#BookReview of #RelightMyFire by C.K. McDonnell | @Caimh

Some comebacks can be murder . . .
– Relight My Fire

[ About Relight My Fire ]

Stella is enjoying life as an almost student, or at least she is until a man falls from the sky right in front of her, leaving a big old hole in the pavement for Manchester Council to fill. The obvious question of how he ended up in the sky in the first place has no obvious answers, which is where The Stranger Times come in.

But this isn’t just the hunt for another story. Dark powers think Stella might have been involved and the only way she and the team can prove her innocence is to find out what the hell is really going on. And what have dodgy gear, disturbed graves and a decommissioned rock star got to do with all this?

Vincent Banecroft has problems of his own in the form of a tall, dark but-definitely-not-handsome man dressed like a funeral who has been sent to make the paper’s editor atone for his sins. Once he finds out exactly what that entails, Banecroft is not keen. Being banished to a Hellscape for all eternity looks like being no fun at all, not least because he has that pale Irish skin that burns really easily . . .

All that plus territorial ghouls, homicidal felines, eternal (and seemingly unstoppable) gnomes and a celebrity Who’s Who that’d put a royal wedding to shame, and you’re looking at a wild few days for The Stranger Times.

[ My Review ]

Relight My Fire by C.K. McDonnell is the fourth book in the ‘acclaimed and brilliantly funny’ Stranger Times series and is published today January 25th 2024 with Bantam (Transworld). It really is no trade secret that I am a huge fan of this highly entertaining Irish writer. Caimh (C.K.) McDonnell first came to my attention when I read his Dublin Trilogy with the infamous Cork cop Bunny McGarry and I’ve been on the sideline since as a massive supporter of his work. I have reviewed most of Caimh’s work which you will find on my blog but, just to make it easy, I will leave these three reviews from this wonderful series here – The Stranger Times, This Charming Man and Love Will Tear Us Apart.

The Stranger Times series is set in Manchester and you may well notice that three are named after songs, with bands, The Smiths, Joy Division and Take That, all originating in Manchester. Also you should take a peek at The Stranger Times Newspaper as Caimh has created an actual wacky paper, consolidating his dedication to these books and to his trade!

Vincent Banecroft is editor-in-chief at The Stranger Times, a Manchester-based newspaper dedicated to the weird and utterly deranged, but also with an underlying purpose. Attracting a wonderfully eclectic workforce, The Stranger Times produces a weekly newspaper featuring a slew of far-out tales with a spooky slant. These tales are primarily reporting the wacky goings on in the lives and imagination of some folk but hidden among them are truths. These truths, if revealed, could seriously damage the world as we know it…

McDonnell has created a modern society that is kept in order by other-worldly beings. These others are living amongst the ordinary but have extraordinary talents. When portals are cracked or when the eccentricities of some people stray too far, it is these others that maintain the status quo and prevent mayhem from breaking out. The balance is delicate and The Stranger Times newspaper is central to order being maintained and disorder being kept under wraps.

Banecroft and his crew have seen too much to be shocked by what they witness but in Relight My Fire they are about to face a new nemesis with a hunger for power and a desire to be infamous. Vincent Banecroft was a has-been in journalistic terms. He is angry, complicated and a very challenging employer, yet his team are loyal and are always on-hand to assist. A fearless and gutsy bunch the staff of The Stranger Times include, among others, Stella, a young woman with a special, but untamed, power, a naked Rastafarian with issues, a religious and law-abiding receptionist and Hannah, Banecroft’s right-hand woman.

Stella is living under a constant threat, so the rest of the team are very protective of her. Now attending college, Stella is trying to live a normal(ish) life until a body drops out of the sky landing at her feet. This inexplicable act is the beginning of a trail that leads Stella and the team down a very dark and sinister rabbit-hole. Banecroft has his own stand-off with a deathly pilgrim that links back to a previous case. His time on earth could have a very hellish ending if he doesn’t complete a very strange request in an allotted time frame. Are you still with me?

I love the absolutely brilliantly batty nature of this series. I think it’s fair to say that McDonnell’s imagination has no limits whatsoever. With his comedic background, his wit never lets up, even in the darkest of moments, producing vivid and riotous scenes with outrageous characters and top-notch dialogue. I don’t normally veer toward urban fantasy but I will always make an exception when it’s written by ‘the white-haired Irishman‘ that is C.K. McDonnell.

Relight My Fire is the fourth book in this series and I’m guessing (hoping) that there will be more. Pure entertainment and escapism, this series just keeps on giving. You can read each book in its own right but I do recommend that, as Julie Andrews says in The Sound of Music, that you ‘start at the very beginning. A very good place to start’

Unconventional characters, bizarre scenarios and cracking banter are just three of the ingredients that make up this series. Offbeat and imaginative Relight My Fire is another outstanding addition to this fantastic series. Keep them coming Caimh!!

[ Bio ]

Born in Limerick and raised in Dublin, C K (Caimh) McDonnell is a former stand-up comedian and TV writer. He performed all around the world, had several well-received Edinburgh shows and supported acts such as Sarah Millican on tour before hanging up his clowning shoes to concentrate on writing. He has also written for numerous TV shows and been nominated for a Kid’s TV BAFTA.

His debut novel, A Man With One of Those Faces – a comic crime novel – was published in 2016 and spawned The Dublin Trilogy books and the spin-off McGarry Stateside series. They have been Amazon bestsellers on both sides of the Atlantic. As C. K. McDonnell, he is the author of The Stranger Times series, a contemporary comic fantasy series.

Caimh lives in Manchester.
Website ~ whitehairedirishman.com
X ~ @Caimh