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A review by katykelly
The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey
5.0
Realism, terror and adolescent friendships/games immerse the reader in the Yorkshire Ripper era.
Born just after the events of this story, and not living in Yorkshire at the time, this really brought home to me just how frightened whole counties were about the murderer attacking suddenly and brutally.
This comes through very strongly in Godfrey's writing, as does Miv's world, a grey and brown world of old-fashioned values, unemployment, hidden family secrets, hard workers and stiff Yorkshire lips.
Deciding to try and keep her friend Sharon interested (as one grows up faster than the other) by making a list of suspicious locals who COULD be the Yorkshire Ripper, 12-year-old Miv becomes our portal to a small town world, where reverends, husbands, wives, parents, shopkeepers, even lorry drivers all have their secrets. And Miv and Sharon may unwittingly uncover some of them.
Miv's a lovely creation. With a mother who's not spoken for months - she doesn't know why - cared for harshly by her aunt, given some freedom to explore and investigate, she's in that sliver of time between childhood and adolescence, trying desperately to keep her life to one she can comprehend. But also not blind in many ways to what's going on around her. Even when it comes to boys her own age shaving their heads and showing definite National Front tendencies. Scary times.
This is part growing-up story, part detective, with snippets of narration from other characters Miv is watching, shining the spotlight on their lives, the hidden one we don't see until we look hard enough. And Miv does, even if she doesn't always understand what she's seeing.
This fits quite a lot in, with several plots about various characters in Miv's town all having their moments, and all fitting together by the end, even if their conclusions are explained quickly.
I enjoyed the narration, mostly by Miv, and the expose of a whole little town. It did bring the era to life, the values and just what was going on, in both society at large and in this one little corner of it.
With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.
Born just after the events of this story, and not living in Yorkshire at the time, this really brought home to me just how frightened whole counties were about the murderer attacking suddenly and brutally.
This comes through very strongly in Godfrey's writing, as does Miv's world, a grey and brown world of old-fashioned values, unemployment, hidden family secrets, hard workers and stiff Yorkshire lips.
Deciding to try and keep her friend Sharon interested (as one grows up faster than the other) by making a list of suspicious locals who COULD be the Yorkshire Ripper, 12-year-old Miv becomes our portal to a small town world, where reverends, husbands, wives, parents, shopkeepers, even lorry drivers all have their secrets. And Miv and Sharon may unwittingly uncover some of them.
Miv's a lovely creation. With a mother who's not spoken for months - she doesn't know why - cared for harshly by her aunt, given some freedom to explore and investigate, she's in that sliver of time between childhood and adolescence, trying desperately to keep her life to one she can comprehend. But also not blind in many ways to what's going on around her. Even when it comes to boys her own age shaving their heads and showing definite National Front tendencies. Scary times.
This is part growing-up story, part detective, with snippets of narration from other characters Miv is watching, shining the spotlight on their lives, the hidden one we don't see until we look hard enough. And Miv does, even if she doesn't always understand what she's seeing.
This fits quite a lot in, with several plots about various characters in Miv's town all having their moments, and all fitting together by the end, even if their conclusions are explained quickly.
I enjoyed the narration, mostly by Miv, and the expose of a whole little town. It did bring the era to life, the values and just what was going on, in both society at large and in this one little corner of it.
With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.