.

Throughout the story I just wanted to hold Miv and tell her that everything would be okay. It was mysterious and even knowing of the Yorkshire ripper, I was still left wondering what would happen next throughout the story. The ending was somewhat predictable but I'm always able to work out where books are going so maybe it wouldn't be for others. Even with this in mind though, the twist was still very hard hitting.
Definitely one of the best books I've read this year, out of almost 60 books so far.

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rachel101's review against another edition

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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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gabbyj's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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rokojo's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious

4.5

Wow so this book really blew me away. It's written from the perspective of Miv, an 11 year old girl who decides to solve the mystery of the yorkshire ripper as a distraction from her troubled home life.

This is a brilliant coming of age story, which uses Miv's hunt for the ripper as a lens to explore the time and place she's growing up in. Through her eyes we see who is protected in this community and who experiences neglect and violence. It looks clearly at the different experiences of race, gender, class, and disability without feeling forced or overly exploitative.

Throughout there is also a really interesting exploration of the double edged sword that is a close-knit community where everyone knows each other's business.

The book occasionally took turns with different narrators to show perspectives outside of Miv's which I think accomplished sharing a more adult perspective on the situation, although I will say I enjoyed some more than others, especially Helen and Omar's.

I also think it could have been a bit more restrained as Miv uncovers a darker side of her community through her investigations, there were some bits in the middle with members of the church community that didn't feel like they added much beyond just piling on to the hidden dark side to the community.

Overall though I think it worked really well and I enjoyed it a lot. Would definetly recommend picking this one up.

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