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  • The Stranger Times

  • The Stranger Times, Book 1
  • By: C. K. McDonnell
  • Narrated by: Brendan McDonald
  • Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (1,747 ratings)

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The Stranger Times

By: C. K. McDonnell
Narrated by: Brendan McDonald
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Summary

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
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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

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
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It’s all about the dialogue...

As always with McDonnell, this is absolute joy to read. The plot is the least important part of the whole, you read on for the wonderful off-kilter characters and the beautifully written dialogue.

As a fan of the Bunny McGarry books, I wasn’t entirely sure how this ‘urban fantasy’ novel would be, but it was as lovely to read as any of his other books. The podcast is great too.

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18 people found this helpful

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Hilarious

This book constantly surprises and made me laugh out loud! Thank you C K McDoonald

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6 people found this helpful

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Just what I I needed

This was my fifth attempt at finding a book I enjoyed this month and I was so glad as I was getting really frustrated! There are so many funny one-liners and it’s an interesting story with really likable characters. Thank you. I am about to download the second one now.

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2 people found this helpful

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Great fun listening to this.

Great story, wonderfully read and full of interesting characters. There is a slight need to suspend reality but it’s easily done for the enjoyment experienced.

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Bloody excellent!

(Apologies Grace!) ... love love love another book by CK McDonnell: Great adventure, fabulous characters, funny, fantastical and just plain bloody excellent! Brendan McDonald is a wonderful narrator, everything works perfectly ... can’t wait for the next instalment

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1 person found this helpful

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Brilliant

A completely mad, intriguing,clever funny story. I look forward to the next one. A real laugh out loud.

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Absolutely Brilliant!

Never have I read funnier books than Mr McDonnell's - and each one gets better and better!
Thank you and please keep on writing your wonderful books; we need you!

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1 person found this helpful

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Hilariously dark and delicious (with donuts)

Get this immediately. Dark humour, dark thoughts, terror, magic and mayhem.

Manchester is well described (wet, very wet, and extremely wet)

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Great little find!

I was running low on this genre and couldn't get into any of the others - until this! Loved it. Thank you!

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Thoroughly enjoyable

Couldn't get into this book on first attempt and gave up on it and gave it very low review . Tried again and got hooked. it is clever and funny and definitely worth persevering with. The narration is also very entertsining.

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