The List of Suspicious Things Review: Yorkshire Ripper, 1979 & A 12-Year-Old Detective

Quick Info Box

⏱️ Estimated Reading Time: 11 minutes (2,650 words)

TL;DR Summary

The Year: 1979. Margaret Thatcher becomes PM. The Yorkshire Ripper terrorizes northern England.

The Girl: 12-year-old Miv lives in small-town Yorkshire. Her mother stopped talking and withdrew into herself. Her father drinks. Aunty Jean moved in to hold things together.

The Threat: Dad and Aunty Jean plan to move the family “Down South” to escape the Ripper’s violence.

The Plan: If Miv can solve the Ripper case, they won’t need to leave. She recruits best friend Sharon to investigate.

The List: They create a notebook of suspicious people in their town. Anyone with dark hair, a mustache, drives a certain car.

The Truth: Their investigation uncovers darker secrets in their community—racism, abuse, affairs, depression—and forces Miv to confront what “safety” really means.

Rating: 4/5 — Recommended for readers wanting coming-of-age depth wrapped in true crime tension.

Key Takeaways:

• Sunday Times #1 Bestseller, biggest debut of 2024
• Authentic child’s voice captures 1979 Yorkshire perfectly
• True crime backdrop (Yorkshire Ripper) handled with sensitivity
• Explores mental health, racism, domestic secrets through 12-year-old lens
• Devastating final chapters elevate entire novel

Tropes & Triggers List

Tropes: Child Detective Duo, True Crime Historical Backdrop, Best Friends Investigation, Silent/Withdrawn Mother, Loss of Innocence, Small Town Everyone Knows Everyone, Notebook of Suspects, Racism Against Immigrant Family, Hidden Family Secrets.

Triggers: Depression/maternal withdrawal (prominent), alcoholism (father), child endangerment (girls go into dangerous areas), racism (Pakistani shopkeeper targeted), domestic violence (revealed), sexual assault (historical, discussed), arson (shop burned), suicide attempt references, mental health hospitalization.

Detailed Plot Summary: One Notebook, Two Girls, Too Many Secrets

Part 1: The Day Everything Changed (Chapters 1-10)

May 4, 1979

Miv wakes to Margaret Thatcher becoming Britain’s first female Prime Minister.

Her mother hasn’t spoken in months. She withdrew into silence after something happened—Miv doesn’t know what.

Dad goes to the pub every night. Aunty Jean moved in, lists everything, judges everyone.

Miv’s only constant? Sharon. Her best friend since their parents forced them together. Now they’re inseparable.

The Ripper

The Yorkshire Ripper has been killing women since 1975. Thirteen confirmed murders. The police are helpless.

Women in Yorkshire walk in groups or don’t go out after dark. Fear saturates everything.

Miv’s father decides: They’re moving Down South. Away from the violence. Away from Yorkshire.

Miv’s Desperate Plan

Miv overhears Dad and Aunty Jean discussing the move.

She panics. Leaving Sharon behind is unthinkable.

Her logic: If she catches the Ripper, they can stay. Simple.

Sharon agrees to help. They’ll make a list—everyone suspicious in their town.

The First Suspect

They start with Omar Bashir. New shopkeeper. Pakistani. Moved from Bradford after his wife died.

He has dark hair. A mustache. Drives a Ford Corsair.

The police profile says the Ripper has all three.

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Miv and Sharon watch him. But Omar is kind. He calls them “the terrible twosome” affectionately.

His son Ishtiaq (Teddy) joins their school. He’s quiet, grieving his mother.

Slowly, the three become friends.

Part 2: Uncovering the Community (Chapters 11-25)

Expanding the List

Anyone could be the Ripper. The girls add names:

• Mr. So-and-So who drives that car
• The teacher who looks at girls strangely
• The neighbor who works late

The investigation opens Miv’s eyes to her community’s ugliness.

Racism

Omar’s shop is vandalized. Graffiti. Broken windows.

Then it’s burned down. Arson.

The police investigate half-heartedly. “Probably insurance fraud,” they mutter.

Miv knows it’s racism. But she’s 12. What can she do?

Sharon and Teddy

Sharon and Teddy grow close. First love, tentative and sweet.

Miv feels left out. Jealous. Her friendship with Sharon is everything.

The trio’s dynamic shifts uncomfortably.

Aunty Jean’s Affair

Miv discovers Aunty Jean is having an affair. With a married man.

The same Aunty Jean who judges everyone. Who makes lists of everyone’s failings.

Miv’s world fractures further. Adults are hypocrites.

Mum’s Silence

Miv’s mother never speaks. She sits in her room. Stares at walls.

Sometimes she’s hospitalized. Sometimes she comes home.

Miv remembers when Mum laughed, sang, baked. Now she’s a ghost.

Nobody explains what happened. Not Dad. Not Aunty Jean.

Part 3: The Dangerous Parts (Chapters 26-40)

Venturing Into Danger

Miv and Sharon visit places the Ripper attacked women. Abandoned mills. Dark streets.

They’re looking for… what? Clues the police missed?

It’s reckless. It’s terrifying. But Miv is desperate.

The Men Who Notice

Men in cars slow down when Miv walks alone.

A man follows her. Another offers her a ride.

She’s 12. The world is predatory.

She begins to understand the fear women live with daily.

The Revelation at Home

Through fragments, Miv learns the truth: Her mother was attacked.

Not by the Ripper. But by someone. Assaulted. Traumatized into silence.

Nobody wanted to talk about it. So they didn’t.

Miv’s mother withdrew because no one helped her process what happened.

The List Grows Dark

The notebook fills with secrets:

• Which fathers hit their kids
• Which husbands cheat
• Who drinks too much
• Who can’t pay bills

The “List of Suspicious Things” becomes a catalog of suffering.

Part 4: The Climax (Chapters 41-Epilogue)

The Final Chapters

Something devastating happens. (Reviews avoid spoilers but describe it as “shocking” and “heart-wrenching.”)

Miv’s investigation leads to tragedy. Someone close to her is harmed.

The consequences of children playing detective become brutally real.

The Ripper Isn’t Caught

Peter Sutcliffe (the real Yorkshire Ripper) won’t be arrested until January 1981.

Miv doesn’t solve the case. She was never going to.

What Miv Learns

The real monsters aren’t strangers. They’re neighbors. Family friends. People you trust.

The Yorkshire Ripper terrified everyone. But domestic violence, racism, and mental illness destroy lives quietly every day.

Miv can’t fix the world. She’s 12.

But she can choose kindness. She can stand with Omar and Teddy. She can forgive Sharon.

Epilogue: Moving Forward

The family doesn’t move Down South (or maybe they do—details unclear).

Miv’s mother remains silent, but Miv understands now why.

The friendship with Sharon survives, though changed.

Miv has lost her innocence. But she’s gained empathy.

Plot Twists Explained: 3 Revelations That Shatter Innocence

Twist #1: Miv’s Mother Was Assaulted

What You Thought: Mum has depression or generic mental illness.

The Truth: She was sexually assaulted. Likely by someone she knew. Her silence is trauma, not illness.

Nobody supported her properly. So she retreated inward.

Why It Matters: It reframes the entire book. The Yorkshire Ripper is the public terror. But private violence against women happens in every home, every street. Miv’s mother is a casualty of a culture that silences victims.

Twist #2: The Investigation Causes Tragedy

What You Thought: Two girls playing detective is harmless.

The Truth: Their snooping has real consequences. Someone is hurt because of what they uncover.

(Exact details vary across reviews—some mention suicide attempt, others mention a death.)

Why It Matters: It’s the loss of innocence moment. Actions have consequences. Children can’t fix adult problems.

Twist #3: The Real Danger Was Always Nearby

What You Thought: The Yorkshire Ripper is the only threat.

The Truth: The fathers who hit their wives, the teachers who prey on students, the racism that burns down shops—these are the daily violences the Ripper’s terror masks.

Why It Matters: True crime obscures systemic violence. Everyone focuses on the serial killer. But most women are hurt by men they know.

Character Analysis: Growing Up Too Fast

The List of Suspicious Things vs. Similar Coming-of-Age Historical Fiction

Verdict: More grounded than dystopian fiction. Historical true crime adds tension other coming-of-age novels lack.

What Worked & What Didn’t

Wins:

✅ Miv’s voice is pitch-perfect—naïve but observant, funny yet heartbreaking

✅ 1979 Yorkshire setting immersive—dialect, fashion, social mores captured

✅ Yorkshire Ripper backdrop handled sensitively—victims never exploited

✅ Explores mental health depression with nuance through Mum’s silence

✅ Racism subplot (Omar’s shop burned) feels historically accurate and painful

✅ Friendship between Miv/Sharon authentic—jealousy, loyalty, growth

✅ Final chapters devastating—elevate entire novel from good to unforgettable

Gripes:

❌ Pacing drags in middle—too many suspects added/crossed off repetitively

❌ Some readers find it too dark—heavy themes (assault, racism, suicide) pile up

❌ Dad and Aunty Jean underdeveloped—could use more depth beyond flaws

❌ The “shocking ending” is telegraphed—readers see tragedy coming

❌ Some plot threads unresolved—Mum’s attacker never named, no justice

FAQs (People Also Ask)

Does The List of Suspicious Things have a happy ending?

No traditional happy ending. It’s bittersweet and realistic.

Miv doesn’t catch the Ripper. Someone close to her is harmed. Her mother stays silent.

But Miv gains understanding and empathy. Growth, not resolution.

Is The List of Suspicious Things based on a true story?

Partially. The Yorkshire Ripper (Peter Sutcliffe) is real. He murdered 13 women 1975-1980.

Miv and her investigation are fictional. But the fear women experienced is historically accurate.

What happened to Miv’s mother?

She was sexually assaulted (likely by someone she knew). Her withdrawal is trauma response.

The book never explicitly names her attacker or details the assault.

Is The List of Suspicious Things appropriate for YA readers?

Borderline. Published as adult fiction but accessible to mature teens (16+).

Heavy themes: assault, racism, suicide, alcoholism. No graphic descriptions but emotionally intense.

Does Miv solve the Yorkshire Ripper case?

No. Peter Sutcliffe wasn’t arrested until 1981 (two years after the book’s setting).

Miv’s investigation reveals community secrets but not the Ripper’s identity.

What is the “shocking ending”?

Reviews avoid spoilers but describe it as tragic and earned.

Something happens to someone close to Miv as direct consequence of her snooping.

Is there racism in The List of Suspicious Things?

Yes. Omar Bashir (Pakistani shopkeeper) faces racism. His shop is vandalized then burned.

It’s portrayed as systemic evil, not glorified. Miv and friends reject the racism.

Why did Miv’s mother stop talking?

Sexual assault trauma. She withdrew because no one properly supported her.

The silence is both protection and prison.

Is Sharon still Miv’s friend at the end?

Yes. Their friendship survives despite jealousy over Teddy.

Changed but intact—realistic depiction of growing apart/together.

Why is it called The List of Suspicious Things?

Miv creates a notebook listing suspicious people/behaviors to identify the Ripper.

But the list expands to catalog all the secrets and darkness in their community.

Final Verdict: Coming-of-Age Wrapped in True Crime

The List of Suspicious Things is a devastating exploration of innocence lost.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5 Stars)

Jennie Godfrey’s debut is deceptively simple. A 12-year-old girl investigates a serial killer. But it’s really about how violence—public and private—shapes children.

The Yorkshire Ripper backdrop creates tension. But the real horror is domestic: a mother silenced by assault, a father drowning in pubs, a shopkeeper’s livelihood burned because of his skin color.

Miv’s voice is the book’s greatest strength. She’s awkward, funny, heartbreaking. Her observations are childlike but cutting.

The middle drags with repetitive suspect-adding. But the final chapters justify every slow page. The ending is gut-wrenching.

This isn’t cozy mystery. It’s a coming-of-age novel that refuses to lie about what growing up costs.

Marian Keyes’ endorsement is accurate: “You’ll cry and you won’t be able to stop reading.”

Who Should Read: Fans of historical fiction, true crime backdrop lovers, readers wanting authentic child POV, book clubs seeking discussion-rich content, anyone who survived the 70s/80s.

Skip If: You need happy endings, you’re sensitive to assault themes, you hate slow-burn pacing, you want traditional mystery solving.

Support This Review:

• 💰 Buy me a coffee if this helped your TBR decision
• 📢 Share with your book club—discussion gold
• 💬 Drop your 1979 memories or Yorkshire connections
• 📚 Grab Your Copy: Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

Final Word: Jennie Godfrey proves the scariest monsters aren’t serial killers on the news. They’re the secrets everyone agrees not to talk about. 📓🔍

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