The List of Suspicious Things: Book Club Discussion Questions

Genre: Crime & Mystery Goodreads rating: 4.22

In The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey, a Yorkshire community is gripped by fear as the threat of a serial killer looms large in the 1970s. Determined to make sense of the tension around her, young Miv begins compiling a list of suspicious things, and suspicious people, in her neighbourhood. But what starts as a child’s attempt to bring order to chaos gradually reveals deeper truths about the adults around her, the secrets they keep, and the loss of innocence that comes with growing up in uncertain times.

The The List of Suspicious Things book club questions below were created by our Chapter 25 team of dedicated readers. Perfect for book clubs and historical fiction fans, these prompts are designed to spark meaningful discussion about community, prejudice, fear, and the ways childhood perspective can both illuminate and distort the truth.

Book Club Discussion Questions:

• What were your initial impressions of the book? Was it what you expected?

  
  

• How did the book make you feel? Was it heart-warming, emotional, suspenseful or something else?

  
  

• The novel is set in 1970s West Yorkshire. Did you get a strong sense of place and time in the novel?

  
  

• We experience most of the novel through the eyes of Miv, who is twelve. How it did feel to have a child’s perspective?

  
  

• Were there any characters you were immediately suspicious of? Why?

  
  

• When Miv added her dad to the list, did you believe he could really be the Yorkshire Ripper?

  
  

• How did the Yorkshire Ripper murders influence the characters and their actions?

  
  

• How did Miv and Sharon’s friendship change throughout the story?

  
  

• Which character resonated with you the most? Why?

  
  

• Were you surprised by the racist and sexist attitudes and behaviours described in the book?

  
  

• What was the biggest lesson that Miv learnt as the story progressed? Was it the same for other characters?

  
  

• Omar, Ishtiaq, Miv, Ruby (Sharon’s mum), and Valerie (Brian’s mum) all experience grief in the novel. How is their grief similar and different?

• Which character’s point of view would you like to have heard or had more of?

• Miv’s mum has had a breakdown, Brian dies by suicide, Mr Spencer the Vicar is an alcoholic. How do the characters and the wider community respond? Is this similar or different to what would happen in 2025?

  
  

• Family and community are important themes in the novel. Which characters embody these themes?

  
  

• Godfrey says that one of her most vivid childhood memories is the day that Peter Sutcliffe was arrested and her dad realised that he worked with him. This inspired her to write the book. Was her experience evident in the novel?

  
  

• Did you learn anything from the book about the 1970s, West Yorkshire, or the Yorkshire Ripper? Was there anything you wanted to learn more about?

  
  

• The List of Suspicious Things is Jennie Godfrey’s debut novel. Would you read something else by her?

  
  

• Have you read anything similar to The List of Suspicious Things? Would you recommend it?

  
  

• If someone was going to write a child detective novel about you, what would you have been investigating?