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 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
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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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A brilliant read that morphs into excellence on audio

This book is just a marvel! McDonnell writes so wonderfully with humour, yet also an urgency that’s so well paced you simply cannot remove yourself from the world he’s created! Meanwhile McDonald’s narration of some 10 well fleshed out characters turns this into one of the greatest audiobooks you could possibly endure! It’s quite astonishing how well he is able to embody each character and make their voice not only true but elevated somehow from the page.

Bravo to all involved, this is an absolute gem of a novel and I can’t wait to read more in the stranger times world! Vincent Baincroft is a character-de-force that permeates your psyche in a myriad of ways, including the unexpected!

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Urban fantasy

Light, dark, comedic story. I listened to The Stranger Times podcast after listening to the book, an enthralling expansion of The Stranger Times book.

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Amazing in everyway conceivable!

I bought the book... loved it!
I downloaded the freebies mentioned at the end of the book and signed up to the authors newsletter... loved all of that (especially the podcasts)
Then signed up to Audible JUST to listen to the audiobook version which was amazing, brilliantly performed and every bit better than everything before it.
I highly recommend this performance. story and book to everyone and can't wait for the sequel!

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