My enormous thanks to lovely Jennie Godfrey for sending me a copy of her wonderful novel The List of Suspicious Things. Far later than intended, it’s my pleasure to share my review today.
Available in all formats and released in paperback by Penguin on 2nd January 2025, The List of Suspicious Things is available for purchase through the publisher links here.
The List of Suspicious Things
Yorkshire, 1979
Maggie Thatcher is prime minister, drainpipe jeans are in, and Miv is convinced that her dad wants to move their family Down South.
Because of the murders.
Leaving Yorkshire and her best friend Sharon simply isn’t an option, no matter the dangers lurking round their way; or the strangeness at home that started the day Miv’s mum stopped talking.
Perhaps if she could solve the case of the disappearing women, they could stay after all?
So, Miv and Sharon decide to make a list: a list of all the suspicious people and things down their street. People they know. People they don’t.
But their search for the truth reveals more secrets in their neighbourhood, within their families – and between each other – than they ever thought possible.
What if the real mystery Miv needs to solve is the one that lies much closer to home?
My Review of The List of Suspicious Things
Miv is determined to capture the Yorkshire Ripper.
It’s quite hard to review The List of Suspicious Things adequately. It is stunning and I absolutely adored every moment reading it.
In fact, reading The List of Suspicious Things is like being with an old friend and the reader’s relationship with the book echoes that between Miv and Sharon. The moment you pick up The List of Suspicious Things you’re immediately immersed back into Miv’s life, regardless of the gap between sessions. And that’s the huge strength of this narrative. It might be based around the real times of the Yorkshire Ripper and attacks on women, but it is in fact a warm hearted, frequently funny, and highly emotional story of friendship and community.
Miv is an absolute triumph. It’s as if Jennie Godfrey has looked deep inside every one of us, seen our insecurities and distilled them into the most relatable character in fiction. This is an exquisite coming of age story as well as being a compelling crime novel. Her self awareness means that Miv is vivid and realistic so that we get to know – and love – her fully.
With the Ripper murders the focus of Miv’s list and the catalyst for her adventures and actions, it also leads to the darker elements of the narrative. Jennie Godfrey’s lightness of touch is totally convincing and enables her to include themes that are important and disturbing, told through Miv’s perspective. Consequently, this is a story that grips, entertains and lays bare the realities of ordinary lives. It truly is magnificent.
The other characters are equally memorable. I found each one engendered strong emotions in me. Of course I loved Miv the most, but Omar and Ishtiaq felt incredibly special and sadly, their experience is all too realistic in today’s society.
The setting of The List of Suspicious Things could not be better. There’s a real sense of Yorkshire and the local community. The presentation of the Ripper era is depicted to perfection, through the cultural aspects of music, food, television and clothing. It’s like being transported back in time.
Breathtakingly good, accessible and emotional, The List of Suspicious Things is an absolute triumph. I cannot recommend it highly enough and it has gone straight on my list of favourite reads this year. I’m only sorry I haven’t met Miv sooner. In case there’s any element of doubt left, I adored The List of Suspicious Things unreservedly.
About Jennie Godfrey
Jennie Godfrey was raised in West Yorkshire and her debut novel, The List of Suspicious Things, is inspired by her childhood there in the 1970s. Jennie is from a mill-working family, but as the first of the generation born after the mills closed, she went to university and built a career in the corporate world. In 2020 she left and began to write. She is now a writer and part-time Waterstones bookseller and lives in the Somerset countryside.
For further information, follow Jennie on Twitter/X @jennieg_author, and find Jennie on Bluesky and Instagram.
English (US) · 