Great to see everyone at the AJ Book Club meet this month, and a great discussion around our choice of book, The List of Suspicious Things.
The book generally got good reviews from all of us, but particularly from those in the club who could remember the time when the Yorkshire Ripper was around. Pam even lived in the Bradford area and could relate to the mood of the book and the fear felt by women.
We liked the characters and the way the book portrayed the time through the eyes of the main character, 12-year-old Miv as she tried to crack the case with her "list of suspicious things". We agreed it was more of a coming-of-age story than about the Ripper himself, so some of us were a little disappointed the ending of the book didn't explore the actual arrest of the Ripper.
We did all feel it was an enthralling read that kept you interested from the start. We even had one member who read it in a day!
All in all, a great story, capturing the diversity of a community, all with their own stories to tell, centering on family and childhood friendships in the 1970s and tackling themes of mental health and racism. A well-deserved 4/5 from the book club.
This month we will be reading the Kellerby Code by Jonny Sweet, and reviewing at our March meet on the 25th.
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