Despite the sluggish plot, the character work keeps it grounded. It's a coming-of-age story set in 1970s Yorkshire, England, against the dark backdrop of the Yorkshire Ripper murders. The protagonist, Miv, is delightful as she navigates the transition from childhood to adolescence. Her self-consciousness, curiosity, and naivety are richly developed. Driven to help find the killer, Miv starts a "List of Suspicious Things": a project that turns a sharp eye on her neighbors and gradually unravels community secrets.
If the pacing were tighter, I would have loved this book. Still, it deserves credit for how delicately it handles heavy themes, including domestic abuse, systemic racism, prejudice, and mental health.
From the publisher:
'What if we decided to try and find him?'
'What on earth are you on about?' she said. 'How are we going to catch the Yorkshire Ripper, when the police haven't even managed to?'
I sighed. Her questioning my ideas was a recent and unwelcome element to our friendship. But it was a valid point. How would we catch him? We needed some sort of plan, a way of gathering clues and putting them into order.
I thought about what the policeman had said about structure, and then about Aunty Jean and her notebook, and the idea I had hardened like toffee. I knew exactly what we needed to do.
'We'll make a list,' I said. 'A list of the people and things we see that are suspicious.
And then . . . And then we'll investigate them.'
The List of Suspicious Things is a tender and moving coming of age story about family, friendship and community. Sometimes the strongest connections are found in the most unlikely of places.
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