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The List of Suspicious Things

A Novel

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The List of Suspicious Things

Written by: Jennie Godfrey
Narrated by: Joanne Froggatt, Mark Noble, Asif Khan, Gemma Whelan, Simon Harvey
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"We'll make a list. A list of all the people and things we see that are suspicious. And then . . . we'll investigate them."

Twelve-year-old Miv is panicking. Life has been complicated since her mom got sick, and now her dad is talking about wanting to move their family away from the town Miv has lived in her whole life—because of the murders. Young women are dying, everyone is afraid, and no one knows who the culprit might be.

But as far as Miv is concerned, 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 on their street. People they know. People they don't. But their search for the truth reveals more secrets in their neighborhood, 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?

(P)2026 Tantor Media Coming of Age Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Mystery England
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Period piece coming of age story. Most of us who lived in the UK through the 70s and 80s will be familiar with the Yorkshire ripper serial killer, the botched police investigation and the hoaxer who sidetracked the detectives even further. These are background to the novel and its numerous characters. The portrayal of said county and its inhabitants is very true to the period. As usual one needs to suspend disbelief in order to accept the numerous events that befall the pre-teen then teenage heroine, Miv. The racism is quite accurate based on my memories. The seeds of Brexit are being sown in these communities at this time. The alienation of the north of UK from the south also features as Thatcher looms over reduced welfare policies like school milk. The narrators are overall very good. Quite depressing that many of the attitudes displayed by the unsavoury types are still prevalent. I’m still not sure how I feel about the author using the ripper horrors in this way although she pays respects to the victims at the end.

Tangents to the killer

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This brought back a lot of memories growing up in the 70s snd 80s. The story was perhaps oversimplified - like a made for TV movie - but still a good listen. The racial slurs are removed with a second or so of silence which was wierd.

Enjoyable

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