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Thursday, September 30, 2021

The Stranger Times by C.K. McDonnell

 "Publication seeks desperate human being with capability to form sentences using the English language. No imbeciles, optimists, or Simons need apply."

The plot:  Hannah Willis is desperate. She's newly divorced, broke, and has no job experience or real job skills. Still, she's not sure she's desperate enough to join the staff of The Stranger Times. The newspaper reports on the bizarre, the weird, and the unbelievable. Even stepping inside the office, which is housed in an old church, feels like stepping into a looney bin. When Hannah arrives for her job interview, Reggie, a reporter on the paranormal, is on the roof, threatening to jump, and Bancroft, the paper's bombastic and often drunk editor, is threatening to shoot him. 

The other employees of The Stranger Times include Ox Chen, the paper's avowed ufologist, Stella, a snarky green-haired teen who was caught breaking into the church and now works there in penance, and Grace, the office manager. They're an odd bunch, and not always welcoming, but Hannah really needs this job. 

Things get even more surreal when several unexplainable incidents around Manchester make Hannah and the others start to wonder if some of the fantastic stories The Stranger Times prints each week might actually be true.

My thoughts:  This is one crazy fun book! It combines dark humor, dark magic and a mystery compelling enough to get even Bancroft out of his office and onto the streets of Manchester to investigate. I thought the bad guy was very unpleasant and creepy, but I grew to really like Hannah and all the other oddball and quirky characters working at The Stranger Times. Their humorous interactions made me laugh and kept me reading late into the night. I thoroughly enjoyed this one, and I'm so glad McDonnell is writing a sequel. And I really want to thank Verushka for reviewing this book on her blog POP.EDIT.LIT; it was her review that made me want to read this one in the first place. 

Happy Reading!


Similar Read:  Ghosts of Gotham



35 comments:

  1. This sounds like such a fun read. Glad you enjoyed it so much. :)

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  2. This does sound fun. The sentence you quote at the top is hilarious.

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    1. It gets even funnier when you find out who Simon is. :)

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  3. This sounds like so much fun! I'm gonna have to check it out. :D

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    1. It was a fun read. And unique which I liked.

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  4. That's definitely an interesting premise for a story. I really like the sound of this one.

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  5. Sounds like a lot of fun...love that job ad.

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    1. Isn't that the best ad? It's even better when you meet the Simon it refers to. :)

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  6. This book does sound like a hoot! Thanks for the review to bring it to our attention.

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  7. this sounds scandalously intriguing... your post makes me want to read it also!

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    1. It's definitely unique and a little bit crazy at times, but I enjoyed it. :)

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  8. Replies
    1. I really liked it. I wasn't sure at first, but once I was a few chapters in I was hooked.

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  9. Sounds like an unusual story! Glad to hear you loved it. I might have to read this one. :)

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  10. Hi Lark this is a very interesting idea for a novel in which people work for a magazine that publishes articles on the paranormal and the weird. I know I would like Hannah. My only worry is that her coworkers may be too eccentric? The hope is that despite the offbeat quality they are well drawn characters but this sounds like a book worth checking out.

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    1. None of the characters are too offbeat or annoyingly eccentric. (Though they might seem that way at first.) They're just fun. And Grace, the office manager, is very normal. So she's a good balance for the rest.

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  11. If any book is going to mix up dark humor and dark magic so well, it's going to my TBR pile immediately. And that cover is wonderful too!

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    1. I was a little skeptical at first, but by the middle I was completely hooked. And I loved the end.

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    1. I liked the combination of dark magic and humor. And I really liked these odd characters.

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  13. Sounds like fun and a bit strange too!

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    1. It is strange, but that's what I liked about it. :)

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  14. "a reporter on the paranormal, is on the roof, threatening to jump," Okay I love the idea of this newspaper, for one. I would never have probably seen this but it sounds like a riot!

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    1. The people in this one seem so crazy at first, but also easy to like. And I loved everything about their weird little newspaper.

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  15. This sounds so fun! And, that line you quoted is gold. Will have to look for this one.

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  16. The Stranger Times sounds like a good read. A bit quirky and fun. I will have to check this one out. Thanks for bringing it to my attention!

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    1. I enjoy quirkiness and humor in books, too. And this one has both. :)

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  17. This sounds like a fun read! :)

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