The List of Suspicious Things

Product Information

These people may not have ‘leadership’ in their role or title, but they demonstrate leadership in their everyday life. The point is that we all lead in our own way. I want to uncover people who do this particularly well and tell their stories in the hope of inspiring others to engage with and harness their inner leader. Leaving Yorkshire and her best friend Sharon simply isn't an option, no matter the dangers lurking round their way; or the strangeness at home that started the day Miv's mum stopped talking.

Jennie said: “I remember my dad staring open mouthed at the television and saying ‘but I know him, I know him’.” A heartwarming, and moving experience, and I loved it. I shall be very surprised if this debut novel isn’t a runaway success, and one that the author justly deserves. Devastatingly funny ... handled with compassion and courage in elegant prose lightened by honest humour. MAIL ON SUNDAY In Newman's hands... this tale of love and friendship is tender, funny, life-affirming joy. MARIE CLAIRE, 'Best Books of 2023' A prize-winning, spine-tingling gothic suspense novel based on a real-life murder trial in 1897 West VirginiaProtagonist – does your main character share traits with another? Are they of a similar type? A tortured artist? A stand-up comedian? A reclusive young woman? This whole experience came about because I knew instinctively that I needed to do something different. I needed courage, dramatic change and a sprinkling of foolishness to make this happen but I listened to my instincts and the rest is history. The premise – does your book have a similar start point/hook as another one? For example, my debut has two young girls trying to solve a mystery (therefore one of my comp titles is The Trouble with Goats and Sheep) Interestingly, I’ve always said I’d be an author, since childhood. I feel as though I had an inner knowing about where I was meant to be and what I was meant to be doing. My biggest lesson has been to really strip away all the ‘shoulds’ and the things that society expects of you, for example “you should focus on your career”; “you need to make money”. During the PhD she will write another novel and produce a piece of original research into something that has always interested her: the difference in media coverage given to children missing from wealthy families, compared to those from poorer families.

A riotously funny and fiercely loyal love letter to female friendship. The story of Edi and Ash proves that a best friend is a gift from the gods.... I laughed while crying, and was left revived. Newman is a comic masterhand and a dazzling philosopher of the day-to-day. AMITY GAIGE, author of SEA WIFE Without meaning to sound sycophantic, I have always been inspired by you for deciding to go it alone and set up your own business. You were completely in the unknown, and although things didn’t happen in an instant, you held your nerve. Plot/structure –regardless of the characters, is there any similarity in how the books works/is structured? E.g., feminist retellings of Greek myths. The juxtaposition of Miv's innocence and her schoolgirl-diary delivery and the truths that she uncovers about the lives around lie at the bruised heart of this book. Soon, Miv and her best friend Sharon discover more than they bargained for – not about the Yorkshire Ripper, but about the grown-ups around them, who are troubled in all sorts of ways. As they scratch the surface of everyday life, brutal racism, domestic abuse, alcoholism, infidelity and misunderstood mental health issues emerge. It’s similar with agents. While they will get a sense of your book from your letter and synopsis, providing comps is an easy way to cut through the noise and encapsulate the feel of a book. So here is my guide to identifying and using comp titles in pitching your book.Set in Yorskhire during the late 70s/early 80s 12 year old Miv isn’t having an easy time. Not only is the Yorkshire Ripper on the loose but closer to home her mum is suffering from depression and is absent from her life & her dad is thinking of moving them away. To distract from her troubles and to feel useful and grown up, Miv and her friend Sharon embark on a quest to catch the Ripper and start to investigate people in the local community. Devastatingly humorous and humorously devastating, We All Want Impossible Things is an unbelievably brilliant and funny book about friendship, family, food, sex, and death. Catherine Newman serves up a masterclass in narrative - you'll stay up late devouring every word. KATHERINE HEINY, author of EARLY MORNING RISER and STANDARD DEVIATION The List of Suspicious Things follows 12-year-old Miv as she navigates a 1970s Yorkshire plagued by the Yorkshire Ripper. Jennie gave herself six months to make a success from writing. After a few scrunched up manuscripts, Jennie leant on her love of true crime and hit upon her idea for The List of Suspicious Things. Soon her pen was ablaze. That’s interesting as it is easy to become unconscious to the need for learning. How do you keep yourself honest to that activity?