Relight My Fire is the fourth book in The Stranger Times, a new series of books, written under the pen name C.K. McDonnell.  The series has been described as perfect for fans of Terry Pratchett, Jim Butcher, Ben Aaranovitch, Douglas Adams, or, y’know, Caimh. 

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.

What people are saying

It’s no secret that here at SciFiTowers we’re massive fans of the Stranger Times series by C. K. McDonnell. Following the success of Love Will Tear Us Apart (which made February 2023’s list of best books), he’s back with book number four and we return to Manchester and the world of The Stranger Times newspaper who cover anything weird and wonderful. SciFiNOW

I loved the dry and embedded humour of this book, it’s the stuff of life . . . the whole thing is great fun. ― SFCROSWNEST

An absolute riot of a read. DAILY EXPRESS

Laugh-out-loud funny and full of colourful characters. DAILY MIRROR