Title: The Stranger Times
Author: C.K. McDonnell & Caimh McDonnell
Page Count: 320
Published: 14th January 2021
Genre: Fiction, Fantasy
I got this as a preview copy from the nice people at Netgalley . I will always be honest about a book no matter if I paid for it or not. There are also affiliate links in here, too 💜
Well, well, well. Ain’tcha a little delight? I read the final few pages with a grin on my face and let me tell you, dear reader, that is a very rare thing indeed. It’s bonkers. It’s got magic. It’s got baddies. It’s perfect. And I NEED more.
So what’s managed to wriggle its way into my cold, dead heart? This:
✨ Set sometime in the present (maybe right now? Not a clue) but make it Manchester.
✨ One of them papers that only prints the supernatural stuff. Think the Elvis-is-my-parrot or my-toilet-is-possessed-by-Satan kinda crowd.
✨ Add a hint of dark forces
✨ Tada! One marvellous book where the insanity is closer to the truth than most people would want to believe.
There isn’t one character in this book I don’t like. And every single one of them was described in such a wonderful way that I’m pretty sure they’re real people – even the minor characters have a back story. Some I’d be pals with, others I’d perhaps wave at from across the street.
You’ve got Hannah. Poor woman who left behind her luxurious life after discovering her husband was a serial cheater and wanted to stand on her own two feet. She may have also burned down their marital house. By mistake of course. Then there’s Banecroft – the drunken editor of The Stranger Times. A chap that once edited slightly, uh, larger papers and appears to be the boss from hell. Yet there’s something about him that you just cannot hate.
Grouped together, they form the editorial team for this little paper and they quickly find themselves in the middle of an investigation where the weird shit cannot be ruled out.
This is probably one of the best books I’ve read in a while. Funny without being cringe, insanely easy to read, surreal enough to be real (perhaps my new Dirk Gently) and I’m so ready for the next one. Inject it right into my eyeballs, please.
The Stranger Times will be published on the 14th January 2021 and if you fancy grabbing a copy, you can find it here.