I try to avoid book series like the plague (commitment issues). But here we are, and I’d like to start The Stranger Times Addiction Club. I listened to Love Will Tear Us Apart on audiobook, and the narrator Brendan McDonald has made me realise that I’ll probably need to buy all subsequent Stranger Times instalments on audiobook as well (except for the next one - I’ve already read that on NetGalley. Review to follow 🫢). Brendan, you are superb!

Bancroft thinks his wife is still alive and he’s acting very strangely; Hannah (assistant editor) has not only had the cheek to resign, but she’s gone to a spa as well; and an ex-columnist (who never strictly existed) has disappeared. Sounds confusing? Well, that’s The Stranger Times for you!

God, I enjoyed this - these books are always so uplifting (like some of the staff!), and I laughed so much. Which is ideal on your dog walk…

This is a series that I really don’t mind being caught up in at all. Just fabulous!

Another excellent hilarious installment of the Stranger Times newspaper - I love all the characters so much and the way they evolve through every book.
Such a quirky series.
A little nod to Harry Potter with this one I feel.

Fantastic book. I'm a big fan of all of CK McDonnell's work so far. A must or fans of Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.

Another brilliant installment in The Stranger Times series! I genuinely cannot get enough of these books - the characters are as realistic as humanly possible while still being surrounded by fantasy, the plot is always multidimensional and expertly intertwined with each person, and the ending is never predictable (asides from the general the-good-guys-always-win)! Getting an insight into the background of Manchester's most hated editor was yet another bonus of this book, as well as seeing how both Stella and Hannah have developed throughout the series!

After reading the first in this series (which I enjoyed) I didn’t enjoy this as much. Always the way with sequels I find.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I loved this book and loved this series. It wasn't quite what I expected but I enjoyed it none the less.. These are the types of books you return to again and again!

I loved every minute of this series. Very witty, pacy and enjoyable. They are definitely books I will return to again and again as very easy to read and fun too!

I'm finding it hard to put down in words how I found this book. In that I really enjoyed it, but that it defies description. It's a third book in the series, and the previous two books were also very good. So, its been an excellent set to read and well worth my time indulging in the endeavour.
I would certainly recommend this book (and if you haven't yet read them, the previous two) regardless of which genres and authors you tend to like. It's definitely fantasy, but with a twist plus added folklore.
Very enjoyable.

Utterly amazing, as expected! This was my most looked-forward-to read of the year and it didn’t disappoint.

We dive straight in to the mysteries, as we find that Hannah has left The Stranger Times to go back to her ex-husband. No, nope, don’t believe it! See, for this book to really work, you definitely need to have read the previous two first. You need to know how the characters have developed and what has led them to this point and to the decisions they are making. And as this is the culmination of one of the series’ overarching plot threads, you need to know about Banecroft, his wife and Simon Brush.

For established fans, all the old faves return – including the ST staff, Stanley Roker, DI Sturgess, Cogs and Zeke – and we get a brilliant new addition to the team in replacement assistant editor Betty – can we still keep her AND get Hannah back where she belongs? Please?

The main focus of the story is that acceleration and culmination of Banecroft’s own personal hell – a storyline that has been building since the beginning of the first book. And my heart bled for Banecroft. I wept real tears as he finally reaches breaking point, having been tortured in the cruellest way imaginable, via his all-consuming love for his wife.

It’s not all heartbreaking emotional trauma though! We get some fun shenanigans with Hannah on her retreat at the Pinter Institute; Stanley gets a bit more page time and development, and Stella gets to come out of her shell (and the office) more, thanks to Betty (who I picture as a cross between Mary Poppins and Sybil Vimes). Poor Grace takes a bit of a backseat, buried under boxes of paperwork, and Reggie and Ox team up to chase unlikely conspiracy theories (mainly about the royal family).

Fans of the series will love all of this. The characters are as quirky and endearing as ever, even as they are growing and changing; the dialogue is witty; the plot is gripping and a perfect balance of humour and pathos, intrigue and action. Non-fans need to immediately get with the program and catch up, or risk being hopelessly confused by the complex worldbuilding hidden beneath the chaotically entertaining surface.

I need this to be the longest running series ever written. And I need Book 4, now, please?!

Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog

Despite overwhelming proof to the contrary, Vincent Banecroft, the irascible editor of The Stranger Times, has never believed his wife died. Against all chances, it appears he may be proven correct; nevertheless, what lengths would he go to in order to save her?
Hannah, whom we last saw as the paper's steely backbone, has handed in her notice and vanished off the face of the planet, which nobody seems to mind; Vincent is talking to ghosts, possibly not his dead wife, and going more insane, and everyone else is fending for themselves. The gang is all out on their little excursions, so it's a little disjointed, and we receive the payoff at the very end. We have addressed some significant emotional narrative issues, such as Hannah's ex-husband and Vincent's w. Still, there is virtually little about the copper with the alien residing in his head. As a result, this was a mixed bag. Each of these volumes tells a whole story while still fitting into a larger plot arc, and I'm excited to see where this story goes next. It's a unique series, and it's great to read something so distinct.

@Bantam Press @transworld #generalfictionnadult #mysterandthrillers #sciandfantasy

5 of 5 stars
https://lynns-books.com/2023/04/18/love-will-tear-us-apart-by-ck-mcdonell/
My Five Word TL:DR Review: I am loving this series

Okay, let’s just cut to the chase. It’s been a while since I read this book and yet the feeling of absolute adoration for this series still feels strong. So, that being said I’m going to post up the blurb for the book before I begin That way I can focus on my feelings without going into the description too much:

“Marriages are tricky at the best of times, especially when one of you is dead.

Vincent Banecroft, the irascible editor of The Stranger Times, has never believed his wife died despite emphatic evidence to the contrary. Now, against all odds, it seems he may actually be proved right; but what lengths will he go to in an attempt to rescue her?

With Banecroft distracted, the shock resignation of assistant editor, Hannah Willis, couldn’t have come at a worse time. It speaks volumes that her decision to reconcile with her philandering ex-husband is only marginally less surprising than Banecroft and his wife getting back together. In this time of crisis, is her decision to swan off to a fancy new-age retreat run by a celebrity cult really the best thing for anyone?

As if that wasn’t enough, one of the paper’s ex-columnists has disappeared, a particularly impressive trick seeing as he never existed in the first place.

Floating statues, hijacked ghosts, homicidal cherubs, irate starlings, Reliant Robins and quite possibly several deeply sinister conspiracies; all-in-all, a typical week for the staff of The Stranger Times.”

So, for me this is a series that is going from strength to strength. If you love urban fantasy I strongly think you should pick this one up. I can’t deny that the connection to Manchester and all the other connotations are strong for me but I seriously don’t think that alone would be enough to make me enjoy this so much. The characters are great, I love them all and I don’t want any of them to come to harm. The setting is well done. Contemporary, ironic, sarcastic. I mean, I just love it. The plots are original, the dialogue is spot on and I can’t wait to read more.

This is a short review but that isn’t a reflection on how I feel for this book or this series. I heartily recommend this series to readers who enjoy urban fantasy, contemporary settings, batshit crazy happenings, a great cast of characters that feel like ‘found family’. I literally can’t wait to see what comes nest.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publishers, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

Love Will Tear Us Apart is the third instalment of the Stranger Times series and things have gone a bit wonky. Hannah who last we saw was being the steely backbone of the paper has handed in her notice and basically disappeared off face of the planet which nobody seems overly concerned about, Vincent is talking to ghosts about his possibly not dead wife and going more off his rocker than usual and everyone else is basically fending for themselves. They’ll never get a paper out at this rate. I didn’t enjoy this one as much as previous books , the gang is all split up on their own little adventures so it’s a bit sprawling and we don’t get the pay off for that right til the very end. It’s also the dynamics between the characters that’s a key feature of these books and we don’t get much of that at all. We do get some big emotional plot points dealt with such as Hannah’s ex husband and Vincent’s wife but there is very little about the copper with the alien living in his brain what happened to him? So this was a bit of a mixed bag.

I love the mix of mystery, sci-fi, weirdness and humour. Let's have more adventures with the Stranger Tines gang soon please. Can't wait.

The Stranger Times is one of my favourite series ever. It's absurd, hilarious, and so unique!

The third (and hopefully not last) instalment is packed with action! Every character has a role to play in the events orchestrated by the evil Founders. It's really hard to review it without writing any spoilers, but all the little steps and stories leading to the big finale are perfectly plotted. A few unexplained things from the previous books are revealed and everything makes sense!

I loved how the cover and the title suddenly clicked!

I laughed from the first pages! And that's what I need from a book! If you can merge it with a mystery and brilliant, loveable characters then you create something incredible.

Caimh delivers top notch fiction, Partially a crime, partially a fantasy, and the best quality in both worlds.

Love Will Tear Us Apart
(The Stranger Times 3)
by C. K. McDonnell

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre: General Fiction (Adult), Mystery & Thrillers, Sci Fi & Fantasy

This series is such fun. Very unusual, full of quirky characters, weird and wonderful plots and some incredible funny, snarky and sharp lines that could easily be missed. I think in a reread of this series there will be lots revealed that have slipped by me ;-)
Once more there's a mysterious plot, complicated characters, confusing differing sides and The Stranger Times staff caught up in it all.
I thought the title was weird but by the last quarter of the novel it all made sense. In among all the mysterious happenings, the chaos of events, it suddenly made sense and was actually very moving.
Each of these books has a complete story, but also fits into an overall story arc, and I really want to see where this story goes next. Its such an unusual series, and refreshing to read something so different.

Stars: Five, a really fun and different read.

ARC supplied by Netgalley and publishers

The third in this hilarious series took some of the loose ends from the first two and brought them to conclusions unexpected and yet satisfying. There are the laugh out loud quips and comments, but also a fair old dollop of pathos in this one.

The plot fairly trots along, and the baddies are very bad, we cheer the goodies on and sometimes the lines blur. Just read it. You will chuckle and come away smiling!

The third and apparently last of The Stranger Times series does not disappoint. Like the previous books, it's funny (often hilarious) but also quite touching.

It begins with the shocking news Hannah has left suddenly....apparently, to get back with her cheating ex.And Banecroft is being repeatedly haunted by his wife Charlotte. And the new assistant editor.....well, she's certainly a force to be reckoned with! Dark agencies are at work, and without Hannah's steadying hand, the entire staff of TST are soon in danger.

A great series, I wish there were more. But it certainly goes out on a high (but only for medicinal purposes!)

Enjoyed the final instalment in this series. Love the oddball characters, the newspaper office and its rather strange management. The supernatural, the mystery and the comedy.

I’d definitely start at the beginning if you’re coming new, or you’ll be missing a load of character background. An enjoyable romp all round.

What an enjoyable book! I have six avid reader friend whom I have heartily recommended it to!
Can't wait to read the next book from this extremely readable author!

The third, and unfortunately the last, book in this trilogy. Love the writers style, with engaging characters and a page turning plot. I will definitely be looking for more books by C K McDonnell.