Alex North is a must read author for me and I was excited to pick up his latest, The Man Made of Smoke. I listened to this novel on audio and it definitely provided a different experience than I feel physically reading it would have.

I enjoyed this novel but I didn't love it. There was quite a bit going on with various timelines and narrators, multiple mysteries, and layers to the (many) investigations. I think I would have been better able to keep track of everything had I been reading the novel rather than listening to it. The narrator was good but the accent was strong and there weren't multiple narrators to play each part (which is always a struggle for me).

I also slightly expected this novel to be horror-adjacent and it wasn't at all. The title was explicitly woven into the novel several times but I still don't get quite how it fit (probably a me a problem!).

North did a tremendous job keeping me guessing and ultimately tying his many storylines and mysteries all together. I appreciated that there wasn't one nice bow tied at the end, yet there were no loose strings or lingering questions.

All in all, I enjoyed this but it's not likely to stick with me. If you've enjoyed North in the past, definitely pick up but maybe grab an ebook or physical copy over the audio.

Thank you to Celadon and MacMillan Audio for the copy.

This is a dark, atmospheric book that, while a slow burn, was quite gripping once it sucked me in. The author does a good job of building tension and there were plenty of twists I didn't see coming. Recommended!

Alex North never disappoints. While I consistently strike out on most crime thriller writers, he continues to hit every single note. There’s always at least one moment in each book that catches me off guard and sends a chill right down my spine, and they’re always the perfect blend of horror, crime, and maybe just that hint of potential supernatural. It’s typically up to the reader to decide whether that part is real, since everything can be explained rationally, but it gives it that little bit of something more. I devoured this one much like the last two, desperate to chase down every clue and unravel every mystery. The mix of old and new serial killer cases makes this plot especially intriguing, and North expertly weaves them together into one horrific portrait. The atmosphere of that rest stop is so vivid, so visceral, that it calls up hazy memories of road trips past and hangs over every page of the book.

I think this book’s only shortcoming is that it’s just so sad. All the victims of the past killer are children, and it makes those chapters especially difficult to linger on. I enjoyed the present timeline a lot more. Dan doesn’t really stand out among North’s other narrators; they’re typically just normal guys who had something terrible happen to them once, but I did enjoy his backbone in standing up to his shadows, both real and imagined. I also adored the connection between Dan and his father. That difficult relationship is at the heart of the novel, and despite its complications, it’s ultimately about a father and son who love each other very much. I’ll definitely be looking for a copy for my shelves. I received a free e-ARC through NetGalley from the publishers at Celadon Books.

I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.

"The Man Made Of Smoke" by Alex North was a very interesting but disturbing book because of its subject matter. The book does show the reality of child abduction, and the fact that abductors don't have to look like monsters. The psychological aspect of the story was fascinating. The plot had many twists and turns, and I was surprised by the ending. The storyline held my interest all through the book, and I tried to solve the crime along with the main character. I would recommend this book for people who enjoy mysteries and thrillers. Readers should check the trigger warnings before reading this book, especially parents.

5 stars. I would definitely recommend this book.

This is the perfect example of a dark, psychological, atmospheric serial killer thriller! Different POV and different timelines, voices and just thinking about the whistling now gives me goosebumps. North delves into the mind of the killer and those forever impacted by his actions. Dark and haunting but it also has another side as it delves into a father/son relationship and overcoming guilt for things that we many wish we had done differently, even though we did our best at the time.
The Pied Piper – named for the children he took – is still having an impact long after his death. Daniel Garvie, now a psychologist and profiler has to once again face his guilt over an encounter with the serial killer years later when his father’s suicide is prompted by his renewed research into these crimes.

Alex North was the first thriller author I think I ever read and he remains my favorite. While other thrillers tend to fall into various tropes of main characters making questionable (at best) decisions, North's characters tend to have expertise and a background that makes it logical for them to be tracking down a serial killer either with or without police support.

North's books lean into the psychological thriller aspect as opposed to the more pop thriller side of the genre (if you can understand my meaning).

That does mean they lean more on the dark side of the genre, so I definitely don't recommend any of his books to those sensitive to abuse, murder, torture, psychological manipulation or harm done to children.

Despite the dark subject matter, this book is also full of hope there is an underlying theme of broken relationships and desires for restoration and particularly relationships between fathers and sons. There is also quite a bit of exploration of guilt and the decisions we carry with us and the things we can and cannot be blamed for.

If you're a fan of thrillers and can handle dark subject matter, I highly recommend Alex North. The Shadows is my favorite of his, but I think The Man Made of Smoke has become a close second.

Pleased with the latest from Alex North. Much better than The Angel Maker. The twist was definitely big for me! I also enjoyed how the isolated aspect of the island mirrored the isolation Dan created for himself at his job in the prison.

Another extremely solid thriller from Alex North! This one was absolutely chilling, fascinating premise, and deliciously dark in the way I've come to know and love from Alex North. I can't recommend enough for anyone interested in a "is this paranormal or all in my head" type of thriller!

Couldn't really get into this one, but I've heard great things so if you're a thriller lover, give it a go.

Loved this! I've enjoyed every Alex North book I have read, and this was no exception. It had me guessing until the end. Totally recommend!

Alex North is baaack!! This time, it's all about a serial killer, The Man Made of Smoke. Dark, suffocating, suspenseful... although this slower paced book didn't quite have me at page one. It did manage to seep into my psyche and wrap its creepy tendrils around me.

Dan returns to his childhood home after he hears that his dad, John, has disappeared, presumed dead. While looking through clues that led his father to possibly kill himself, he discovers a cold case that John, a retired police officer, had been working on. The case is familiar to Dan as he was a witness when he was twelve years old. He saw a young boy being kidnapped while he and his dad stopped at a restroom on a road trip. While in the restroom, he hears the kidnapper say, "Nobody sees. Nobody cares." Dan, frozen and scared, does nothing to help the boy.

This book had many layers. It was more than just a mystery thriller. It delved into guilt and remorse and the impact it had on Dan, John, and their relationship. The story was told from multiple perspectives - Dan, John and a kidnapped victim.

The pacing was on the slow side. It took time to get into the first half while the second half galloped along. The mystery itself was riveting and unpredictable.

Thank you #NetGalley for an audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This is a great story! The identity of the killer completely baffled me. Every time I believed I had deciphered a clue, I was proven wrong. Good job, Alex North!

Alex North is great at writing a suspenseful tale full of trauma, grief, and redemption.
This book starts dark and gut-wrenching and ends in a way I wasn’t expecting. Full of shocking twists in the present timeline and visceral fear in the past timeline, this book was in true North form.
I found the pacing a bit too slow for my usual taste. I thought the twists were well done but for some reason, this book just didn’t click with me the way some of his previous works have.

Alex North does it again!

After enjoying his other work, my expectations going into this one were pretty high, and boy were they met! This book had me hooked from page one. A bit of a slow burn, with the second half ramping up, this book was gripping, creepy, haunting, emotional and I could not consume it fast enough. This may be my favorite book of his. I will absolutely be recommending this book to everyone in my store!

If I could give this book six stars I would. I had never read Alex North but had always seen his books. I am so happy to have dived into this head first. I finished this in one night and proceeded to read three of his previous books within a week of finishing "The Man Made of Smoke". I love North's ability to immerse you in the setting with ease. The trauma caused through out generations shows in various ways and how we all cope with traumatic events in multiple ways, even negative. You never know who may be harmless and who may be committing atrocious crimes. I'm hooked and Alex North will now be an auto buy for me. Don't miss out on this dark thriller.

I've read and four0star enjoyed the author's The Shadows and The Whisper Man, so I was pretty excited to check out this one. Alas, it turned out to be a much more ordinary, by-the-numbers killer-on-the-mission thriller. There was one unique/interesting twist to the killer's MO, but the rest of the book was rather cliched and predictable, and the writing was lamentably flat.
It's perfectly readable but utterly forgettable. Much like the titular man, it's mostly smoke that dissipates shortly after reading. Thanks Netgalley.

Nobody sees, nobody cares.

An absolutely chilling read. If you’re looking for a thriller, full of suspense, that you can’t put down… this is eat.

Alex North is the master of dark thrillers. This is a haunting read about grief and trauma that culminates in a deeply disturbing and mysterious.

A great, dark read.

This book had me from the first chapter and didn't let go until the very end.
After being a witness to a crime as a child, Dan Garvie has never really been able to let the experience go. Now a criminal profiler and clinical psychologist working with the incarcerated, he believes there are no monsters, only men. When his father goes missing, presumed dead by suicide, he returns to his hometown. While digging into his disappearance, Dan reenters the nightmare of his youth. This was a real page-turner for me.

Tense and psychological with a smoldering creep factor. A layered thriller that lingers with quiet dread. A great new release for North fans!

Alex North’s The Man Made of Smoke is a brooding, atmospheric thriller that blends folklore, psychological horror, and the author’s signature emotional depth. While the novel contains flashes of brilliance—particularly in its vivid imagery and haunting premise—it ultimately falters under the weight of its own ambition, delivering an uneven reading experience.

Set in a tiny island community, the story revolves around a series of uncanny deaths and a mythical figure known only as the “Man Made of Smoke,” a local legend that seems to be bleeding into reality. North excels at creating an unsettling tone, layering dread over every page with his lyrical prose and talent for sensory detail. The setting is one of the book’s strongest elements—claustrophobic, mythic, and alive with menace.

The protagonist, Dr. Daniel Garvie, a prison psychiatrist, returning to the village of his childhood, serves as a vehicle to explore trauma, memory, and the power of stories. North’s thematic interests are clear and compelling, but the character work feels thinner here than in his previous novels like The Whisper Man, (even though that was not a favorite of mine). North tends to like to write about the complex relationships between fathers and sons. However, the emotional stakes never fully land, in part because the relationships are underdeveloped and the pacing drags in the middle act.

Plot-wise, the novel leans into a metafictional style, weaving real-world horror with supernatural ambiguity. This approach works in theory but struggles in execution. The narrative becomes tangled in its own symbolism, and the mystery—while intriguing—never quite pays off. By the final third, the suspense is diluted by repetitious introspection and cryptic exposition.

Still, North fans will appreciate his commitment to psychological complexity and moody storytelling. The Man Made of Smoke is not a bad novel—it’s just one that never quite decides what it wants to be. With tighter plotting and more grounded characters, it could have transcended its genre trappings. As it stands, it’s an atmospheric slow burn that casts a memorable shadow, even if the fire underneath never quite catches.