I loved, “The Stranger Times,” and was really excited to receive the second in the series. The only recommendation I would have is that readers go back to the first book, if they missed it. This is definitely a series and there are things that happened in the previous novel – seriously weird things – that will only make any kind of sense if you have an idea of who, and what, the Stranger Times consists of.

Hannah, who started work at The Stranger Times, in the first book, is now divorced and is returning to work, only to find that there are some distinctly odd things going on in Manchester. These include a vampire – who most definitely, everyone is agreed on, do not exist. This coincides with Stella, who also featured in the first book, being in danger. Banecroft, a sort of journalistic Jackson Lamb, recruits a new member to the gang, a previous tabloid journalist called Stanley Roker, and everyone sets out to discover what on Earth is going on. This, obviously, results in all kinds of mayhem, including ghosts, vampires in parkas and talking dogs…

I love the humour, the essential warmth of the Stranger Times office, and the great characters. Loved this and will definitely read on if there are further books. I received a copy of this from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.

While the premise of the story is about the characters who work at The Stranger Times, this story is more of a mystery about vampires in Birmingham. And since vampires do not exist, there's where the mystery is.
I enjoyed learning more about the characters who work at the paper and thought this was a great read.

This is the second instalment of magical mayhem in Manchester as the team at The Stranger Times take on more investigations in to the uncanny and unbelievable. This time around it appears to be vampires making a nuisance of themselves but according to those in the know vampires categorically do not exist. Ghosts, yes, talking dogs, yes, but vampires, absolutely not. Another fun read with fantastic characters and a wacky plot. Oh and the mother of all cliffhangers so please hurry up with the next book, thanks.

While The Stranger Times had to busy itself to a great extent with setting up its characters and the premise that all the crazier stories you read might actually be true, This Charming Man can well and truly get on with telling the story. Even though vampires don't exist. Definitely. A talking dog, on the other hand...
An entertaining continuation in what will undoubtedly be a long-running series - readers who enjoyed book 1 will love this sequel, and look forward to more to come!

Firstly, huge, huge thanks to NetGalley and Random House U.K., Transworld Publishers for the e-ARC of This Charming Man in exchange my honest and unbiased review.

Having purchased a copy of The Stranger Times last year, which languished on my TBR for far too long, until I finally read it this week, I immediately dived into This Charming Man by CK McDonnell.

TST brought a fresh, bizarre and at times ludicrous, but absolutely hilarious touch in its treatment of a newspaper and it’s staff who report on the world of psychic, magic and otherworldly phenomena, which to their surprise actually exists.

This Charming Man picks up the baton a few weeks later with the team investigating vampires, who even the fae insist do NOT exist!
Still set in Manchester, in the midst of an almost unheard of heatwave McDonnelly fully and hilariously balances hygiene, and the resulting snark and jokes that erupt due to the lack of an office shower to the multiple plots that run throughout the book and of course the continued presence of newspaper articles that pop up between chapters, including this fabulous apology and retraction to a ‘psychic’ besmirched in a previous edition…

“He can be more accurately described as a moneygrabbing, parasitic, pennies off a deadman’s eyes lowlife with the moral rectitude of bacillary dysentery, who shamelessly milks money from the grieving with cheap parlour tricks and a level of dishonesty not to be found outside of the political realm. I hope this clarifies matters. Yours sincerely , Vincent Banecroft”

This second book in the series truly delivers hilarity, plot, twists, u-bends, fantastic characters and a definite touch of sensitivity at just the right moments.

Vampire's absolutely do not exist. So when they start popping up and killing people in Manchester, it's not just the Police and the reporters from the Stranger Times who are perplexed, the folk are adamant they don't exist, never have. Never quite able to catch a break, the crew from The Stranger Times investigate the deaths, but they have more than enough on their plate with one of their own under threat of kidnap from unknown sources. Both their investigations lead them to one big reveal, old magic is returning, and with it, more danger than anyone is prepared for.

If there's one thing that really endears me to this series, it's McDonnells brilliantly brought to life characters. Through the story we get to follow the POV's of the gang from The Stranger Times, D.I Sturgess, the police officer who is in way over his head, as well as various 'beings' pertaining to the cases they are looking into. Hannah, Banecroft, Grace, Stella, Ox and Reggie have easily become one of my favourite literary gangs, though if you called them a 'gang' you'd probably get a few odd looks. They couldn't be more different from each other, the only thing that brings them together is the paper, and through it, their knowledge of the magical world. They're all pretty new to it though, no one really knows the rules, which means they find themselves in some hilarious and oftentimes hairy situations. The interactions between them all absolutely make this story, from Banecroft's penchant for profanities, to Grace's need to bless the Lord every time something happens as well as the fact that no one quite knows that Stella is. Suffice to say this story is laugh out loud funny in parts, but also heartwarming in others because they all care for each other, well... ok, maybe not Banecroft, and in their own way have formed a rather strange family.

Another thing I love about this series (I Loved it, in case you couldn't tell) was the setting. It's so rare to get books set in Northern England, especially fantasy books, and McDonnell makes full use of his setting. Everything from the slang, I full on snort laughed at 'You're a reality star that people vaguely remember, not Princess Diana. Wind your neck in,' to the array of people who live there, he makes Manchester almost a character in itself and I love being able to recognise specific places mentioned and knowing that I can re-trace the characters steps myself. His witty and descriptive writing ensure that you stay glued to the pages and I can't tell you the amount of times I laughed out loud at certain parts. Even the scenes where one or more of the characters are in danger are portrayed in a humorous way, there are stakes, just not the emotional kind and even though you know the characters are going to make it out ok, through his dry and sometimes dark humour, McDonnell ensures we stay glued to the pages.

McDonnell effortlessly melds the magical world with the mundane, and one of the special things about this series is that were're learning about it right alongside the characters. It's only in book one that the cast of The Stranger Times learnt that there really are monsters out there and that some of their articles might just have been true. So they're completely new to it and I enjoyed seeing them trying to insinuate themselves into the magical community. The magic system itself is pretty simple, except the third eye popping out of Sturgess's head, no one really knows what that's about. In the second book we get to go on a slightly deeper dive into the magical community thanks to our characters having to try and figure out who's trying to kidnap Stella. One of my favourite additions to this book though had to be Cogs, the man who, thanks to a brief and unfortunate relationship was cursed to tell the truth and Vinny his dog... kinda. The growth in development of the magical world and the characters that inhabit it in this book was brilliant and I'm eager to see who we will meet in the next one.

In a nutshell, this book was bloody brilliant! The series so far has been an incredibly easy read, each with their own mystery to solve but with a uniting thread running through it all that we get hints at throughout. Laugh out loud funny, if you're looking for an urban fantasy with a strange but lovable (maybe not Banecroft) cast of characters, then look no further.

This Charming Man follows on a few weeks after the events of The Stranger Times. Hannah has taken some time off to sort out her divorce problem (or rather, her husband problem). Meanwhile, as the prologue reveals, Manchester seems to be developing problems of its own. Vampires don't exist - as both mundane science and the knowing supernatural Folk attest - but what do you call it when a person develops strange dental features, is burned by sunlight, and craves human blood?

We're back with the misfits who edit The Stranger Times, an organ devoted to the bizarre and the unlikely and which is published from a deconsecrated church under the editorship of Vincent Banecroft, possibly the foulest man in journalism (I know). Hannah is the Assistant Editor, flung into the weird world of the Folk and their oppressors, the Founders and still getting to grips with a whole new world, as is DI Tom Sturgess, formerly the darling of the Greater Manchester Police but now tarnished by the events of the previous book.

The Stranger Times (the book, not the publication) was an enjoyable, though in places flawed, romp through a rather alternative take on urban fantasy. One of its problems for me was the extent to which the sheer outrageousness of Banecroft's character dominated things, with the rest of the team, and especially Hannah, rather flat in comparison (despite Banecroft being hospitalised and therefore absent for a chunk of the story). This Charming Man managed, in my view, a much better balance in this respect. Oddly, it does that partly by giving Banecroft more attention not less, showing his perspective on events, in particular how he is grieving for his wife and why he has land up at The Stranger Times. But it also brings in in another monster of a journalist, Stanley Roper, a freelancer who Bancroft brings in for his undoubted skills to form the "special investigations team" and sets on the track of villains who wish one member of the paper's staff no good at all.

The result is that there are two very strong storylines here with Banecroft playing a largely supportive part in driving them forwards (rather than just being annoying for unknown reasons. Though he still is annoying, of course). That gives more time for the team to bond and for their own different characters to come out, while also revealing a lot more about the supernatural side of Manchester. The denouement to all this was also satisfyingly violent and revelatory, demonstrating that, no, vampires aren't real - but also that power over reality can arise in the most unexpected places.

Overall I enjoyed this book, though a couple of things did strike me. First, as we learned in the previous book that the paper has powerful and wealthy backers, there was less of a sense of jeopardy over the need to get an issue together and keep the show on the road, with the focus on investigation rather than stories. (We do get snippets of typical stories though). And secondly, I'm still unclear which man in all this was charming! Most of them (a couple of the team members aside) seemed thoroughly unpleasant. Indeed, a major subplot is misogyny - which while it does eventually tend to bring those displaying it to a bad end (good) cannot be said to leave much scope for charm.

I'm inclined to view the title as ironic.

When I started reading this book it felt quite like home, having spent around a decade in Manchester. It even amused me with its Mancunian humour and I was a little sad to discover that this was actually the second book in the series. So pleased that I did not rush off to buy volume 1 before finishing volume 2.

The further I ventured into the book, the less humorous it became and the more pedestrian the dialogues. Although bored I persevered until the bitter end. Sadly, not a series for me.

ps - the most real "person" is the dog - nuff sed!

I'm absolutely loving this series. It's dark, clever, funny and has brilliant pacing. The characters are full of hidden depths; Banecroft is just perfect in all of his flaws, DI Sturgess is so unexpected and I can't wait to find out more about Stella.
I particularly enjoyed the skill with which the author commanded all of the different story arcs whilst keeping the momentum going, an absolute rollercoaster ride! A wonderful blend of crime thriller, dark urban fantasy and sharply honed humour.

Welcome to the offices of the Stranger Times newspaper, your first choice for all things paranormal, weird and wonderful. Werewolves on the M60? Haunted cinemas and demon-infested pubs? Read all about such things here!

But despite all the team’s experience with the supernatural, they weren’t really prepared for vampires – because they might be the one thing that doesn’t actually exist. At least, up until now.

I ended my review of the first book in this series, The Stranger Times, with the phrase, “I suspect [a sequel] work a lot better purely by already having half the elements introduced” – and turns out I was very right! There’s far less of a sense of strain, everything flows in quite a chilled out manner. You probably don’t even have to have read the first book, although you will get more background. However, it’s nice to just let the characters get on with stuff. Their experiences might not be fun for them, but the whole thing is told with huge dollops of humour.

It helps, too, that I enjoy vampire stories and different takes on them. And this one is certainly different! For a start, in a world filled with weirdness, everyone – from faerie folk to evil immortals – agrees that vampires are just not a thing, they’re a story, a metaphor. But several attacks from be-fanged, blood-sucking creatures is suggesting otherwise.

The newspaper staff are dispersed to investigate, along the way dealing with other issues. Ex-husbands and new romantic interests who have and eyeball-on-a-stalk growing out of the top of their heads, for instance. Or the ghost of an almost former employee. Or, indeed, not knowing what kind of magical creature you yourself might be…

The author sets this tale not just in a newspaper office, but with elements of all kinds of the fantastical. The guy who can only speak the truth, the pub run – and patronised – by creatures of myth, and so much more. It does feel like the story has a ton more background, more myth and areas to explore, that okay yes some elements don’t get enough attention imo, but definitely leaves the door open for many more instalments. Bring ’em on!

I didn't realise when I requested this book that it was the second in a series, but actually, it didn't matter. The author did a great job of introducing all the characters well, and references to past events just made me curious to read the previous book. It was a very entertaining read, I loved the world-building and the mundane magic. Great characters, punchy dialogue, and an intriguing storyline.

Excellant novel following the team at the Stranger Times as they traipse through the weird and wonderful led by Vincent Banecroft. Manchester seems to be experiencing attacks by a tribe of vampires - but the man who can only tell the truth or die is adamant such things don't exist. The team need to solve the conundrum and work out if vampires don't exist then what exactly are they holding prisoner in their basement. Great plotting and oneliners. The characters are growing on me and the book is a very entertaining read.

This Charming man is the second book in the Stranger Times series. The second book has everything that I loved in the first novel - great quirky characters, fast pace and hilarious dialogue. The only way I can describe it, is if Terry Pratchett and Monty Python had written an episode of the X-Files.

Brilliantly bonkers!

The Stranger Times is the first book in this series that I read and thoroughly enjoyed last year. It is also the name of the newspaper that caters for those with a slightly obscure view of the world. This is the sort of paper that will report on alien sightings, mysterious noises in the basement and weird and wonderful goings-on that regularly appear in the paper.

It really shouldn't come as a surprise when a Vampire suddenly turns up, but then everyone knows such things don't exist! I love how the author uses this vampiric occurrence and it is almost tongue in cheek that his reporters don't quite know what to call a pale, pointy-toothed anomaly. It struck me as funny that the reporters are fine with demons, aliens etc, but not calling a vampire a vampire. Anyhow, I do digress.

The main characters are the same that appeared in the first book, so we have Banecroft the editor, along with Grace, Stella, Ox, Stanley, DI Sturgess, Hannah who gallantly report the news while Banecroft is breathing down their necks, wanting answers and a story to print in his paper.

The bodies are a unique find and they are shrugged off as such, some things are not that easy to hide and it doesn't take long for things to start to heat up. Tensions are brittle as lack of sleep and deadlines are approaching as well as some interest from someone higher up!

This is a humorous and quirky read that I really adored, it is great as a mystery and the one-liners, little snide comments and the unrelenting thick-skinned Banecroft just add to the humour. Magic and special powers work alongside many other phenomena in this story and as I immersed myself in this story I found bizarre things as quite normal.

This is one that those of lighter fantasy and humorous fantasy will enjoy. It is witty and fun to read. There is mystery and magic, the odd body because even though Vampires do not exist, you need a corpse, don't you? I would suggest reading the first book as it does bring you in and introduce you to the characters that you will also find in this second book, and it is also a really good read. This Charming Man is a fabulous read and one I would definitely recommend.

This was great, better then the first even. The plot was tighter and more focused now that the world and the characters are established. Hannah is absolutely smashing it as assistant editor given that the place nearly went in to melt down when she took time off to sort her divorce. Her editor in chief is still largely a drunken tosspot. And she’s not too sure about dating a policeman with an extra eye that pops out of his skull Willy nilly but nobody is perfect.

The Stranger Times team is back! An amusing sequel This Charming Man is even better than the first book!
I loved the previous instalment and I knew that the story will get weirder and weirder…

Well, you have a bunch of vampires for the start, who apparently even according to the most powerful beings known as the Founders - don’t exist. Yet the fangs, blood in the stomach and bite marks says otherwise.
When something unusual as this happens dr Carter needs to involve the best team which understands paranormal activities - The Stranger Times crew.

I absolutely love Caimh’s writing, I laughed out loud many times. I also got upset a few times which was delightful as the writer gives us a bit more backstory info of the characters. Banecroft can be an awful person but there’s a reason for it. I almost felt sorry for the guy.

This book introduces a bunch of great characters which you fall in love with immediately.
It also shows a big paranormal changes coming and has a perfect introduction to the next book in the series. It’s getting more dangerous and exciting!!!

Absolutely must read if you like crime mixed with humour and fantasy. I had a fantastic time reading it, and I’d recommend the story to everyone who needs a bit laugh.

I’ll certainly buy everything else that’ll be published in the series in the future.

Oh man I loved this book. Its just a beautiful mix of Terry Pratchett and Mick Herron, a marriage made in bookish heaven. Vincent Banecroft is one of those rare characters that I instantly fall in love with. A bit of Mustrum Ridcully meets Jackson Lamb.

McDonnell is one hell of a writer. I really need to pick up his back catalogue.

This is the second book in the Stranger Times series, and whilst book 1 was brilliant, it also had to do all the usual ‘setting the series up’ stuff. Book 2 wastes no time, and hits the ground running.

Its hilarious, its dark, its gripping and thrilling. It’s a world I can happily spend all day in. Just go read it and love it. I really do hope theres many more of these.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this free e-ARC of This Charming Man in exchange for an honest review.

I must begin with an explanation - the blurb and the cover had me sold and requesting the galley for this title without making the very obvious connection that this was the second in the Stranger Times series. While I did not enjoy The Stranger Times and This Charming Man shares a lot of its faults, I must admit that the second instalment is much improved and was much easier to read.

I could not say that I found This Charming man particularly memorable past the title, but it was an easy enough read with enjoyable inclusions of the supernatural and comedic moments which would appeal to many.

Well!

Book two of The Stranger Times series was just as phenomenal as the first! I have to admit I was worried, but Caimh stuck the landing with This Charming Man, going further into the world he is weaving with this series left me excited and engaged. Having multiple protagonists each investigating a different strand of the story while filling in essential background information of the overarching story without masses of expository dialogue was fantastic!

I am fully on board with the idea of more books in this series and await book three with anxious expectation.

This series is essential reading for fans of Jim Butcher, Ben Aaronovitch and Kevin Hearne!

Great fun! Dark humour, fantasy, crime and thriller all in one. Vampires in Manchester, battles between good and evil, Stranger Times newspaper on the case...all makes for a perfect bit of escapist fiction.

If you enjoy the likes of Ben Aaronovitch, Mark Stay and Terry Pratchett this will be right up your street.

As other reviews note perhaps read the first book first as this one follows on directly time & event wise. I am off to my local bookshop to get a copy...