The Stranger Times was quirky and fun. We have an odd cast of characters, a mystery and some amusing descriptions.

We meet Hannah who is starting a new life after leaving her husband. She’s down on her luck and in desperate need of a job. This is how she ends up working at local newspaper ‘The Stranger Times’ after answering a job advertisement specifically asking for ‘no simons.’

Within the office she meets a quirky ensemble of new colleagues. Grace was a particular favourite, without her the office just couldn’t function. There’s Simon who is desperate to get a job at the paper and turns up everyday to try and get hired. When he dies under mysterious circumstances, suddenly the newspaper staff have a case to investigate beyond their normal stories from the ‘loon line’.

I found this to be a fun and pacy read. Particularly later on once Simon’s murder happens. Hannah was a great entry way for us to the world of the paper. You can see her coming into her own as she gains confidence, makes friends with doughnuts and starts to forge her own identity in the wake of her separation.

There’s a suitably malicious villain, and the juxtaposition of his cruelty with his buffoonish appearance really added to the tension of his scenes.

This book really ramps up the interest when you start to uncover the supernatural back story behind the events the journalists are trying to uncover. I won’t say much to avoid spoilers, but I found this particularly fascinating.

There are some genuinely funny moments in this, like when Hannah loses it at a bus stop, after her bus not only fails to stop, but soaks her going past. I felt real affection towards some of the characters such as Hannah, Grace and later in the book Stella. Even grumpy Banecroft starts to show layers towards the end.

There is some language in here that could feel a bit uncomfortable at times, but it felt like this was supposed to be showing the character of the person rather than deliberately trying to offend.

I’m a fan of Terry Pratchett and I feel this book appeals in a similar way.

The Stranger Times is the opening instalment to a humorous urban fantasy series about the employees of a little known English newspaper which specialises in reporting on the occult, the bizarre, and the unbelievable. This author has been on my radar to try for a while, so when I saw that the first two were back on NetGalley ahead of the release of the third in February, took a gamble and requested them all. This was a quick easy read and I enjoyed the characters and the comedy aspects, but was hoping for more action and better world building.

Hannah Willis is desperate for a job after walking away from her philandering husband after years as a trophy wife, so desperate that when she meets the motley crew operating out of a deconsecrated church in a run down part of Manchester, led by the acerbic and abusive editor Vincent Banecroft, she takes the job in spite of the interview ending with a house fire and a shooting. The team are used to reporting on stories like haunted toilets and UFO sightings, but when people start dying in suspicious circumstances, they will discover that sometimes the monsters are real…

I sometimes struggle to find comedy fiction that is actually funny, but this hit the spot for me - it is very English and I loved the banter between the characters. Banecroft is very similar to Mick Herron’s Jackson Lamb from the Slough House series, with his repulsive habits and withering put-downs, but the other central characters felt more original. The build-up was a bit slow, as we are introduced to a wide range of oddballs and are teased with what exactly is going on, then things started to get exciting and then, oh, it’s all done & dusted a bit too easily. If this were a stand-alone book I’d be disappointed, but as an opening act it has whetted my appetite to know more so I’m glad to have the next two ready to go. 3.5 rounded up for some snigger-worthy lines and great female characters.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld publishers for the complimentary review copy. I am posting this honest review voluntarily. The Stranger Times is available now.

The first novel in the series. A little quirky, but I did enjoy it. Thank you for letting me read it. I’ll read the next one too.

This is a great mash-up of crime and fantasy, with a lot of added humour. The main character is Hannah who is trying to rebuild her life after leaving her serial cheat of a bastard husband. Used to a life of stilted ‘comes at a price’ luxury, she takes her first ever job at The Stranger Times. A newspaper of a different kind.

What follows is thoroughly enjoyable. Well written and fast paced and just enough humour. This feels like it is the start of a series. I, for one, certainly hope so.

I read a copy provided by NetGalley and the publisher but my views are my own.

I like to read "new to me" authors and genres and so I did my best to read The Stranger Times and failed to complete it. Whilst I like off the wall storylines and styles, this combination was most certainly not for me as I discovered no redeeming features in the 20% that I managed to complete.

A fantastic book. Thoroughly enjoyed getting up to speed with the first two Stranger Times books after reading the third, so a huge thank you to the publisher for theses ARCS,

I don't even know where to start. I have fallen in love with this book and I'm now going to be recommending it to anyone that I can!

When I read the blurb for this on netgalley, I knew I had to read it whether I got approved or not. I'm incredibly glad that I did because I'm obsessed. McDonnell did such an amazing job with the lore in this book. I just need to know more so I'm super glad that there's a second book!

The characters are very well developed, so much so that I really did feel like I was in the book while I read. I also want more of them (maybe minus Banecroft) so another good reason to be glad that there's a second book!

The only reason I'm not giving this book five stars is that there are quite a lot of characters and I found it a little hard to follow in the beginning. I would love to revisit the book in the future now that I'm sure of who everyone is!

This book is witty, charming, creative , and fun. Definitely worth a read if you enjoy fantasy!

This fun and fast-paced introduction to the team at The Stranger Times will have you wishing a newspaper reporting on the Dark Forces actually existed. Hmmmm... it might actually explain a lot of the current world happenings.

It is easy to get caught up in the shenanigans of our fish out of water MC and a cast of lovable curmudgeonly rogues as they try and save the world (or at least Manchester) through the power of investigative journalism and their madcap adventures along the way. Will definitely be picking up the next in the series.

Recommended for: rainy day or beach read, Ben Aaronovitch, Alex Verus, Breaking the Lore, Investigation, Mediation, Vindication

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the reading copy.

A really fun and eerie read. Easy to get into and then hard to put down. Plotting and pacing was perfect

Unfortunately this book was not for me. Other readers may enjoy it more, but I could not get into it and ultimately did not finish it.

I absolutely loved "The Stranger Times"! I initially chose it because I love the whole premise of there being a sort of hidden mystical world running alongside the "real" world (which would explain a lot, let's be fair!) - and the idea of a publication of this type was irresistable.

The writing is sharp and funny at times, evokes pathos and sympathy at others, and is always top-notch. There's a wide range of very interesting supporting characters, and the interactions between them and the main players makes for an entertaining read.

Having grown up in the Manchester area, it's great to be able to "spot" locations, and it's clear that the author has a love of the city.

You'll enjoy this series if you are a fan of the likes of the late Terry Pratchett, and also Mick Herron (entirely different genre but I have to say that Vincent Banecroft could probably give Jackson Lamb a run for his money!!)

I loved this book so much that after reading this, I've since read ALL the author's other books and am looking forward to more!

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC. All opinions my own.

Received arc from random house UK and Netgalley for honest read and review.
This book was brilliant,all the characters are enjoyable and really very funny.
Very witty and thoroughly entertaining read.

Set in Manchester, UK, immediately I enjoyed the dry humour of the story. After finishing the book I found out the author was a stand up comic and has written for TV too so I can see this has influenced their writing.

Following a group of journalists as they report the stories of supernatural phenomena and conspiracy theories. As they point out they are reporting what people believe is the truth - not factually stating it is the truth. I never really looked at these kind of newspapers in this way before and now I have a better understanding.

Turns out the supernatural is real and the team at Stranger TImes needs to investigate a murder.

The formatting of my free copy meant the newspaper articles between chapters was illegible. Luckily some of them are on the Stranger Times website. A nice touch having a website for the newspaper with articles and classifieds to compliment the novel.

My first book during Netgalley November is 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒 by C K McDonnell. Thank you to Netgalley and Transworld for approving me to to read this book.
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‘𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐦: 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐩𝐢𝐩𝐞!’
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I started reading The Stranger Times on Halloween, and given that the story is centred around an alternate press newspaper based out of an old church - one that focuses on stories of the paranormal, UFOs, and general strange goings-on - it felt like quite a fitting time to read it.
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𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 ‘𝐂𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐎𝐥𝐝 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐬’ . 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡, 𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞, 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 ‘ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 ’. 𝐒𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 ‘𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐡. 𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐠𝐨 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞.’
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The Stranger Times is a very light-hearted read in many respects, and the story is easy to read. I think the humour woven throughout definitely helps, and I can absolutely see McDonnell having been a stand up commedian in the past.
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𝐎𝐱 , 𝐦𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝. 𝐈 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐡. 𝐈 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬.’‘𝐎𝐡 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭,’ 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐎𝐱, 𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞. ‘𝐀 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐜𝐨𝐚𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠-𝐮𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠.’
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I do think the story would have been better if there were some more in-depth world building. The plot was set in Manchester, England, with the general premise being that these supernatural events are taking place under our noses all the time, but that as humans, we aren't aware enough of what's going on to notice.
However, some elements of the plot were a little 'tell', and could have benefitted from a bit of backstory, or history, or even some subtle explanation of how specific things worked.
What is blood magic? What was the Accord? Who are the authorities in these circumstances?
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𝐇𝐞 𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 ‘𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧’ –  𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞  –  𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲’𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐣𝐨𝐛 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭.
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As The Stranger Times is the first in a series, it may be that some of the elements of the story that could benefit from more detail will be coaxed out and covered in the subsequent books in the series.
However, if you enjoy a light-hearted story that doesn't take itself too seriously, you should definitely check out The Stranger Times.

This book was way out of my comfort zone, and I knew I was taking a risk by requesting it, but I am really glad I took the risk, this was a great read, fun, interesting and wonderfully weird.

After a quite confusing start I really got into this book. I loved the ‘normality’ of this story being so well mixed in with the supernatural. …and the confusing start made sense in the end. A very different book, I loved it.

Thank you to the publishers and the author, and Netgalley for this ARC!

Wow, so I've been binging a ton of novels like these lately and this one blew me away! I was so entertained by the host of characters, and the bizarreness of the story. I loved the name of the newspaper, and the way it's so seamlessly woven into the story. It definitely read like a mystery and a suspense novel, and the POV of Hannah, who narrates the novel, was intriguing and well written.

I just couldn't get into this book, I'm not going to give it low stars as I do think it was just me and "not my type of book", what I did read seemed very well written.

his was a fun light UF which I enjoyed a lot. I really liked the characters. The plot and magic of the world were unsurprising and slightly generic to the UF genre, I felt. All in all, a sound start to a new series. Many thanks to Netgalley for an arc of this book.

I would like to extend my gratitude to the author, publisher and NetGalley for sending me this advanced reader’s copy in return for a fair, frank, and honest review.

I really wanted to enjoy this story as many of my friends found it a positive experience, however, I just did not. I found it very slow and written in such a way that I could not finish it. This is wholly my own opinion.