Some comebacks can be murder . . .

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.

Relight My Fire is the fourth book in The Stranger Times series with books 1-3 being ‘The Stranger Times‘, ‘This Charming Man‘, and ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart‘. The entire series has consistently delivered a high level of enjoyment and entertainment, and this latest addition maintains that standard.

The newspaper team is back. Stella is now at university and the others are plodding on as usual, However, their routine is disrupted when a peculiar incident unfolds: a man seemingly falls—or rather hovers, floats, and then splats on the floor in front of Stella. Despite her lack of involvement in the event the powers that be don’t believe in coincidences and task the team with proving her innocence.

Vincent Banecroft also has a big issue of his own. A pilgrim-looking ghost wants to send him to hell for things that happened in book three, after making a fool of him. Banecroft also has to prove his innocence.

For those yet to explore this series, I can hand-on-heart say it is truly exceptional. Offering an array of unconventional, whimsical, and humorous moments, The Stranger Times revolves around a Manchester-based newspaper team that delves into paranormal and weird occurrences that happen within the city.

Relight My Fire maintains the enthralling, distinctive, and outstanding quality characteristic of the previous books. With celebrities, ex-music stars, ghouls, ghosts, and many more kooky characters the pages flew by and I was kept engaged and immersed the whole way through. The plot was simply brilliant and I loved having the team back, even Banecroft. I now wait eagerly for the next book in the series.

C.K. McDonnell is the paranormal pen name of the Irish bestselling author Caimh McDonnell. He is a former stand-up comedian and TV writer, who now spends all of his time writing books as his dogs don’t like it when he leaves the house.

When not writing about the adventures of the staff at The Stranger Times, he is the author of the Increasingly Inaccurately titled Dublin Trilogy of books featuring Bunny McGarry and the various spinoffs, all of which have been Amazon bestsellers on both sides of the Atlantic. The Stranger Times won Best Audio at the 2023 British Fantasy Awards, a fact Caimh is constantly finding increasingly tenuous ways to casually mention in conversation.

Check out The Stranger Times podcast, available everywhere, and featuring short stories set in the world of The Stranger Times, written by Caimh and read by some of the finest stand-up comedian talent that are willing to do it for the money.

Caimh lives in Manchester with his wife and their two dogs. To find out more about him or The Stranger Times, just google the phrases ‘Caimh McDonnell website’ or ‘The Stranger Times website’ and you can get a free collection of short stories for your trouble!