The Stranger Times cover art

The Stranger Times

The Stranger Times, Book 1

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The Stranger Times

By: C. K. McDonnell
Narrated by: Brendan McDonald
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

STOP PRESS! The Stranger Times wins the 2023 British Fantasy Award for Best Audio Work!

There are dark forces at work in our world (and in Manchester in particular), so thank God The Stranger Times is on hand to report them . . .

A weekly newspaper dedicated to the weird and the wonderful (but mostly the weird), it is the go-to publication for the unexplained and inexplicable.

At least that's their pitch. The reality is rather less auspicious. Their editor is a drunken, foul-tempered and foul-mouthed husk of a man who thinks little of the publication he edits. His staff are a ragtag group of misfits. And as for the assistant editor . . . well, that job is a revolving door - and it has just revolved to reveal Hannah Willis, who's got problems of her own.

When tragedy strikes in her first week on the job The Stranger Times is forced to do some serious investigating. What they discover leads to a shocking realisation: some of the stories they'd previously dismissed as nonsense are in fact terrifyingly real. Soon they come face-to-face with darker forces than they could ever have imagined.

The Stranger Times is the first novel from C.K. McDonnell, the pen name of Caimh McDonnell. It combines his distinctive dark wit with his love of the weird and wonderful to deliver a joyous celebration of how truth really can be stranger than fiction.

©2020 C.K. McDonnell (P)2020 Penguin Audio
Crime Thrillers Fantasy Fiction Humorous Supernatural Thriller Thriller & Suspense Paranormal Stranger Comedy Witty

Critic Reviews

A filmic romp with great characters, a jet-propelled plot, and a winning premise. (Eric Brown)

I tore through The Stranger Times. Like an entertaining collision between the worlds of Mick Herron and Charlie Stross, it's a novel that proves ancient eldritch horror is no match for old-school journalism. (CHRISTOPHER BROOKMYRE, bestselling author of Fallen Angel)
There are weird happenings in Manchester; good job the drunk and dysfunctional journalists of The Stranger Times, a newspaper dedicated to paranormal and the unexplained, are on hand . . . terrific, easygoing fun. (Robert Millen)

What listeners say about The Stranger Times

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Stay for the acknowledgments

It’s been a while since I’ve had this fun with a book. Brendan MacDonald’s performance is brilliant. I never thought I would be laughing at the acknowledgements in a book, but here we are. I cannot wait for book two.

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Exactly what I needed.

Lighthearted fun with amazing narration. Worth a shot just for the acknowledgements. On to the second book.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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Strange times indeed

Sorry for the cliched title but I’ve a headache. This is a wonderfully fun audiobook for fans of Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series. I’m hoping this series is just as promising.
Highly recommended.

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loved it

great Charecters, great narration ,will be back for the second instalment can't wait to see where we go 👍

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1 person found this helpful

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Great read 5 stars

I loved this book - entertaining, unpredictable, funny and narrated well. if you liked Rivers Of London then you will love this book too.

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Don't normally write reviews .... but ...

After reading and adoring Ben Aaronovitch series of Rivers of London I was grieving when finished. Stumbled upon this a year later and have loved it. Narration is excellent, totally absorbing story, great characters. Have now powered through and finished up to book three and am just purchasing no. 4. Only hoping there will be a 5, 6, 7 .......... x

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A fun, unique story

This was fun! Not a boring moment. I liked that Hannah wasn’t just like any other insufferable main character but rather the showcased the other main characters really well. The narration was great too.
I’ve been reading and listening to books that all seemed to blend into each other recently. This was a standout.

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The reading by CK is phenomenal.

Unputdownable, or should I say un-unpluggable... Already bought the second in the series and am still on the epilogue lol! Best purchase yet! Hope they make a movie or TV series!!!!

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Quirky, funny and charming

I LOVED this book so much! The narrator was fantastic and the story was witty, funny, engaging and highly entertaining. Cannot recommend highly enough.! I already have the rest of the series

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Fun romp

I’m a big Michael Marshall Smith and Terry Pratchett fan, and I love weird characters in unusual circumstances so this was right up my ally. I wouldn’t say the plot is surprising but it’s a fun romp with a few laugh out loud moments and a lot of very engaging dialogue. Light fun fast paced and quirky.

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5 people found this helpful

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