Book 2 of The Stranger Times
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.
Published 17 February 2022, This Charming Man is the second book in C. K. McDonnell’s critically acclaimed The Stranger Times series.
What people are saying:
‘A gag-filled romp … in the spirit of Terry Pratchett. Ripping entertainment from start to finish.’ The Times
‘I loved this book. Great premise – great story – great characters . . . hugely enjoyable.’ JODI TAYLOR, bestselling author of The Chronicles of St Mary’s series
‘A filmic romp with great characters, a jet-propelled plot, and a winning premise’ ERIC BROWN, The Guardian
‘Wonderfully dark, extremely funny, and evocative of Terry Pratchett – which I think is the highest compliment I can give.’ ADAM KAY, bestselling author of This is Going to Hurt
