Manchester is beset by strange events. People are flying, albeit briefly. Others spontaneously combust yet survive with no memory of what happened. When questioned, all they remember is having a quiet night in watching Lawrence of Arabia. And dead bodies are going missing. Who better than the skilled team from The Stranger Times to investigate? And quickly, as it seems erstwhile editor Vincent Banecroft has only a few days to solve the mystery before he is dragged off for an eternity of suffering.

You could be forgiven for wondering if author C.K. McDonnell could continue the high standards set in the previous three novels of The Stranger Times series, but fear not, as the fourth instalment, Relight My Fire, is perhaps the best since the original.

Whereas the previous two books have been rather complicated in places, with a multitude of characters with an ever-increasing number of plot threads coupled with an ever-expanding mythology, Relight My Fire is a much tighter, more centred affair. Here, we have a clear baddie, a sex-crazed witch with a penchant for reanimating the dead. The team is also together for the majority, leading to more of the entertaining interactions that were perhaps missing in the previous novel. And there is less involvement with the Founders, the powerful group that controls this world. This means there is air for McDonnell’s prose to breathe, allowing his warmth and wit room to luxuriate. The relationships between the members of The Stranger Times are by far the best aspect of these works, and with Relight My Fire, you get that in abundance. And also a ghoul named Brian.

RELIGHT MY FIRE is out now.