The List of Suspicious Things

This has a definite Adrian Mole vibe about it, because the story is mostly told by Miv, a 12-year-old girl living in Yorkshire. It’s 1979, Mrs Thatcher is prime minister and the Yorkshire Ripper is still at large, having so far murdered six women.

There’s already quite a lot going on in Miv’s life. Her mother stopped speaking several months ago, although Miv doesn’t know why; and her aunt has come to live in their house to take care of them all. When it sounds as if her dad might make the family move ‘Down South’, Miv (almost as a distraction) persuades her best friend, Sharon, that they should try to solve the Ripper case. They start by making a list of all the suspicious people and things they come across and as Miv’s notebook fills up with her observations and numbered lists, the reader finds out more about her neighbours, friends and acquaintances.

Chapter-by-chapter, different stories are revealed and different voices are added to Miv’s. All these different stories paint a vivid picture of Miv’s life, from her difficulties at school to local tensions around the threats of the Ripper, racism and bullying. Yes, there are crimes but the police play only walk-on parts and the focus is on Miv and her friends, and how they deal with what life is throwing at them. There’s a shocking event near the end of the book which, in routine crime fiction might be described as a twist, but in this just seemed all too probable.

My verdict
It took me a while to get into this story. At the start I didn’t find it very interesting and none of the characters grabbed me, to the point where I was wondering whether to just close the book and move on. But Jennie Godfrey is a clever writer. Not only does she paint Miv with pinpoint accuracy, she builds her other characters slowly and with such attention to detail that I found myself continuing to read even when I thought I didn’t want to.

I ended up caring about the people I was reading about. Miv’s mother, a lost soul if ever there was one. What had happened to her? Why was she unable to speak? Miv herself, a child in many ways but unexpectedly perceptive, shrewd and wise. Mr Bashir and Ishtiaq, so thoroughly nice yet struggling to be accepted. And Helen Andrews, living in a situation she cannot control. I had to keep reading to find out more.

By the end of the novel all my questions were answered. Some of the answers were surprising, if not shocking. Others, predictable but understandable. I felt I’d been allowed a bird’s eye view of a small community at a precise point of time, so it wasn’t the book I’d been expecting. For me, the reviews and cover notes don’t really capture the essence of this novel. For one thing, it doesn’t fit easily into any particular crime fiction sub-genre. It’s not Cosy Crime, or even straightforward crime, so maybe keep in mind the Adrian Mole vibe I mentioned earlier and build your own impressions from there. I enjoyed this in the end. It’s quirky and a bit different, and very easy to read.
Review by: Cornish Eskimo, Oundle Crime