My Five Word TL:DR Review : Goes from strength to strength

I am loving this series.  I really can’t get enough of it and every time a new book comes out I’m  there to devour it in super quick time.  So, so good.

To the plot.  Well think of It’s Raining Men by the Weather Girls and you might have the first clue of how the story picks up.  Literally, Stella is almost hit by a student who seems to have plummeted off one rather tall building – the thing is, shortly before his rapid descent it seemed like he was flying – and so we have the perfect mystery for the staff at the Stranger Times to focus on for their next edition.  On top of this, there appears to be a mystery drug that seems to unlock latent magical ability, Banecroft has been set his very own personal mission by a mysterious Pilgrim – this is a mission that he is very keen to succeed in as the punishment for failure is too terrible to contemplate, and, the powers that be are taking a rather keen interest in Stella and her special abilities and beginning to wonder if she’s too dangerous to be allowed to roam freely.

It is possible that this review may contain spoilers for the previous books in the series, although I do strive to avoid these where possible.  Also, I would suggest you read the other three books in the series.  It might seem like a bit of catching up but it’s seriously worthwhile.

As with the other books in series there is plenty going on here, and as with those forerunners the story eventually pulls together in the most satisfactory way.

The staff at the Stranger Times continue to grow and the author is continuously building the world, steadily but surely placing layer upon layer as each book progresses.

What do I really love about this series.

Well, the author seems to pull a new and unusual mystery out of his hat with each story.  There always seem to be other things going on around that central theme and with each read we discover just a little more of this strange world.

I love the writing.  It’s witty, it makes me laugh out loud quite frequently, so many little bits and pieces tie together, we have people from previous books making repeat appearances and gradually this strange place is starting to firm up into something really special.   On top of that the dialogue is excellent.  There’s banter.  There’s danger.  Terrifying cats.  Brass gnomes with a mission to ‘dig, dig, dig’, ghouls, a hotel for the supernatural and so much more.

The characters feel like a family.  They care for each other.  At least three of them now permanently reside at the Stranger Times office and frankly, it may be the safest place to be right now.  Strange things are afoot.  I really like Banecroft – he’s such a grump but his bark is worse than his bite.  Then there’s Hannah who is still suffering embarrassment over the DI Sturgess ‘situation’ (Sturgess is now officially in charge of – and I quote – all the ‘weirdy bollocks’ that goes on in the City – frankly I think he’s going to need a bigger team).  Stella is now a part time student doing her best to blend in (right up until the flying body incident) and the rest of the team – well, they’re mad as a box of spiders.  I would also say that this instalment brings to us the most unexpected bunch of characters that you can ever hope to meet in a kind of ‘celebrity meets 28 days later’ type zombie thing.

Put simply.  I can’t get enough of this series.  I love the setting, the titles are all brilliant and fit so well, Manchester is such a great setting, the cast are wonderful.  What can I say?  Just read it (please) if you love a bit of clever urban fantasy with fantastic imaginings going on.  I’ve found the perfect series for myself with this one and I love the way that it’s literally a mad mad mad mad world and yet all the mundanes are simply going about their regular lives without a care in the world and no idea that they’re surrounded by the strangest things imaginable.

I know I’ve probably missed out so much in this review but, I have to leave something for you to discover yourself and also you may hopefully glean from this just how much fun I’m having with each new instalment and be intrigued enough to go and grab a copy of the first in series.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

My rating 5 of 5 stars