This Charming Man: (The Stranger Times 2)

C. K. McDonnell

Feb 2022 · Random House

About this ebook

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

Vampires do not exist. Everyone knows this. So it's particularly annoying when they start popping up around Manchester . . .

Nobody is pleased about it. Not the Founders, the secret organisation for whom vampires were invented as an allegory, nor the Folk, the magical people hidden in plain sight who only want a quiet life. And definitely not the people of Manchester, because there is nothing more irksome than being murdered by an allegory run amok. Somebody needs to sort this out fast before all Hell really breaks loose - step forward the staff of The Stranger Times.

It's not like they don't have enough to be dealing with. Assistant Editor Hannah has come back from getting messily divorced to discover that someone is trying to kidnap a member of their staff and while editor Vincent Banecroft would be delighted to see the back of any of his team, he doesn't like people touching his stuff - it's the principle of the thing.

Throw in a precarious plumbing situation, gambling debts, an entirely new way of swearing, and a certain detective inspector with what could be kindly referred to as 'a lot of baggage' and it all adds up to another hectic week in the life of the newspaper committed to reporting the truth that nobody else will touch.

This Charming Man is the second book in the critically acclaimed The Stranger Times series.

'A gag-filled romp . . . in the spirit of Terry Pratchett.' The Times
'Great characters, a jet-propelled plot, and a winning premise.' Guardian
'Fresh and genuinely funny.' SFX

Ratings and reviews

Three and a half stars. People are comparing this to the late, great Terry Pratchett which I think is over-egging things, I'd say more Pratchett-adjacent. But if you enjoy very British swearing (think of calling someone a one-ing five), extreme sarcasm, and the supernatural then I think you will like this series. I received an ARC from the publisher vie NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Another brilliant read from this author, no idea why he isn't more widely known.

brilliant. but now Caimh has to keep on writing them.

About the author

Born in Limerick and raised in Dublin, C K (Caimh) McDonnell is a former stand-up comedian and TV writer. He performed all around the world, had several well-received Edinburgh shows and supported acts such as Sarah Millican on tour before hanging up his clowning shoes to concentrate on writing. He has also written for numerous TV shows and been nominated for a Kid's TV BAFTA.
His debut novel, A Man With One of Those Faces - a comic crime novel - was published in 2016 and spawned The Dublin Trilogy books and the spin-off McGarry Stateside series. They have been Amazon bestsellers on both sides of the Atlantic. As C. K. McDonnell, he is the author of The Stranger Times series contemporary comic fantasy series.
Caimh lives in Manchester. To find out more, visit whitehairedirishman.com