This book was fantastic. A creepy and horrific story with unrelenting suspense and a twist I didn't see coming.

Daniel experienced a life changing moment as a child. He could have changed the course of history, but his fear made him freeze.

Now as an adult working with male offenders, he returns to his island home when his father goes missing. It appears that his Dad was investigating a cold case and that he left clues for Dan to find.

As Dan pieces together the clues he is forced to revisit the past and he realises that there is a serial killer targeting a specific group of people.

It's a race to find this man before he can carry out his final acts of violence.

Compelling writing that kept me gripped from beginning to end, this was a brilliant thriller that would translate so well into a film.

Alex’s books get better and better. If you like your Crime and mystery books nudging into the supernatural (for example John Connely’s Charlie Parker series) you’ll lilije North’s work. No plot spoilers or even details here, but have done a full (and very complimentary) review over on Interview Room One.
Highly recommended

I love Alex North's writing and was so happy to pick up a copy of this book. The book follows a young boy who after a chance meeting on his way home with a man in a service station only to find out later this was a serial killer.

I enjoyed the twists and turns of this book with the dual timelines. I found the small island setting to be very atmospheric and I was on the edge of my seat throughout waiting to find out what happened in the past and what was happening in the present.

I would highly recommend this book.

Having read most of the books written by Alex North, it is fair to call myself a fan.
This one however although a very decent read is not my favourite one to date.
Still looking forward to reading his next one nonetheless.

I really enjoyed this book. When Dan was 12 years old he had a chance encounter with the serial killer known as the man made of smoke ar a service station and he was too scared to help the boy he had with him. He has been haunted by this ever since. Now he has a successful career as a criminal psychologist. He returns to the small island where he grew up when his father has disappeared, suspected of committing suicide. It turns out his father had discovered a dead body prior to his disappearance and Dan soon starts to see links to the past. This is a real page turner with lots of twists and turns that will keep you guessing to the end.
Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
Copied to Goodreads.

I enjoyed this gripping novel a lot. The portrayal of the isolated island life ,the relationship between the main character and dis father and the after effects of a traumatic experience many years ago was well done. Recommended.

Excellent thriller, one told with suspense and a chilling storyline, but also one written with sensitivity and a sense of real human emotions and loss. 4 star rating.

Another excellent read from Alex North. I’ve read and loved a few of his books and he is one of the few authors that I automatically request without reading the blurb.

This is dark and there was one particular point in the book that I held my breath while reading - it was very intense.

If you like suspense thriller books you will love this.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #MichaelJoseph,PenguinRandomHouse for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

The Man Made of Smoke is the kind of novel that lingers in your thoughts long after the final page. From the first chilling line, “You never forget the day you meet a serial killer”, you're pulled into a layered, atmospheric mystery that’s as much about guilt and memory as it is about murder.

Dan, a criminal psychiatrist burdened by a traumatic encounter from his youth, is a deeply compelling lead. His return to the island where it all began feels like coming home to a place that no longer fits, claustrophobic, secretive, and loaded with buried truths. The tension builds steadily as Dan’s search for his missing father begins to blur with the hunt for a killer who may never have left.

What makes this book stand out is how it weaves together past and present, trauma and truth. It asks uncomfortable questions about culpability, about what we remember, and what we choose to forget. The writing is sharp and evocative, the pacing pitch-perfect, and the twists genuinely surprising.

If you're looking for a smart, unsettling psychological thriller that delivers both emotional depth and page-turning suspense, this one’s not to be missed.

Brilliant , just brilliant..
I have really enjoyed all of this authors novels and always look forward in anticipation for the next one.

I read the description on NetGalley and I instantly had to request this!
I was engrossed from the first page and could not put it down! "Nobody Sees, and Nobody Cares" has stayed in my head since reading this.
Alex North has did again with this story!

Just read this!!! Also, if you've not been introduced to Alex North's books before and you're a fan of masterful suspense writing I'd highly recommend you seek him out. People have said that this felt like a slow burner, however I read this in one day, something I've never achieved before! There are no 'cheap scares' here, just pointers that ratchet up the tensions in the readers minds...and this has been done extremely well!

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this brilliant book....read it!

Thank you to NetGalley for letting me read my first Alex North Book, The Man Made of Smoke. This is thriller that will keep you thinking from the fist to last page. Look forward to reading more by Alex North.

This was quite the slow-burning thriller, and I don't mean that in a good way.

It started very well with a creepy prologue that reminded me of Alex North's writing in The Whisper Man, which I loved. The book lost momentum as it went on, and by part 4, it was dragging on. I wanted it to just end by then. What I liked was the father-son dynamic and getting to know the same events from both their perspective.

Thanks to Netgalley and Michael Joseph for the e-copy.

What a great read, keeps you guessing until the end. Told in a different way, with different timelines.

Definitely recommend to fans of crime novels.

An excellent story by Alex North, who will go straight in as a favourite author of mine. Following on from an incident when he was a child, this haunts him always. Going back to his childhood home when his father goes missing leads him straight back into the memories that have haunted him his entire life. Is this all connected and how? He delves deep to try to understand what is going on, but the deaths keep happening, and he feels he can solve them, but how? This will keep you reading all night as you just cannot put it down, you wonder if things will happen quickly enough. Highly recommended by me, and I am looking forward to Alex’s next book. This is another one to add to your summer reading list.

The Man Made of Smoke is a slow-burn psychological horror that blurs the line between myth and memory.

Alex North expertly weaves folklore with real-world trauma. The titular figure which is more legend than man, becomes a haunting metaphor for inherited fear and buried pain.

This book explores themes of grief, and childhood fear. It doesn’t rely on jump scares, but instead it builds an atmosphere, and makes you feel extremely unsettled.

And like Dan says “You never forget the day you meet a serial killer.”

My only cons were how the pacing was quite slow in parts, and no real clear answers were given throughout.

Not my absolute favourite book ever, but a good read, non the less. A solid 3.5 star read.

The Man Made of Smoke by Alex North is the story of Dan Garvie whose life has been haunted by a crime he witnessed as a child,narrowly escaping an encounter with a serial killer. This led Dan to become a criminal profiler, eager to seek justice for his innocent victims.
When his father dies in suspicious circumstances, Dan returns to the small island community he grew up in, hoping to find answers to his father’s death. As with all Alex North’s novels there is suspense, terror and many twists and turns before the finale. A story of father and son’s and a childhood blighted by nightmares.
Highly recommended

Hmm, I'm a little conflicted on this book. I was a abig fan of North's previous book The Whisper Man. It was eerie, atmospheric and captivating all in one! So, of course, I had high hopes for The Man Made of Smoke. Unfortunately, I didn't love it but at the same time, I didn't dislike it.

The main point for me; it took me about a month to get through, which is rare. I'd pick it up, read a few chapters and it'd be a few days before I read any more. There was nothing really drawing me back. However, when I did read it I enjoyed it! I found the pacing slow but the tension and drama built nicely, it was atmospheric and there were little creepy moments sprinkled throughout to keep you spooked.

So, as I said, I'm conflicted! It felt very middle of the road to me but I'm sure others will read and adore!

Thank you to Michael Joseph for this gifted advanced copy!

Absolutely brilliant! The way the different character and periods of time all come together slowly but so cleverly to knit together such an enthralling story is genius. I read this in one sitting because it kept me guessing and I just couldn’t devour it quickly enough. The way it flits from the past to the present and casts suspicion on various characters is so smart that you’re left guessing until the very end. Even after I finished the book, I had to sit with it for a couple of minutes still to get it all right and straight in my head. Sinister but superb! Loved it!