Relight My Fire
C.K. McDonnell
528 pages
Transworld Digital/Random House UK
January 25, 2024
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This is the fourth instalment in the darkly hilarious Stranger Times urban fantasy series, about the staff of a unique Manchester newspaper which reports on anything that is too weird for the Mainstream press. Donât even think about starting this if you havenât read the previous books – thereâs minimal recap, and youâd miss out on too much backstory. This one – which has our team facing a sinister new villain who has been performing dastardly experiments on unwilling subjects, living and dead – is the best yet.
Junior trainee reporter Stella is minding her own business when a young man suddenly falls from the sky – sending her affectionately over-protective colleagues into a tizzy wondering whatâs going on. Their obnoxious boss has problems of his own – a menacing apparition is threatening to send him to hell if he doesnât solve a problem – but he doesnât know what it is heâs supposed to be doing. And detective Sturgess, resigned to his relegation to the investigation of âweirdy bollocksâ, must put aside his feelings for assistant editor Hannah if heâs to discover just what it is she and her team are hidingâŚ
I love this series – the humour, the parodies, the recurring characters and their complicated and sometimes shifting loyalties. There are all sorts of interconnections with factions from previous books as well as a new plot arc featuring a disturbing plot – and some unexpected cameo appearances! If you like slightly anarchic horror-fantasy, go buy The Stranger Times and dive in, you wonât regret it. 4.5 stars rounded up for making me laugh out loud!
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.
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