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)

Tremendous Fun!

I only wish C.K. - otherwise known as Caimh-pronounced-Queeve, wrote faster, because I love his work.

A lifetime of reading and writing now means that I listen to most books, in order to avoid annoying double vision. (It so complicates driving...) This means that I have to wait even longer for Caimh's new books to appear. But I have to say that Brendan McDonald's performance makes it well worth the wait, and this book in particular is really unsurpassed in that respect. Always an able reader, McDonald really hits his stride here. The man's voice is amazingly flexible, and he has created specific tone and style for every character - enough so that I know who is speaking within two or three words. There are a lot of characters to work with here, and McDonald has invested each with personality and spirit. He voices McDonnell's work so well that I couldn't contemplate, now, returning to simply reading. I have a rich and vivid imagination, but my internal reading voice couldn't begin to do what McDonald does. His voicing of the little old lady neighbor to the Tombs deserves its own shrine - he brings everything he has to every voice, and what he does with this short, but delightful character appearance is just wonderful.

I always begin to run out of superlatives when reviewing Caimh's work. He's one of my very favorite living authors, and with each novel he comes closer to my personal Terry Pratchett award - that being, the author most likely to fill the void left by Pratchett's death (and the removal of most of his unabridged Discworld novels from the Audible catalog - though I hear they're to be redone now. Finally. Very annoying to find that several I purchased have now vanished. Thanks, Audible... I get that they weren't perfect, but they were what I HAD!)

But I digress, as is so often the case. A note: the Pratchett inheritors couldn't go wrong selecting Brendan McDonald as reader - unless it leaves him unavailable to Caimh, which would be a bloody shame.

Caimh's work reminds me of Pratchett's in its clever humor and plotting, but what I actually notice most is an equivalent kindness, a recognition of our foibles and failures, and what feels like a quiet love for us humans, at our best AND our worst. This basic love has always shimmered through Pratchett's work, and I see the same glimmers here. If you haven't read Caimh O'Donnell's work, I envy you, because you're in for a glorious discovery process.

Caimh also shares with Pratchett a genuine love of writing, and this has meant that he brings us many extras. Much of his work in the Bunnyverse - how he refers to his Dublin "trilogy," and the Stateside books - is available on Kindle Unlimited. If you join his mailing list, he'll likely send you a free story collection, "How To Send A Message." It's surprising, very enjoyable, and fascinating food for thought.

Caimh has also brought us TWO podcasts, The Bunnycast and the Stranger Times podcast. The second contains a number of short stories about Stranger Times characters you won't find elsewhere, and they're free! More hours of listening pleasure.

I cannot recommend this book - or any of Caimh's work - highly enough. They're all funny, clever, thoughtful, and full of heart. Give yourself this gift.

CK McDonnell genius

I have spent my weekend listening to the witty creations of author Caimh (C.K.) McDonnell of Stranger Times podcasts, Stranger Times, and now, This Charming Man. Of the last title, all the story ends are cleverly tied together with brilliance and it seems, an eye toward future books in the series. A bit of paranormal activity, harsh reality, and wordplay. I love this book, this hopefully series, and the author's brain, Wonderwife, and even the acknowledgements.

Urban Fantasy in Ireland

Well, I love the Dublin Trilogy (gone past 3 books, but no complaints) and I love this series too. There isn't one particular character that I have latched onto yet with this series, but enjoy the ideas and what happens along the story line. This book kind of made me cringe a bit at the very beginning - the humor felt forced - but then the story settled down. I don't think these characters have hit their stride yet, but I love these first two books and hope for me. Great narration.

Yeah, really great

Love the story, writing , and performance. I'm looking forward to exploring more of the series.

Another great story.

Can’t wait to listen to the third book. Fun listen. Highly recommended. I plan to listen to the entire series.

Love everything except....

Spoiler!.
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Grace does something so stupid it dragged me out of the story completely. I felt that the character was betrayed by having her goodness twisted into being dangerously naive.

Good fun!

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

A wild & original ride

Very clever and quirky. It has a hint of John Irving with respect to the characters and events. If you enjoy this, read his other novels too.

This Charming Man

C. K. What’s His Face takes full advantage of the set up established in Stranger Times to launch right into great and funny storytelling in This Charming Man. Inventive, demented and not to be missed.

Interesting twists and turns

I enjoyed the story while driving alone. Made the trip go faster. Looking for next book.

Just wonderful.

Only read the first one in the series a few months ago. But I pre ordered this and couldn’t wait to get it.
I have chosen to listen to these instead of reading just because of the narrator. The accents. The way he tells the story really brings it to life. Just wonderful.
The story was so funny and I loved hearing the characters develop from the last book.
Off to buy the actual books now!!

Incredible book

This is even better than the previous book which was ground breaking and hugely original.
An absolute must for any fan of comedy or fantasy.
Genuinely laugh out loud funny (several people on the same field as me when walking the dogs now thing I am weird).
Cannot wait for #3

Fantastic narration

Talented narration; hilarious characters and a plot which veers between Hammer horror creepy and laugh out loud slapstick. Brilliant! Can’t wait for the next

More please

I read the Stranger Times first then this one, a sequel. The narrator is brilliant. I kept reminding myself that I really should be reading Great Literature , not this stuff... But now I really miss Banecroft and his bunch of misfits. Clearly the ending allowed plenty of scope for another sequel. I can't wait! Meanwhile I am going to start on the Dublin "Trilogy ".

Really enjoyed it

Another brilliant book in the Stranger times series, really well written, great story, strong characters, very funny in places, the narration is top class I give it
6 stars, if you're looking for a great book this is it , but you need to listen to book 1 Stranger times first, which is as good as this one, really looking forward to the next instalment,

Fabulous Series, brilliant narration

I fell across this series by accident but I’m so glad I found it. Two great urban fantasy stories, narrated brilliantly for audible. Can’t wait for the next book in the series.

Entertaining

Supernaturally good.Funny with brilliant narration.So glad that next instalment is waiting in my library. Recommended

Great listening

I love these books so different great characters and really well narrated if you like Quirky give them a go

I love this series!

Brilliant - laugh out loud moments, fabulous characters - I want a job at The Stranger Times! Narration excellent, story engaging cannot wait for book 3

Brillant.

It was like catching up with old friends. Read beautifully by Brendan McDonald, as always.