It’s easy for adults to forget that childhood is seldom carefree. Growing up can be painful, even in the absence of a serial killer. In The List of Suspicious Things, two young friends find themselves beset by both.

Trouble has invaded the home of eleven-year-old Miv, a Yorkshire girl whose mother suffers from a mental affliction. Jean, a stern and opinionated aunt, has taken her place, holding the family together while her father works at a humble job and nips off to the neighborhood pub each night. It’s the 1970s, and the two things uppermost in the community’s mind are the election of Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister, and a rash of murders by the Yorkshire Ripper.

Miv, who is plain and skinny, is thrilled to be friends with Sharon, who is pretty and lives in a pleasant neighborhood with a nice family. What binds them is their fascination with the killings. As the police struggle to find a suspect, the two girls decide to start their own investigation. They make notes of neighborhood characters based on their looks and behavior. Suspects include a widowed Pakistani shopkeeper, a grouchy schoolteacher, a scrap collector, and a lorry driver. What the girls learn is that there are factors in their suspects’ lives that have nothing to do with the Ripper. And Miv uncovers other secrets that everything to do with her.

Jennie Godfrey’s novel has many worthwhile things to offer. From Miv’s viewpoint, the world is terrifying enough, what with racism, bullying, child abuse, and wife-beating poisoning her community. The stirrings of young romance, combined with Miv’s fear of losing Sharon’s friendship, skew Miv’s judgement, leading her into dark waters.

For the most part the novel is colorful, heart-felt and well-paced. The characters are distinctive and interesting. My reason for limiting my review to three stars is the author’s mixture of first- and third-person narration. She bounces back and forth between Miv’s point of view and those of other characters, with the result that we learn things about them that diminish the mystery and diffuse the tension. There are also several instances of offensive language that could have been avoided. That said, this is Jennie Godfrey’s first novel. She shows a great deal of promise, and I hope we’ll hear more from her.

Chevron Ross's novels include Weapons of Remorse, The Seven-Day Resurrection, and The Samaritan's Patient. Click here for more information.