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A review by shanaqui
The Stranger Times by C.K. McDonnell
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The Stranger Times was an entertaining read that didn't really leave me curious enough to want more. The idea of the paper and the disparate people making up the team, almost a found family, does work for me -- but it takes the book so long to get to the part where they really start investigating that it felt a bit directionless.
That's an unfair thing to say, really, because there are a few plot lines/character arcs running through it: there's the mystery of the first death and then the second, there's Hannah's mid-life crisis, and there's the whole problem of getting a paper together and printed... But it just didn't quite gel for me: there was so much time with Hannah just figuring out how the paper even works that it felt odd to then switch to the rising action thread of the plot. I feel like the paper needed to get involved in that aspect a bit sooner, perhaps.
Character-wise, there's some intriguing stuff going on: I have questions about Grace's multiple deceased husbands, and of course there are questions about Stella, and what is going on with Banecroft? But at the same time, I'm not curious enough about it to be in a hurry to read more, and probably won't. It doesn't help that Banecroft is so foul to his employees and generally disgusting.
Anyway, I found it enjoyable to read, mostly, but it just didn't quite push the right buttons for me.
That's an unfair thing to say, really, because there are a few plot lines/character arcs running through it: there's the mystery of the first death and then the second, there's Hannah's mid-life crisis, and there's the whole problem of getting a paper together and printed... But it just didn't quite gel for me: there was so much time with Hannah just figuring out how the paper even works that it felt odd to then switch to the rising action thread of the plot. I feel like the paper needed to get involved in that aspect a bit sooner, perhaps.
Character-wise, there's some intriguing stuff going on: I have questions about Grace's multiple deceased husbands, and of course there are questions about Stella, and what is going on with Banecroft? But at the same time, I'm not curious enough about it to be in a hurry to read more, and probably won't. It doesn't help that Banecroft is so foul to his employees and generally disgusting.
Anyway, I found it enjoyable to read, mostly, but it just didn't quite push the right buttons for me.