Relight My Fire by C.K. McDonnell

Relight My Fire by C.K. McDonnell
UK Publication: January 2024
Reviewed by: Book Worm
Rating: [★★★]

This ARC was provided by Random House UK (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review.

Magic, mayhem and murder = delicious fun.

Synopsis from Goodreads: 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. This isn’t just the hunt for another story though. 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. 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 one-man 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 Thoughts:  Any book set in the Stranger Times universe is an auto read for me. I love this world.

While the mystery part of the books is great it is the characters that really bring life to this strange world and this book is no exception, new characters and old favourites abound. I love the developing relationships, the in-house arguing, the witty one liners and of course all the “weirdy bollocks” throw into that an adorable but formidable new character in the form of Brian and my heart was happy.

Who would like this? Fans of the previous books will appreciate this latest addition as will anyone who likes their humour on the childish side and doesn’t mind sweary characters.

We want to hear from you! Have you read this book? What did you think?