The Barbecue at No. 9 by Jennie Godfrey
This is the book on my bedside table at the moment, so this post is more of a first impression than a proper review. It’s Jennie Godfrey’s second novel, after The List of Suspicious Things, and it came out in February 2026.
The whole story is built around one day in July 1985, the day of the Live Aid concert. The residents of Delmont Close, a new-build cul-de-sac, are getting together for a barbecue at number nine to watch it on the telly. Their host is Lydia Gordon, who is very house-proud and keen for everything to look perfect. As the neighbours arrive, so do their secrets. There’s Rita, who has recently moved to the close from Australia and is hoping for a fresh start, and Steve, a young Falklands veteran who is struggling. The Gordons have things they’d rather keep hidden too. Much of the story is seen through the eyes of Lydia’s teenage daughter Hanna, along with Rita and Steve.
I picked up my copy at my local street library, which is a great way to pick up books and drop them off once you’ve read them. It’s a book that very successfully evokes the era of my teenage years in the 1980s. It’s a very light read, great for the beach or sitting out in the garden on a nice summer’s day.
I like books that stay close to ordinary people and the gap between how things look from the outside and what’s really going on behind the front door. Anyone who remembers 1985 may enjoy the nostalgia, and you don’t need to have read her first book to pick this one up.
Why you might enjoy it: If you like warm, character-driven stories about families and neighbours, with a bit of humour and a slow reveal of what everyone has been keeping to themselves, this looks like a good one to settle into.
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Are you reading it too, or have you finished it already? No spoilers please, but I’d love to hear what you think in the
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Goodreads | The Guardian audiobook review | What The Book reviewcomments.
