Vampires do not exist. Everyone knows this. So it's particularly annoying when they start popping up around Manchester .
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.
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This Charming Man is the second book in The Stranger Times series and even though I liked the first one, this one felt a lot more like the mature, older brother.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the start of the series, but I found myself breezing through This Charming Man, unable to put it down.
I cannot quite put my finger on it, but I found the start a little awkward, couldn’t tell you the exact reason why because overall I enjoyed it. I just found the transitions a little hard to follow.
However, you can feel a huge change right from the start of book 2. The narrative flow has changed, and things feel more serious and dare I say, spookier. Hannah returns to the office, now divorced and is immediately thrown into the next drama. It's the Stranger Times after all and things are always odd, but this time? This time things are straight up bonkers. There's something weird in the air (and on the streets) and it is up to the Stranger Times gang to figure out what, or who is the cause of all this mayhem, especially since it's starting to irk some particularly powerful folk.
This time around, The Stranger Times gang feels more refined and polished. You get a real sense of authenticity and the transitions between offer so much more depth than before.
I cannot quite put my finger on it, but I found the start a little awkward, couldn’t tell you the exact reason why because overall I enjoyed it. I just found the transitions a little hard to follow.
However, you can feel a huge change right from the start of book 2. The narrative flow has changed, and things feel more serious and dare I say, spookier. Hannah returns to the office, now divorced and is immediately thrown into the next drama. It's the Stranger Times after all and things are always odd, but this time? This time things are straight up bonkers. There's something weird in the air (and on the streets) and it is up to the Stranger Times gang to figure out what, or who is the cause of all this mayhem, especially since it's starting to irk some particularly powerful folk.
This time around, The Stranger Times gang feels more refined and polished. You get a real sense of authenticity and the transitions between offer so much more depth than before.
The narrative just felt more... real and immersive. And I'm not just saying that because when I first started book 2, I read into the night, and around 2am got spooked by a shadow... a shadow that later turned out to be just a pair of trousers hanging over my wardrobe door. Yup, that happened.
That's what you want though isn't it, a book that becomes so immersive, you freak out over a pair of trousers.
That's what you want though isn't it, a book that becomes so immersive, you freak out over a pair of trousers.
All jokes aside, it was an honest pleasure to read This Charming Man and to ponder where the series might end up. The plot was brilliantly paced with an enhanced mix of humour, snarky dialogue, and delicious charm. Banecroft consistently amused me, and it was nice to see a more vulnerable side of him.
Funnily enough, Vincent Banecroft turned into my favourite by the end, and you could tell the author had fun writing his erratic dialogue. Saying that though, I adored seeing Hannah as the lead, her character now a little more established, felt very authentic and I loved that. Compared to book 1, the transitions and differing POV's offered much greater depth which made it so fun to follow along.
CK McDonnell has an incredibly unique voice and I think that’s what makes his writing such a success. As someone with an overgrowing reading pile, I'm really pleased to have picked this up as it is quite rare to find a book with this level of charm, humour, and wholesome energy.
Are you going to pick it up? Have you read it already or are you saving it for spooky season?
What were your thoughts? Let us know.
Funnily enough, Vincent Banecroft turned into my favourite by the end, and you could tell the author had fun writing his erratic dialogue. Saying that though, I adored seeing Hannah as the lead, her character now a little more established, felt very authentic and I loved that. Compared to book 1, the transitions and differing POV's offered much greater depth which made it so fun to follow along.
CK McDonnell has an incredibly unique voice and I think that’s what makes his writing such a success. As someone with an overgrowing reading pile, I'm really pleased to have picked this up as it is quite rare to find a book with this level of charm, humour, and wholesome energy.
Are you going to pick it up? Have you read it already or are you saving it for spooky season?
What were your thoughts? Let us know.