Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. What were your overall impressions of the novel? What aspects—tone, setting, characters, or themes—stood out to you most strongly, and why?

2. Which secondary character did you find most compelling (e.g., Omar, Helen, Aunty Jean, Mr. Ware)? Were there any characters you wished had been explored more deeply?

3. How does this novel compare to other coming-of-age stories or crime novels you’ve read, such as Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time or Emma Cline’s The Girls? Did it subvert or fulfill your expectations of either genre?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Miv becomes hyper-aware of danger at a young age. Was there a moment in your own childhood when you first realized the world wasn’t as safe or simple as you’d believed? How did that awareness change you?

2. Sharon often challenges injustice, while Miv sometimes hesitates. Can you recall a time when you chose to speak up or stay quiet in the face of unfairness? What influenced your decision?

3. Miv’s list is based largely on who seems “different.” Have you ever misjudged someone based on first impressions? What changed your perception?

4. When Aunty Jean warns her to avoid strange men, Miv realizes her world is shrinking because of gendered violence. How did conversations about safety shape your adolescence? Do you see similarities or differences today?

5. Did any part of the novel evoke a strong personal memory or emotional association for you? If so, how did that affect your reading experience?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. The novel suggests an entire generation of northerners in the United Kingdom grew up under the shadow of the Yorkshire Ripper. How does collective fear and trauma shape a community’s identity? Can you think of comparable moments in recent history in your own community or country?

2. How does the novel critique the way society responds to the women murdered by the Yorkshire Ripper? Do you see parallels in contemporary media coverage of crimes against women?

3. The National Front leaflets Miv finds in Healy Mill suggest a link between economic insecurity and rising racism. How does the novel portray the relationship between hardship and scapegoating? Can you think of other historical or contemporary examples of this phenomenon?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. How did Miv’s first-person narration shape your understanding of events? How does her perspective and narrative style reflect her emotional state and coming-of-age arc?

2. The novel occasionally shifts to the narrative perspectives of characters like Omar, Helen, and Mr. Ware. What do these secondary narratives contribute to the reading experience? How do they expand on the book’s themes and central message?

3. Which parts of the novel foreshadow later tragedy? How does the author build an ominous tone of inevitability without revealing outcomes?

4. How does Sharon function as a foil to Miv? In what ways do their differing rates of maturity shape the novel’s emotional arc?

5. Examine how the novel explores different types of trauma. How do various characters experience trauma and respond to it in similar or different ways?

6. Godfrey describes The List of Suspicious Things as “book group fiction” (456). What elements of the novel mark it out as particularly suitable for book club discussion?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. If The List of Suspicious Things were adapted for television or film, would it work better as a limited series or a feature-length film? Who would you cast as Miv, Sharon, and the other characters, and why?

2. What songs (from the 1970s or otherwise) would you include on a playlist that captures the mood of the novel?