Having enjoyed Jennie Godfrey's debut novel 'The List of Suspicious Things', in which a young girl in West Yorkshire in the 1970s attempts to identify the Yorkshire Ripper (reviewed here in July 2025), I was intrigued to learn that her new book is set in 1985 on the day of the Live Aid concert - a period that could have been my Mastermind specialist subject. 'The Barbecue at No. 9', which I read as an unabridged audio book (narrated by Gemma Whelan, Josh Dylan, Raffey Cassidy and Stephen Mangan) uses Live Aid as a backdrop and timeline for a gathering of neighbours. The Gordon family have invited all the other inhabitants of Delmont Close - many of whom have never previously met - to a barbecue in their garden to celebrate the occasion of the charity concert. At first I found it difficult to take in the substantial cast of characters (particularly listening to the audio book where it is difficult to skip back to check the names and house numbers). But soon I realised that the four narrators represented the four principal characters whose stories were going to be explored in depth. As with 'The List of Suspicious Things', Jennie Godfrey's writing reminded me of the novels of Joanna Cannon (including ‘The Trouble with Goats and Sheep’, set in the long hot summer of 1976, reviewed here in January 2022). The alternating stories of multiple, otherwise unconnected, individuals united in a moment also reminded me of Liane Moriarty's novel 'Here One Moment' (reviewed here in January 2025). You can tell there are going to be some twists and revelations but it took me a while to work them out. 'The Barbecue at No. 9' is enjoyable, entertaining and satisfying and I'm pleased to report that the Live Aid references were obviously well-researched.
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