THE STRANGER TIMES

WHAT IF THE WEIRD NEWS IS THE REAL NEWS?

- Rhian Drinkwater

Author CK McDonnell

Publisher Bantam Press

In the brave new digital world, it’s sometimes not seen as enough to have just a paper-and-ink novel. No, what people want, we’re told, is a full brand: a way to immerse yourself wholly in a world. That’s exactly what author and comedian Caimh McDonnell has created with The Stranger Times. It’s a novel about a newspaper of the same name – but if you want more, there’s also an ebook of short stories by a variety of authors, In Other News; a short story podcast; and a website packed with news and classifieds from the world of the book.

Of course, you can still just read the novel; happily, it’s a pretty good one. Hannah is newly divorced, desperate for work but lacking in experience. She stumbles into a job at