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 Comedy Crime Exciting 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)
All stars
Most relevant
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.

Stay for the acknowledgments

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

Exactly what I needed.

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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.

Strange times indeed

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

loved it

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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!!!!

The reading by CK is phenomenal.

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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

Quirky, funny and charming

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

Great read 5 stars

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This is honestly one of the best pictures of humanity through paranormality. All parts not just the Shiny ones. The audio reading is exceptional. There better be more, I’m talking Terry Pratchett more.

Beyond awesome.

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Loved the book from start to finish. Classic Irish/British humour! Well read and really brought the characters to life! A must read if you loved Ben Elton or Terry Pratchet you’ll enjoy this!!

Quirky and thoroughly enjoyable

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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

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

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