Desperate to escape the horror show of her former relationship, Hannah Willis moves to Manchester. Finding a new job on her own without any connections to her previous life isn’t easy, and eventually she finds employment as an editor for The Stranger Times. Hannah has no idea what she has let herself in for. From the weird stories the newspaper covers, to the rudest boss ever and a strange selection of staff who put up with him, Hannah’s not sure if she can do the job.

When tragedy strikes close to home during her first week, Hannah decides to investigate further and ends up going down a rabbit hole that uncovers the shocking truth; not all the stories the paper has covered are fictional. Hannah and her co-workers find themselves mixed up with supernatural forces that they only just found out exist, and they’re not the fun and friendly kind.

The Stranger Times is one of those books that is hard to explain. It is one of the most chaotic and random books that I have ever read. It’s very reminiscent of British comedies like Red Dwarf, complete with an awful character that if you ever met them in real life you would avoid at all costs. In this case, that’s Bancroft the editor of the paper who is one of the most repulsive characters I’ve ever come across without being pure evil. He’s a chain-smoking alcoholic, has been banned from cursing too often in the office by one of the staff as he does it so much, and throws insults around like they are candy. The question is why does everyone put up with him, and that’s something Hannah and readers have to discover.

For me personally, characters like Bancroft would normally have me running from a book, however, The Stranger Times is as much a comedy as it is an urban fantasy. This is a book that doesn’t take itself seriously, and it’s not for readers that get offended easily, especially by curse words. Fantastic world-building is mixed with mystery and perfect comedic timing to create a world and characters that you will fall in love with. I loved it so much I gobbled the second book up immediately afterwards!

To give you a feel of what to expect in the book check out The Stranger Times website. Between each chapter in The Stranger Times are stories like these from the fictional newspaper, and they’re fabulous. I really can’t recommend this book enough!

The characters are each in their own way unique and likeable. Hannah, the most conventional character of the lot, is finding her way in the world after a messy marital break-up is exposed to a world she never dreamed of. It is a funny, cheeky story that isn't constrained by reality and that is best part of it. If you want a delightfully distracting story to take your mind off the current troubles, look no further.

Pretty good- solid urban fantasy by way of some very questionable journalism. Killed a few hours, and it's nice to read something urban fantasy-ish that's set outside of London.

Thank you to Penguin and Netgalley for this free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately for me this was a DNF. Whilst I did like some elements of this book including the world building, the plot line and the characters, this book has a comical narrative which is something that I don't really enjoy.

I may one day try and push myself through the narrative and continue with this storyline, currently this isn't the time which is a real shame!

I really loved the start of it.
The writing was witty, observant, made me laugh.
Unfortunately, the story quickly starts to drag with too many repetitions.
The wittyness becomes sameish and even the well-flowing prose cannot rescue a disjointed plot that goes nowhere.
The characters don't develop. Or perhaps they do later, but I didn't get to that point because I stopped caring for them.
Shame, because I thought the book held a great promise.
Unfortunately, it wasn't quite for me.

A great read and very funny book with some strange and loveable characters with unexpected plot twists.

Thank you for providing me with an advance review copy of this book. Enjoyed reading, would recommend....

The Stranger Times is one of my favourite books of recent years and it's one I would really recommend to anyone. It has hints of Pratchett, and Gaiman while still being a brilliant new take on the genre. I loved it from the very first pages. The characters are really engaging, I loved Vincent Bancroft in particular (reminded me of Bernard Black which is not a bad thing !). He's an interesting character, he can be very rude and brash yet there is a tenderness there somewhere. C.K. McDonnell is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors.and I have subsequently read and loved the next two book in this series.

Such a suitable title, I was already curious before I even opened the book (aka e-reader). This book did not disappoint. It had mystery, thrills and supernatural creativity. Set in a newspaper publication that captures the strange and paranormal - even if the writers down believe everything they write.

The first few chapters were a little confusing as they jumped around in character and scene but this was quickly resolved and the plot tripped along at a fascinating, unpredictable pace. Its not often these days to find a book taking you by complete surprise.

As the story gained momentum, it got better and better and I could not put this down. The characters were all unique and fully formed, cleverly and subtly reflected through their mannerisms and dialogue. The story was unusual and mostly unpredictable, and the explanations fresh. The pace was perfect and completely addictive.

Suffice to say, I cant wait for the sequel.

For some reason I was a little resistant to the fun of this book to start with. Maybe I was just a bit grumpy at the time but I think it was largely because I had seen a few reviews compare the writing to Pratchett and as a die hard Pratchett fan, this immediately got my back up!
Honestly I feel like a better comparison would be to Ben Aaronovitch or Neil Gaiman due to this urban fantasy vibe.
Once I had gotten over this and got into the writing style I actually began to really enjoy the book. The characters are all super likeable and fun and the story lighthearted and clever.

This was just an all-round entertaining book and by the end I was eager to find out what happens next so will definitely be picking up the next one!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review

I enjoyed this book and the others in the series. Thank you for providing me a proof.

The story was very interesting and I loved the locational setting! This book has something from everyone and enjoyed the multiple magical groups in it too!

Really interesting and unique read, full of humour but also mystery, suspense and action, there are great characters and fantastic world building. Thoroughly recommended

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is a funny easy read. It follows Hannah , recently divorced from a cheating husband who moves to Manchester from London and accidentally gets a job at the stranger times newspaper. While learning how to be an assistant editor she helps solve. Murder and discovers the supernatural isn’t all made up. Here colleagues are a mix match of personalities so theres someone everyone could relate to. I enjoyed the story, it’s well written and fun. I’m looking forward to reading the rest if this trilogy

This was shedloads of fun. A office like no other !

I was transported to rainy Manchester. The cast of characters, good bad and those somewhere in between were so well drawn that I feel I know them well. Tongue in cheek all the way but a solid supernatural world building supported that.

I jumped straight into book two.

After leaving her cheating husband in London, Hannah Willis moves to Manchester to start a new life, but first, she needs a job. That is how she ends up working as an assistant editor at The Stranger Times, a weekly newspaper dedicated to the weird and the wonderful. Her new boss is a drunken, foul-tempered and foul-mouthed man. The rest of the staff are a ragtag group of misfits.

After the brutal murder of one of the misfits, Hannah soon discovers some weird and wonderful stories the newspaper publishes that might not be so strange. All of this is during her first week on the job.

After reading a recommendation that fans of the Rivers of London series might like this book, I thought I would give it a go. Both series do have a lot in common. The protagonist discovers a new secret city hidden behind the metropolis where they live. Similarly, both books feature an array of fantasy creatures. However, The Stranger Times is more humorous, which is its selling point. But I can see why fans of Rivers of London would enjoy this series.

A fabulously funny urban fantasy read!

Hannah is recently divorced and desperate for a job after accidentally setting her ex’s house on fire after discovering his infidelity. Applying for everything she possibly can, she lands an interview and a job at The Stranger Times, a newspaper which reports the wacky and the wonderful. However, life quickly begins to resemble one of their stories, and Hannah and the rest of the Stranger Times staff are about to discover that there is more to this story than it seems.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Stranger Times. It had a bit of a Pratchett-like feel to it between the urban fantasy and the absurdity, although this is set in our world and contains decidedly less turtles.
I enjoyed Hannah as a character, and her arc of discovering what she actually enjoys after a marriage where she is realising she didn’t have much autonomy. Her coworkers were equally interesting and I’m excited to learn more about them as the series continues.
I enjoyed the magical infrastructure of the world, and am interested to see how the different factions will interact in the future - and inevitably cause more chaos and destruction.

Overall, it was a really enjoyable read, and I’m excited to continue the series!

When Hannah finally has enough of her philandering husband and leaves her gilded cage she’s in desperate need of a job. The one she finds is at The Stranger Times, a newspaper that prints the stories their readers tell them about the weird and wonderful world around them . The characters in this book are as strange as the stories in the newspaper, and they grow on you as you read. There’s a sinister character lurking in the story, and good and bad folk on either side. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and will be reading the next two in the trilogy as soon as I can.

I was not sure what to expect with this book, but it was utterly brilliant. in a similar vein to Tom Holt, the characters are just so vivid, I love this book

This is the first novel by C.K.McDonnell in the Stranger Times Series.
I read this book after books two and three but still enjoyed it immensely even when I knew what was going to happen to the main protagonists in the future stories.
The Stranger Times in the title refers to a small niche publication based in Manchester that reports weird and wonderful stories brought to them by members of the public. The editor, Vincent Banecroft, points out to his new deputy editor that they don’t have to actually believe in alien abductions and the like; they are merely reporting that ‘Fred from Eccles’ believes he has been probed by little green men! However, when Simon Broom, a wannabe Stranger Times reporter, is found dead in mysterious circumstances they soon come to realise that there is an element of truth to some of these stories.
C.K. brings his grotesque stories and characters to life in a very readable humorous way.

You’ll never see Manchester in the same way again

This had a Pratchetesque feel to me but set in the present day and with Were(wolves), Vampires and ghosts and conspiracy theories galore thrown in for good measure. I doubt I’ll ever see Manchester in the same way again.

The books are fast paced and I loved the characters, flaws and all. I read all three books together and hope there are many more to come.

I was given this book from the author via netgalley only for the pleasure of reading and leaving an honest review should I choose to.