I love this author's work, but this one is not his best. A prison therapist returns to his island home when his retired father dies, only to relive a childhood trauma that seems to be continuing today. The chapters go back and forth between past and present, and change points of view often, both of which can sometimes cause confusion. Although this book is lacking a bit and is not the author's best, it is still worth reading. Thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for providing an ARC.

Second favorite novel by Alex. Read this book in one sitting! This is a must read! So well written! Kept me guessing until the end!

I found The Man Made of Smoke to be a deeply gripping and haunting story that stayed with me long after I finished reading. I was immediately drawn to Dan’s journey, and I felt his pain and determination as he returned to his small island community to confront the shadows of his past. The way Alex North weaves together suspense and emotion is masterful, and I couldn’t help but feel immersed in Dan’s search for answers, questioning whether the nightmares of his childhood had truly come back to life. I appreciated how the story explored not just the terror of facing a killer but also the emotional complexity of family bonds and unresolved trauma. I found myself reflecting on the weight of secrets and how they shape our lives in ways we don’t always realize. The vivid descriptions and layered narrative made every twist and revelation feel both chilling and impactful.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a suspenseful thriller that goes beyond the surface to explore themes of loss, resilience, and the courage it takes to face the past.

Book review 📖

📜The Man Made Of Smoke
✍️Alex North
📠Celadon Books
📚Mystery/Thriller Fiction
🗓️Pub date: May 13, 2025

⭐️⭐️⭐️

✨Thank you @NetGalley and @celadonbooks for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

✨After barely escaping a brief encounter with a notorious serial killer in his youth, Dan Garvies dedicates his adult life to criminal profiling and seeking justice for those who have no voice.

✨The suspicious disappearance of his father brings Dan back to his small hometown, determined to get answers. What he might get is more than he bargained for.

✨With dueling narratives between Dan, his retired police officer father, and victims of a deranged killer, this is a riveting cat-and-mouse game that leaves you begging for more at the end of every chapter.

✨This book had me terrified. I was holding my breath and the hairs on the back of my neck were raised the entire book.
I wish there would have been a deeper dive into Dan’s profiling career or hinting at cases he had worked on. It’s mentioned in the synopsis, and characters allude to it, but there isn’t much about it.
Sometimes the narratives could get a little confusing, and felt that the ending was a little disjointed, but overall it was good.

#netgalley #themanmadeofsmoke #alexnorth #celadonbooks #advancedreadercopy #arc #bookreview #bookstagrammer #bookstagram #springreleases #thrillerfiction

What are we haunted by more often: the ghosts of what we have done, or the ghosts of what we haven't and what we could have? That is the question posed by Alex North's newest, The Man Made of Smoke. This book is, on the surface, a compelling and intriguing thriller, but underneath is a story about relationships between fathers and sons, told just as strongly between the perspectives of both Daniel and his father John. Both men have been impacted by the haunting events at a rest stop during Dan's childhood, in ways that have impacted their lives as a whole and their relationships with themselves and each other.

This is what I have been craving from a serial killer novel. The connections, twists, and depth of this story are expertly crafted and keep you engaged. I absolutely loved North's debut, The Whisper Man, and The Man Made of Smoke is just as strong. The perspectives of father and son, both trying to solve the crime that changed everything for them in an effort to make the other proud of them and restore their bond, parallel so nicely, and the cases they are both trying to resolve creep under your skin in the perfect way.

I think this is going to be an ideal option for thriller fans and those who love crime fiction. Add this one to your TBR ASAP because you're going to want this one in your list for May 2025.

((While the viewpoints shared are my own, I want to thank NetGalley, Celadon Publishing, and Alex North for this complimentary copy.))

"The Man Made of Smoke" is an unequivocal five-star read! I found it utterly captivating and couldn't set it down. The story follows Dan Garvie, a criminal profiler, who returns home after the mysterious death of his father, a retired police officer. This return stirs up memories from Dan's childhood when his family encountered a serial killer. As the narrative unfolds, the lines between past and present begin to blur. I was enthralled by how the plot gradually revealed the complexities of the serial killer's character across both timelines. The atmosphere was undeniably dark, prompting me to ensure my door was securely locked while I immersed myself in the story. This is undoubtedly the best thriller I've encountered in quite some time!

My gratitude extends to Net Galley and Celadon Books for providing the ARC for this review.

Alex North does it again with his newest thriller! He grabs you from the beginning and doesn't let you go until the final page. I've read all of North's books and he doesn't disappoint with " The Man Made of Smoke"!

Alex North is a master of his craft and his books are all masterpieces, and with this new novel he has delivered once again. I truly honestly may say it don't hate me but I think I just may have liked this one better then The Whisper Man. Dan Garvie has spent his entire life haunted by an encounter when he was a young boy, narrowly escaping a serial killer but not helping the young boy who was a victim at that time. Present day, he has become a criminal profiler, trying to make up for that day as a child. Similarly, his father, a retired police officer, has passed away under suspicious circumstances that point to the direction of the same serial killer returning with a vengeance. Dan returns home to investigate his father's death and face the traumas of his past. I would absolutely recommend this book if you enjoy psychological thrillers and mysteries. It is dark, but it is absolutely worth the read.

Alex North continues to be a favorite author of mine and his newest novel did not let me down. From the first page I was pulled in and didn’t want to put down. I would give this 4.5 stars, only because in some areas I felt there was too much detail and maybe went on a tad long. I will definitely recommend to any thriller reader. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

3.5 stars
North's books always keep me hooked until the very end, which I enjoy as it makes my brain work to figure out the details. This book was like that as you had to know a little more than you already knew in order for it to come together. ****Caution- some spoilers ahead.

Daniel is a therapist for inmates who have murdered and tortured their victims. Gruesome, huh? Why choose this field? Well, an incident in his youth brought him too close to one of these murderers and left him and his family scarred as well as the victims and their families. Should he have intervened when he could have? Maybe, but then again, he was just a child himself.

It cut into his relationship with his dad as much as with his own conscience. It is now many years after the incident and someone is seemingly revisiting that case and people are missing or dead, all with ties to the original incident. John, his dad, was a police officer and spent his retirement years trying to figure out cold cases such as who committed these crimes. Now John is missing and presumed dead so Daniel has arrived to try to figure things out.

Thank you NetGalley for an advance reader copy. Honest opinions expressed here are my own and are freely given.

Alex North is truly one of my top favorite thriller authors. The Man Made of Smoke is another fantastic thriller by him that only proves him to be a master of the genre.
This was a dark, psychological thriller that dealt with the power of guilt, revenge, and justice, as well as with family relationships. I enjoyed Dan’s thoughts throughout the story that he used to try to profile the killer and figure out what happened with his father. The twists were fantastic and I did not guess who the murderer was - an automatic win for me in any thriller. I fell into Dan’s thinking easily - he was very well-written. The character development was great, the cast of characters intertwined wonderfully without being too complex, and the overall plot was dark and twisty and just great. I devoured the last 50% of this.
Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for letting me have an e-ARC of this!

Alex North hits a home run in this dark, creepy thriller about a serial killer and the man who had a brief encounter with him as a boy. But it’s also a story about guilt, the relationship of a father and son, and ultimately forgiveness granted to the child you once were.

Beware that once you start this novel you will not be able to put it down. So grab a drink and a snack and settle in with one of the best thrillers I’ve read in quite some time.

Another home run from Alex North. The Man Made of Smoke is a story of trauma and regrets. It’s about boys and their fathers and those grown up boys and their fathers. It’s about belonging and being seen. It’s also about hiding from everything you fear. And while all of these themes are prevalent, none of them override the absolute thrill ride the story takes you on.

I Really do enjoy his books! The best thing about the book to me is they live on a island, Dan Garvie goes home because his father still lives there and John is told he is missing/Dead. He has either fell or jumped to his death. John learns a lot about his past and how it may be connected to his Dad's death or something in the past. It's suspenseful and hopeful at the same time. We want to learn what happened and what might happen with him and a old friend who is married to the sheriff. Is he going to help at all? So many questions and ideas come about. Great book. Thank you for letting me read early/first NetGalley!

The Man Made of Smoke is a dark, suspenseful thriller about a serial killer seeking justice.
Dan Garvie was just a child when he came face-to-face with a serial killer and one of his victims. That unsuspecting run-in would shape Dan's future, his father's future, and that of many others. The past intertwines with present day as Dan returns to the small island he grew up on when he hears news of his father's suspected suicide. The timeline goes back and forth between Dan and John Garvie (Dan's father and a retired police officer), which was a little disorientating at first. The pacing and character development was very well-done. While there are a lot of books related to serial killers, this one does have a unique plot, and I was not expecting who the murderer turns out to be.
A good creepy tale of vengeance, guilt, and past trauma. Recommend!

The Man Made of Smoke by Alex North is an enthralling exploration of grief, memory, and the shadows of the past. Blending psychological depth with chilling suspense, the novel follows Dan Garvie as he navigates the eerie secrets of his childhood island. North masterfully layers twists and revelations, keeping readers gripped until the final page. This is a haunting tale about facing the monsters—both real and imagined—that shape our lives.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for providing an eARC of The Man Made of Smoke in exchange for my honest review.

“Nobody sees,” the man says. “And nobody cares.”
An absolute masterclass of how to write a serial killer novel.
Dark, atmospheric, tence, white knuckle read from start to finish.
Alex North is a master of his craft and his books are all masterpieces, and with this new novel he has delivered once again.
I can see this book topping the best sellers chart as soon as it is published on 8 May 2025.
Welcome a new serial killer, The Pied Piper, who even after his death his far reaching impact is still being felt throughout the island and keeping his story alive by the book The Man Made of Smoke by Terrence O’Hare, billed as the definitive account of the Pied Piper killer and the children he took away.
Daniel Garvie comes back to the island when his father goes missing from a suspected suicide and on his return all the past collides with his new life, forcing his hand into an investigation of his own, especially when new murders are taking place.
I don’t want to say something that will give any of the plots or twists away, the book blurb has all the information you need so I won’t say anything else about the storyline and characters, just believe me when I say, this is a must read and that you will definitely want to pre order this book now so you can jump straight into reading it as soon as it is published.
The Man Made of Smoke will be published on the 8 May 2025 and is available to preorder now.
This is definitely high up on my list of top 10 best books I’ve read this year it’s that good!

Dan Garvie has spent his entire life haunted by an encounter when he was a young boy, narrowly escaping a serial killer but not helping the young boy who was a victim at that time. Present day, he has become a criminal profiler, trying to make up for that day as a child.
Similarly, his father, a retired police officer, has passed away under suspicious circumstances that point to the direction of the same serial killer returning with a vengeance.
Dan returns home to investigate his father's death and face the traumas of his past.

**A perfect dark thriller that kept me up at night, but definitely note some triggers in this book that could be upsetting for some.

Alex North is one of my favorites, and it’s yet another great thriller from him. I adore a good serial killer vibe, and Dan is one of my most recent favorite characters to follow along through all of his trauma. Couldn’t put this one down.

Ok, this book was a “clear your schedule” type book for me…from the first few pages I was hooked. It was so creepy, but also so smartly written. Throw in some father son drama, and some unresolved childhood relationships, and it was just perfect.
Dan Garvie experienced a traumatic event in his childhood, and he can’t wait to get off of the island he grew up on.
Now a criminal profiler, he is called back to his home when his father dies. But nothing is as it seems, and sometimes your past comes back to haunt you.