This is a book that appeared on many bloggers ‘best of’ books for 2024 so without knowing what it was about I decided to get hold of a copy and delve in!
The List of Suspicious Things is Jennie’s debut novel and is a book inspired by her childhood living in West Yorkshire in the 1970s:
‘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?’ (Synopsis courtesy of Penguin UK.)
I’m always excited to read a novel set in my home county of Yorkshire (and my little home town gets a mention 😊), so I was immediately engaged when I started reading this novel. I spent my early years in West Yorkshire and I could resonate with quite a bit of the generational differences in attitudes outlined in this novel.
As the synopsis indicates, Miv is a girl on a mission to find out who the Yorkshire Ripper is. Miv is inquisitive, naïve and desperate for her world not to change anymore than it already has lately – her mum is silent, her forthright aunt has moved in, her dad spends all his time at the pub. Miv’s best friend is everything to her and now her dad is suggesting they should move away from where all the murders are taking place. Miv sees the only solution as finding the murderer herself. She begins to question everyone in the community and starts her list of suspicious things.
This is a fantastic novel and one I’ll remember for a long time. It drew me right back to the tricky times of navigating those pre-teen/early teen years, when you don’t feel like a child but everyone treats you as such. Miv and Sharon’s friendship is the heart of this novel, it felt very real, solid but not always straightforward. Miv is the predominant viewpoint in the novel and I adored her whilst also being downright frustrated with her at times!
Supporting characters such as Omar (who runs the local shop) and Helen (local librarian) were exquisitely drawn out and developed. If I was Dorothy, Omar would be my scarecrow in this novel. The people Miv is suspicious of all have a story, a background to share, and it leads them down different paths of discovery which was enjoyable to follow. Elements were very sad and moving (loss, domestic abuse, racism and mental illness all feature), yet it never felt too heavy all at once. Whilst the murders are a catalyst for Miv’s list, they aren’t actually a feature of the story as such, just the backdrop.
A great plot, characters and location. A definite recommendation from me!
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