NPR’s Book of the Day — Summary

Episode: Two debut novels, two murder mysteries set in the United Kingdom
Date: January 9, 2026
Host: Andrew Limbong
Featured Interviews: Jenny Godfrey with Scott Simon, Chris Chibnall with Mary Louise Kelly

Episode Overview

This episode spotlights two debut British murder mysteries, each with its unique take on the genre and setting. The first is “The List of Suspicious Things” by Jenny Godfrey—a coming-of-age story set in Yorkshire during the Yorkshire Ripper’s reign of terror. The second is “Death at the White Hart” by Chris Chibnall, a small-town whodunit in Dorset imbued with community, nostalgia, and the decline of the traditional British pub.

Segment 1: Jenny Godfrey & The List of Suspicious Things

(Interview with Scott Simon, 01:08–09:05)

Main Themes & Purpose

• A murder mystery entwined with a coming-of-age tale, set against the backdrop of Yorkshire during Peter Sutcliffe’s (the Yorkshire Ripper) killings.
• Explores the personal and communal impact of serial murders, childhood innocence, and the experience of growing up in 1970s England.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

• Personal Connection to the Ripper

  • Godfrey reveals a personal link: “It came apparent very quickly that my dad both knew him and had worked with him for some time.” (03:37)

• Setting: Yorkshire in the Late 1970s

  • Described as grim, with a struggling economy and skepticism toward Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher:
    • “Yorkshire wasn’t the happiest place. The economy was extremely depressed... Thatcher... was seen as somebody who would make things worse for us, which actually did prove to be true.” (03:06)
  • Despite hardship, Yorkshire humor and resilience shine through the characters.

• Characters: Miv and Sharon

  • 12-year-old girls determined to make a “list of suspicious things and people” to catch the killer—and maybe claim a police reward.
    • “If we catch him, we might get the reward the police are offering... think of all the books and lip glosses and sweets we could want.” (01:33)
    • Godfrey admits both girls are partly inspired by herself and her friends:
      • “There is so much of me in Miv in particular... I was very much like Miv as a child. I would have projects and hobbies and things that got me through and books of course.” (03:48)

• Children and Fear

  • Godfrey discusses how children were not sheltered from the ongoing crimes:
    • “We weren’t shielded from the news necessarily... there was no such thing as helicopter parenting.” (04:48)
    • The result: viewing their community with suspicion and anxiety, reflected in the girls’ list-making.

• Community, Suspicion, and Racism

  • The omnipresence of fear led people to view neighbors differently:
    • “We actually did start to look at everybody through a different lens... Suddenly we started to look at our friends and family differently as a consequence.” (05:43)
  • Touches on the experience of racism in 1970s Yorkshire, as seen through characters Omar and Ishtiaq Bashir:
    • “Race and racism was a part of 1970s West Yorkshire... Ishtiaq and Omar experience a lot of racism throughout the novel and a lot of acceptance and community as well.” (06:37)

• Godfrey's Perspective as a Bookseller

  • “What you learn, thankfully, is that there is a book for everybody, that if you write a book, someone somewhere is going to love it.” (07:49)

• Honoring the Victims

  • Godfrey chooses to include the names of the murdered women at her novel’s conclusion:
    • “I did not want this to be a book about him... it’s a book about the impact of his crimes on a community... I wanted to conclude it by honoring those victims. It felt really important for me to do that.” (08:30)

Notable Quotes

• “As you can see from the novel, the kind of humour and stoicism of Yorkshire really shines through.” — Jenny Godfrey (03:06)
• “There is so much of me in Miv in particular and so much of the best friends I’ve had over the years in Sharon.” — Jenny Godfrey (03:48)
• “We weren’t shielded from the news necessarily... so although the list highlights the suspicious people in the area, there is no doubt that Miv and Sharon would have been looking out for people that might have been suspicious anyway.” — Jenny Godfrey (04:48)
• “I did not want this to be a book about him... I wanted to conclude it by honoring those victims.” — Jenny Godfrey (08:30)

Segment 2: Chris Chibnall & Death at the White Hart

(Interview with Mary Louise Kelly, 09:46–17:47)

Main Themes & Purpose

• A classic village murder mystery with modern sensibilities set in Dorset.
• Explores the role of the local pub as the heart of the community, amid the broader theme of change and decline in rural England.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

• Opening Mystery

  • The novel opens with the landlord of The White Hart pub, Jim Tiernan, found dead—upright, tied to a chair, with deer antlers on his head.
  • The crime sets the entire village into suspicion and upheaval:
    • “You could surmise that a lot of the people in the pub that night in the village of Fleetcombe have reasons for wanting him dead.” — Chris Chibnall (10:49)

• Contemporary Golden Age Mystery

  • Chibnall aimed for a modernized Agatha Christie vibe:
    • “I really wanted to write a murder mystery where it had all of those sort of golden age great page turning, Agatha Christie style setting, but who live lives as we would all recognize them now.” (11:23)

• Small Town Dynamics

  • Everyone knows everyone, which both narrows and complicates the list of suspects:
    • “Everybody knows everybody else’s business, where they come from, their histories... that pressure cooker atmosphere.” (12:16)

• Lead Detective: DS Nicola Bridge

  • Nicola returns home for a quieter life but instead leads a shocking investigation with a rookie partner:
    • “Her boss has gone... headquarters aren’t working and she partners up with a young graduate trainee, Harry... what she brings is simply the knowledge of the area and her understanding of people.” (12:56)
  • Her approach is detailed and methodical:
    • “Don’t worry about the motive yet... just figure out the facts, what happened, when, where, how, and then we’ll figure out the why.” (13:40)

• Pub Rivalry as Social Commentary

  • The murder is entangled with a rivalry between Fleetcombe’s traditional “drinker’s pub” (The White Hart) and the modernized gastropub (The Fox):
    • “The White Hart is a drinker’s pub... The other pub in town is the Fox, and that has become a gastropub... a bit of a crisis of the pub industry in Britain right now—pubs are closing at a really swift rate.” (14:52)
  • Pubs serve as a metaphor for community, change, and the struggle to maintain tradition.

• Endings and Change

  • The story is bookended by a death: the landlord at the beginning, and the pub (closing for good) at the end.
    • “The sense of change that is going through, I’m sure not just the UK, but all around the world... what is at the heart of the community, how we find our community these days, is it in buildings, is it in people, is it in traditions?” (16:14)

• Setting and Personal Connection

  • Chibnall draws on lived experience:
    • “I’ve been here 20 years now and I live a mile from the beach where we film Broadchurch. I’m in the middle of the community that I’m writing about.” (16:45)

• Why Murder in the Countryside?

  • The genre thrives on the paradox between idyllic settings and dark deeds:
    • “The tension between those two acts is what becomes... delightful to a reader as well as interesting and provocative.” (17:13)

Notable Quotes

• “You could surmise that a lot of the people in the pub that night... have reasons for wanting him dead.” — Chris Chibnall (10:49)
• “Everybody knows everybody else’s business... that just becomes very delicious in terms of that pressure cooker atmosphere.” — Chris Chibnall (12:16)
• “What I wanted to do with that rivalry between the pubs is... the pub as a metaphor for the country.” — Chris Chibnall (14:52)
• “What is at the heart of the community—how we find our community these days, is it in buildings, is it in people, is it in traditions?” — Chris Chibnall (16:14)
• “The tension between the beautiful nature of the landscape and the idyllic nature of the village... contrasts with the heinous act of murder.” — Chris Chibnall (17:13)

Timestamps of Important Segments

• 01:08 — Introduction to Jenny Godfrey’s The List of Suspicious Things
• 03:06 — Discussion about Yorkshire's economic and political climate in the '70s
• 03:48 — Godfrey discusses autobiographical influences in her characters
• 04:48 — Commentary on how crime shaped children's perceptions
• 06:37 — On representing race and racism in the novel
• 07:49 — What bookselling teaches about readership and writing
• 08:30 — Honoring the victims in the book
• 09:46 — Introduction to Chris Chibnall’s Death at the White Hart
• 10:49 — The murder and setting the scene in Fleetcombe
• 11:23 — Chibnall’s intent to create a modern golden-age mystery novel
• 12:16 — The complexity of a murder mystery in a small town
• 12:56 — Nicola Bridge’s investigative approach
• 14:52 — The symbolic significance of Britain’s pubs
• 16:14 — Themes of endings and community change
• 16:45 — Chibnall’s personal connection to Dorset

Tone and Style

Both interviews maintain a warm, conversational, and insightful tone—balancing cozy murder mystery talk with thoughtful consideration of class, history, and community. The authors’ voices are engaging, with touches of humor and poignancy throughout.

Summary Takeaway

This episode offers two sharply different but equally rich British murder mysteries. Jenny Godfrey’s novel is a sensitive, autobiographically-inflected tale set during a real-life crime wave, exploring the intersection of innocence, fear, and community. Chris Chibnall blends classic whodunit structure with social commentary about the fate of English country pubs and ties of locality, using the framework of a traditional village mystery to probe broader questions of belonging and change.