The List of Suspicious Things

By: Jennie Godfrey

Many thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC of this book!!!

Miv is a 12 year old girl. Her mother’s sick, and there is a serial killer around killing women called the Ripper which makes her dad want to move. Miv gets the idea that with her best friend Sharon, she is going to try to figure out who the Ripper is. So they make a list of suspicious things – people and places in their lives, whether or not they know them. Then they try to talk to these people and visit these places. What Miv finds is secrets that people have been holding, and one very close to home.

I’ll be honest, this book was not what I expected. I thought this was going to be straight forward murder mystery, even if the main character is 12 years old. However, this is more than just that. This is really a coming of age story for Miv. Miv really grew up in this story. She starts as a little naive and comes to the realization that many things in life are hard, and that sometimes adults keep secrets from children.

This book is filled with tough subjects such as racism, domestic violence (no graphic descriptions), and living during a time of a serial killer. The book presents an honest view of the times as the author had a connection to the real life Yorkshire Ripper.

My only issues with the book is that it was unnecessarily long, which I wouldn’t mind if it wasn’t for the pacing of the book. It felt as though it was going at a snail’s pace.

Overall, a decent read!

Publish Date: December 30, 2025
Find the book here.
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