This Charming Man Audiobook By C. K. McDonnell cover art

This Charming Man

(The Stranger Times 2)

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This Charming Man

By: C. K. McDonnell
Narrated by: Brendan McDonald
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Brought to you by Penguin.

STOP PRESS! The Stranger Times wins the 2023 British Fantasy Award for Best Audio Work!

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.

'Wonderfully dark, extremely funny, and evocative of Terry Pratchett - which I think is the highest compliment I can give.' ADAM KAY, about The Stranger Times . . .
'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

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

 Crime Thrillers Mystery Paranormal & Urban Thriller & Suspense Witty Contemporary Fantasy Funny Humorous Urban
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Critic reviews

With crisp plotting, scabrous dialogue and deftly applied splashes of gore, former comedian C.K. McDonnell has served up another winner from his cast of delightful losers.
McDonnell makes Manchester chaotic, hilarious, elegiac and sinister at the same time . . . very, very funny . . . the work has already been compared frequently to Terry Pratchett, and given the whip-crack sharp lines and wryness, it is not inappropriate. But it is not a weak clone of Pratchett's work, and it has its own political edge.
Intriguingly brilliant . . . its greatest strength is in its engaging and enthralling characters, both new and old. The author revels in their personalities, their foibles and flaws as they guide you hilariously through an urban fantasy landscape bursting with myth and magic; all often hiding in plain sight . . . perhaps more Gaiman or Adams than Pratchett, McDonnell has a gift for describing the fantastical as delectably formulaic . . . if you enjoy your fantasy peppered with wit and deft creativity, then McDonnell's books will sit comfortably on your bookshelf next to those revered genre alumni.
Fast-paced, brilliantly written, and with characters to die for, This Charming Man will have you laughing out loud time and again.
Clever Humor • Unpredictable Plot • Exceptional Voice Acting • Distinctive Character Voices • Engaging Storyline

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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.

Entertaining installment, somewhat weak ending

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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.

Extremely entertaining

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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!

Well done!!!

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Great narration. Great story
Fun characters
Can’t wait for next.
They should make a movie of it.
I could see depp as baincroft. His great comeback.

Narrator & story

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The story, pace, and performance were excellent.

Entertaining and interesting, with a rich and diverse cast of characters. I think I liked it even better than the first book in the series, which I really liked.

irreverent, sarcastic, shocking and gross but still fun and well executed. the very end sets it up for a third book.

the imagination of the author and the perfection of the narrator/audio performer really struck me, and I've listened to several hundred audiobooks, almost entirely sci-fi/fantasy.

Definitely get it!

Brilliant writing and performance

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