This Charming Man

Stranger Times, Book 2

By: C. K. McDonnell

Narrated by: Brendan McDonald

Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

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.

©2022 C. K. McDonnell (P)2022 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"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)

Extremely entertaining

I am a huge fan of the Bunny books and now these Stranger Times books. This one didn’t make me laugh out loud as much as the others but still better and more entertaining than most.

Well done!!!

The narrator does a wonderful job of distinguishing each character and the action that takes place. The characters are very interesting and I look forward to learning more about them, especially Vincent! I thoroughly enjoyed this book!

Entertaining installment, somewhat weak ending

The book faithfully adhered to the storyline of the first in the series and continued to develop the characters. The resolution of the main conflict could have been stronger.

I'll read ANYTHING this author writes!

his Charming Man is the second book in C.K. McDonnell's The Stranger Times series, a series about a newspaper that reports on the weird and wacky.

The employees of The Stranger Times newspaper are back - this time they find themselves dealing with someone determined to kidnap one of the employees while also trying to find out why there is a sudden vampire outbreak in Manchester. Oh - and they still need to write a newspaper!

I loved the first book in this series and I loved this one even more. I loved being back with the original cast and I really loved the new additions we met in this follow up book. I have my fingers crossed they continue to appear in the next book as well.

C.K. McDonnell is a perfectionist when it comes to writing characters. He excels in differentiating them from one another with just a line or two, just a one or two line description that makes sure you never forget them. Usually peppered with a lot of snark, sass and gut-busting hilarity. If there were 100 more books in this series, I'd be the happiest girl in the world.

I highly recommend giving the audiobooks a go because Brendan McDonald is BRILLIANT at giving each character their own voice and personality.

Great author, great narrator!

Loved this book. An outstanding follow up to The Stranger Times. Can’t wait for the next one in the series. Mr. McDonald does a fantastic job of voicing all the characters (and there are a lot!) adding to what is already a wonderful story. Highly recommend.

Bizarre and enjoyable

A strangely compelling listen as we get more insight into how the main characters evolve. Hilarious writing, bizarre imagination and outstanding narration! Still not my genre, but still compelled to hear it through for the sheer entertainment value

Awesome as always

But why didn’t the narrator do Dr. Carter’s laugh??? I love the laugh!! Otherwise perfect.

Awesome!

Loved everything about it. It kept me engaged the entire time.It's a great listen, especially on a long drive.

Great book!

This book, which is the second in the series, continues to develop the characters from the first book, and really brings everything together. The narrator is very good, and brings the characters to life. I’m hoping it won’t be too long before. The next look in the series comes out!

Good fun!

Unique setting, quirky characters, magic, fae, and unexpected plot twists - what more could a girl want?