A slow burn to start with, this novel picks up in the second half, big time.

I felt so bad for Dan and what he must have gone through, carrying the guilt with him for so long. And then his dad being haunted for so long by the case that couldn't be closed.

A great reflection on guilt and inaction and how that affects people and their relationships. Creepy in places and definitely one you will not be able to put down.

The writing in this book made me want to carry on reading the book to the end, despite finding the timeline a bit difficult to follow in places.
This is set in three different pov's in a variety of timelines, present, just in the past and years in the past. Sometimes it would jump without warning and it took a minute for me to catch up but the writing and the premise of the book made me want to carry on.
I enjoyed the suspense and mystery in the book.

This was a good book , kept you gripped and wanting to read more but it took me a while to get into. But once I did I couldn't put the book down

The number of disappearing children is a worldwide scandal - the pain and fear of those children and their families cannot be imagined. Dan, a psychiatrist, witnessed a child in distress when he was a child and lives with the guilt and regret of not having sounded an alarm. He uses a profiler’s technique for tracking the man made of smoke, who was believed dead. I met a profiler some years ago - Micki Pistorius, a South African forensic/investigative psychologist and author – who described the technique to chllling effect.
I loved the mental connections and conversations, and the nudges from Dan’s missing father. The voice of one of the missing children is woven throughout the search, the relationships and the ongoing murders. Some clever misdirection ensures you are likely to miss the sly introduction of The Man of Smoke. Great psychological thriller.

A haunting tale of a father and son both traumatised in different ways by a serial killer targeting young boys. Written over two timelines, it is a slow burn of a novel but the characters are compelling and I was hooked til the end.

I chose to read a free eARC of The Man Made of Smoke but that has in no way influenced my review.

I've been waiting very patiently for a new book by Alex North for a while now. So imagine my joy when I discovered a new release was imminent! I loved this authors first two books - The Whisper Man and The Shadow Friend. Loved them! I found myself comparing the author's work to another favourite author of mine, C.J. Tudor (that's a collaboration we all need in our lives!). There's a creeping, eerie edge to the storytelling. Ominous things happening to normal everyday people. A bit of a chill in the air. If you're familiar with this author's earlier books I'm sure you'll know what I mean! I was excited to see what North had in store for us next. And oh my goodness, The Man Made of Smoke is a wonderfully intense, highly emotional tale. I loved every second I spent in its company. Heartfelt and real, unnerving, unsettling and completely immersive.

Daniel Garvie will never forgive himself for not acting that day. At the age of twelve and on the way home from the zoo with his parents and Sarah, his best friend, they stop at a service station. Whilst there Daniel sees something that he immediately knows isn't right. But instead of acting, instead of raising the alarm, he freezes. Too scared to do anything. Allowing the Pied Piper Killer to claim another young victim. Now Daniel is a successful criminal psychiatrist. When he receives a call from the island to say his father has gone missing, Daniel returns home. To the familiarity of the island, to a whole host of familiar faces, to people who know exactly what happened to him all those years ago. But with nothing to do whilst the police look into John's disappearance, Daniel begins his own investigation. It soon comes to light that just before John vanished, he discovered a body. Could this be Daniel's chance at redemption? Can he finally right a wrong that has haunted him every day since that fateful day in the service station? And more importantly, can he discover what has happened to his father...?

The Man Made of Smoke is a highly atmospheric read that's chock-full of heart and very nearly had me blubbering like a baby at times! Gosh, the emotion is strong in this one. Poor twelve-year-old Dan. Not a little boy anymore but not yet a man. Seemingly all alone in the grotty service station toilets until someone further along the corridor of WCs starts to whistle a tune. Shudder. Dan immediately knows something is wrong as outside the whistler's cubicle stands a small, skinny boy. Dan knows he should do something, ANYTHING, but the fear takes hold, so he locks himself in his own cubicle and hides away until he is sure the strange man and the terrified, emaciated boy have left. Literal goosebumps. I could feel the fear emanating from the page. My heart broke for Dan. For the situation he found himself in and for the utter helplessness he felt. This one incident influences everything in Daniel's life from that day forward. So much trauma, so much for a young lad to deal with. But this is only the beginning. There is so much more to this intriguing story than initially meets the eye.

Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. The Man Made of Smoke is a chilling, eerie, atmospheric tale with well-defined characters and a highly intriguing plotline. I enjoyed the island setting, the isolation of the woods and the overarching sense of impending doom that the author has delivered so well. I thought all the characters, including the secondary characters, were strong and contributed something to the story. A special mention to the way the author has written the children in this novel. I was on the verge of tears at multiple points thanks to how believable they are and how invested I had become. My heart broke multiple times. All in all, The Man Made of Smoke is an engaging, compelling tale about the effects of trauma and how one moment can define an entire future. There's a wonderful, ever-present sense of unease which builds over the course of the book to a tense and unnerving conclusion. I loved every moment. Recommended.

I chose to read and review a free eARC of The Man Made of Smoke. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.

This book was incredibly slow. At first, I was really intrigued but after the first few chapters, I struggled to get through the next 100 pages. I did love the whole idea of the plot but I just wish that this book was interesting the entire way through.

This book was about Dan who had encountered a famous serial killer in his childhood. Years later, still impacted by this trauma, he returns to his small town after receiving unfortunate news about his father. Upon investigating the suspicious circumstances, he notices the links to the serial killer from his past.

I thought the writing style was quite unique. There were flashbacks and multiple POVs. I loved Dan as the MC. He had depth and was really well-written. There was also a small subplot with Dan and a girl from his childhood. The second half of thid book was amazing. It was tense and there was no way of guessing what would happen next. The plot twist was completely unexpected and the whole story was a really interesting concept and had real life lessons intertwined.

Dan has been haunted his whole life by a crime he witnessed as a child. He has spent his life dedicated to becoming a professional profiler. When his father passes away under suspicious circumstances Dan returns home to uncover the truth. Is it possible the monster from his childhood has returned.
I Struggled to follow this to start with but I think that was a me problem. Once I got into this the second half of the book had me hooked. Some of the descriptions in this book were so tense and had me on the edge of my seat. Will be looking to read more of Alex North backlist ☺️
Thank you to Netgalley, Michael Joseph and Alex North for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book as its another thriller that seems to be all the rage these days but I actually enjoyed it. Strong character development. The plot flowed at a nice speed. I liked how the main character tried to get into the heads of the other characters to try and figure out their motives. Reminded me of the characters in the tv programmes Hannibal and Mindhunter.

Will be reading more by this author.

Highly recommend this book.

Another creepy tale from Alex North. I had to read this one with the lights on. Fast paced and thrilling, I highly recommend

“Nobody sees and nobody cares” says the man

I was hooked from the first chapter - wow
Alex North your definitely a winner for me

Excellent, well paced mystery and kept me flipping pages due to the suspense, gritty, twisted and the creepiness of the story

Thank you to Netgalley, Michael House and Penguin Random House

Creepy, creepy and more creepy.
Just as good as the Whisper Man. It lures you in and doesn’t let go.

This is the third Alex North that I have read and he can always be guaranteed to keep me on the edge of my seat. On the way home from a family outing, Daniel Garvie pops to the loo when his father, policeman John, pulls into the service station. In the loos he sees a boy about his own age standing outside a locked cubicle where someone is whistling. The boy is terrified and seems to be silently asking Dan for help but when Dan hears the lock on the cubicle door being pulled back, he hides himself away until the boy and the unseen man leave with the man stopping outside his cubicle to whisper “nobody sees, nobody cares”. Dan later realises that this unseen man is the infamous serial killer the Pied Piper and he realises that he had a lucky escape, but he also is consumed by guilt that he never saved the boy. Many years later and Dan is a criminal profiler. Then he receives a call that his father is missing and is believed to have committed suicide. Dan returns to the island where he grew up, meeting up again with Sarah who was his childhood friend and the old school bully, Liam, who is now a police officer. In his father’s office, Dan sees that the fateful day at the service station had also been gnawing away at his father. Now retired, his father had been carrying Out his own investigation into the Pied Piper, even though the man had died many years previous. However, what Dan does realise is that new killings show that the Pied Piper is back and his father has been trying to connect the pattern between the recent murders, but now that he is absent, he is passing on the baton to Dan. This book is full of suspense and the opening chapter - straightaway the author weaves the sense of menace within the words. He hooked me. The story is told in multiple voices, but mainly Dan and his father’s, as well as different timelines that eventually merge. There are twists and chills as Dan follows the clues left by his father. A book that touches upon the relationships between fathers and sons. A excellent read

A little vague at first, though I did get into the book after a couple of chapters. Based on an unnamed island somewhere in the British Isles(?) , this book is quite a harrowing read where there is child abuse and murders. Dan is a profiler, his father an ex policeman and their lives were changed when Dan, himself a child, came into contact at a service station with a boy around his own age who appeared to be a victim of "the pied piper" who picked up and killed young boys. Although the subject matter could be quite upsetting at times, the book documents Dan and his father, John's investigation into this killer, both in the past and in recent times when people who were also at the service station at the same time are disappearing. The relationship between Dan and his father is also well described and explored as their life courses diverge and they seem unable to reconnect .
All in all a good read, worth perservering if you don't immediately connect (as I didn't) at first. CErtainly not a pretty tale, but well written. Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC

3.5⭐This is my first book by Alex North so I have nothing to compare it with, I must admit that I did get a bit confused with the different narrators, and different timelines not always with any indication, it isn't a book that you can readily put down and pick up again, especially the first part of the book, having said that, once I got into it I found myself getting more emersed into the story.
Dr Dan Garvie, a prison therapist, received a phone call from Det. Liam Fleming, a voice from his past, he and Liam had locked horns a few times during their school days on the island, there was no love lost between them but the phone call was to inform Dan that his father had died, died in circumstances that Dan found suspicious, Dan left the mainland looking for answers.
What follows is an unfolding story of a serial killer know as The Pied Piper, a killer that dragged memories and guilt from Dan's past.
Dan's father, John, a retired policeman, had left Dan a series of clues, he had been painstakingly hunting the killer but the body count kept escalating.
This is a very complex murder mystery, the voices that Dan hears are verging on the supernatural, all in all it is a good story that a lot of people will love but it wasn't really for me.
Thank you Net Gallery for this ARC, my review is voluntary.

Alex North manages to write books that really get to me and give me the creeps, this book was no different. He wove a mysterious storyline and crafted the perfect creepy read. Such a great book but leave the lights on when you read it!

Dan is a criminal psychiatrist who has a haunted past.
Many years ago he saw a notorious serial killer. A man who was silent and mysterious, a vanishing man, one made of smoke.
It’s a period in his life that haunts him, so when he’s told his father has gone missing and a body has been found, he has no choice but to go back to the remote island of his past and look for answers.
Is this something new, or is the ‘man made of smoke’ back? But the question that keeps haunting Dan is, did he ever leave?
I’ve enjoyed every book Alex North has written so far, but this one is on a new level.
It’s not only atmospheric and haunting, it’s wonderfully written. I love a book that keeps you guessing and on edge at the same time, and this one delivers.
Maybe his best book to date.

Retired policeman John's car is found near a cliff and it appears he has committed suicide . His son Daniel ,who is now a psychologist working in the prison system, is notified and returns home. Moving in to his father's house he finds box files relating to various crimes John has been looking into since his retirement..One case in particular seems to have been having a lot of attention. This case is mainly concerning missing boys from years previously.It turns out that Daniel had been an eye witness at one of the disappearances, seeing the victim in a toilet at a service station.Following information found on John's computer Daniel along with his ex girlfriend Sarah ,who he has met again since his arrival home , follow up on these files and discover the truth behind the disappearances,

When he was a teenager Dan Garvie witnessed something that still haunts him. He was sure of what he had seen and felt bad that he had done nothing to help, but was convinced by others that he saw something else.
In the present day he is a criminal profiler and gets a phone call that his father is missing presumed dead. He goes over to the island he grew up on and his father still lives. He finds his fathers files (he was a policeman on the island until he retired) and deduces certain things about his father's disappearance.
The timeline flits between now and then and we can see what happened then.
A suspenseful mystery which will have you page turning to find out what happens.

The man made of smoke is a clever, slow burn thriller that builds tension and keeps you turning the page.

Dan Garvie returns home to a close knit community on the island when his dad goes missing and is feared dead.

Looking into what has happened to his dad causes Dan to face his past. When he was younger a close encounter with a serial killer called the pied piper has shaped the rest of his life and could be the reason for his dad going missing, with the police suspecting he has taken his own life.

The weaving of past and present and narrators works effectively in telling the story and the plot was cleverly orchestrated.

An enjoyable and thrilling read.