That style, combined with its central location of Manchester, my home, will always mean I have a soft for this series. The humor is all based on these weirdos interacting with each other in a very immediate sort of way. Banecroft’s life revolves around waiting for ghosts to appear so he can talk to his deceased wife, convinced her spirit is in trouble. His debut novel, A Man With One of Those Faces - a comic crime novel - was published in 2016 and spawned The Dublin Trilogy books and the spin-off McGarry Stateside series.

The characters all become familiar in a very short space of time and so much so that you are rooting for them all the way through.

Hannah has left The Stranger Times for an exclusive retreat exploring the benefits of giving her marriage a second try.

I was pleased to pick out the ‘correct’ fictional conspiracy theory, which sub-plot was excellently put together. About ten years ago when the UF genre exploded I never lacked for anything to read but these days the genre seems to have dried up and I’m looking for something fresh and new! We dive straight in to the mysteries, as we find that Hannah has left The Stranger Times to go back to her ex-husband. Don't get me wrong, the first two had some of those, but at this point everyone has to say those things and it's a bit tiresome. Some of them have a retort for everything, and within the Times, that made sense because they are a close-knit group.McDonnell brings us his standout cast of characters, we get the same main cast from The Stranger Times as well as cameos from some of our standout side characters, but what I love is that with each book he seems to take us deeper into the world of the magical. As promised in the blurb this book resolves a few story arcs that have been with us since the beginning of the series and adds a few more besides.

Outlandish, entertaining and very energetic Love Will Tear Us Apart is kooky and fantastical, a riotous experience, one not to be missed. While all is a go at the paper we are also tracking what is happening with Hannah who has agreed to go to a "celebrity clinic" type facility at the behest of her ex husband. I would not suggest you read this without having read the previous books, as the stories, and characters, follow on from previous novels.

When Hannah Willis, his assistant editor, suddenly hands in her notice and decides to go to a celebrity health spa with the possibility of her getting back together with her wayward husband, Vincent does a doubletake. We catch up with the gang, as chaos reigns, and we're introduced to a new assistant editor Rosie, who is a great character.

There is serious creativity here and if you are looking to escape the chaos of today’s society, then these books might just tick the right boxes for you. Hannah has gone back to her husband, Betty the new assistant editor is stranger than your average journo, Grace is up to her ears in an audit, Stella is struggling with her new powers/career/past and Banecroft is .If you enjoy your fantasy on the quirkier side, are ok with outlandish theories and love a good talking dog whose actually a human then I cannot recommend this series enough. The tempo sometimes lulled a bit too much for me and I felt like I wanted the whole thing to move along a bit quicker. The opening chapters show us a Banecroft in even worse shape than before, and his odd behaviour has only gotten worse. A few months after the events of This Charming Man, the staff are reeling from the sudden departure of amiable Assistant Editor Hannah - who has apparently decided to forgive her cheating husband, and unconvinced by her replacement, bossy Jelly Baby-proffering jolly-hockeysticks Betty.