Alex north is fantastic at writing thrillers that suck you in. They are so atmospheric and really make you feel like your with the characters in his novels. This one kept me guessing until the very end and I highly recommend!

After his dad apparent suicide Dan comes back to the place where he grew up to figure out what could have driven his father to such a drastic decision. Coming back here also means facing his old demons again mostly the one that's been haunting him forever. The Man Made of Smoke. Will he finally be able to lay his guilt down and find out what really happened on that dreadful day? Or will he follow his dad on the dangerous path he found his end in.

I really enjoyed the relationship Dan had with his father. For me, a huge strength of this book his the characters, that I found intriguing and well developed. Of course the mystery is at the center of the story but the characters are strong enough to still stand out and grab my interest on their own terms.

This book is phenomenal! I wasn’t sure what to expect as I didn’t read the synopsis, but had seen people loving it. The way he builds suspense while creating tension is unbelievable. There are three timelines each with their own POV and they all have their own insane twist! I had no idea how this one would turn out! I was seriously so spooked reading this alone at home at night! This author just doesn’t miss on the spooky factor, and this is my favorite of his yet! Beyond the creep factor, there is heart and compassion in this one, and I think it was so well done! Can’t wait to read what is next for North! The audio for this one only added to the chill that I felt while reading!

Great thriller book! I recommend the audiobook to anyone who listens to audiobooks and enjoys a good thriller.

Let me start off with saying the narrator did such a fantastic job of this book. Holy smokes….no pun intended. I really enjoyed his voice. This book was full of tension and questions and left me feeling a bit dreadful. There were times were in dragged on a bit but the twist definitely got me.

Alex North knocks it 0out of the park again with another dark serial killer nightmare. The audiobook version of this book is fantastic, the narrator has a great knack for performance and even though it's multiple viewpoints and changing timelines you can keep up very well. I was really engrossed and finsihed this in about two days.

4.5/5 rounded up
I really liked this one! (Dare I say love? It’s a close call.)

This one started off a little slow for me. I had tried the audio, and I really struggled with it. (See my note on narration below.) But I went back to the book and read it with my eyeballs instead, and soon I got extremely hooked. I honestly rounded this one up to five stars because of the “chill” factor alone. Just reading certain scenes sent goosebumps up my arms, and I’m not someone that gets that scared while I’m actually reading- especially for non-ghost books. (I definitely get scared later, though- where I’m running up the stairs at night after I’ve turned the lights off, lol.)

Another reason I rounded this one up to 5 stars was because I had been able to figure out the mystery or the twist, either. This was also written well, and I loved the back and forth between the father & son’s POVs and timelines. Except for the struggle I had starting the book, I did love the rest of it!

𝑾𝒉𝒐 𝑰'𝒅 𝑹𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐:
Any thriller lover, especially serial un-aliver fans.

𝑨 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏:
I tried the audiobook, but ended up stopping and switching to the physical. Honestly I think it was just a “me” problem, because the narrator was great. But he almost lulled me to sleep, and it couldn’t keep my interest. His voices for the son’s vs father’s chapters weren’t different enough, either, so that got a little confusing. Might have helped to have separate narrators for that.

I love Alex North's books so when I had the chance to request his new book on NetGalley, it was a no brainer! The thing that really stands out in his books is the atmosphere. They're so dark and gloomy. When there is a shred of light, it's quickly covered by even more darkness. In this book, the mystery was creative and surprising, the characters felt real, and the setting was perfect for this dark story.

Maybe it is because I have really enjoyed Alex North's previous books - but I also really enjoyed this one! I think he is just fantastic at creating a suspensful and mysterious and creepy atmosphere, creating and delivering a great story that keeps you on your toes. I admit that I am one who sometimes picks the shorter books to read first because the longer ones are daunting - but with North, I find myself just flying through them. The audio is also great!

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced listening copy.

I read the book then later went back and listened to the audiobook. The audio is narrated by Shane Zaza. This was my first listen to this narrator. I found the audiobook less atmospheric and lacking the emotional desolation that I felt while reading the book. I’d recommend reading this one.

This story is told in first person by Dan Garvie as he returns to his hometown on a small coastal island after being notified about the death of his father. As a child, Dan encountered a notorious serial killer and one of his victims while traveling with his parents and best friend, Sarah. When Dan arrives, he becomes suspicious of the circumstances surrounding what happened to his father who is retired police and begins to retrace his footsteps. Dan’s story is interspersed by chapters containing third person narratives supplementing the information that he gleans from his father’s files, news articles and memories, and sometimes from his father, John, in the past.

Dan is currently working as a psychologist at a prison and has contributed as a profiler to several high-profile cases. Dan doesn’t believe in monsters, just humans that make mistakes. He has huge empathy and compassion for his offender patients. I found his methods fascinating. He mentally channels the suspect and victims, having conversations with them as if visiting with echoes of the past while analyzing their motives and movements. It gives an eerie, spiritual feel to the atmosphere of the book that mirrored in the setting and movements of the characters. Rather than physical ghosts, emotional hauntings exude from Dan as he revisits the people and the places from his past to guide him to the answers that he is seeking.

I would describe this book as a suspenseful, atmospheric mystery. Recommended to readers who enjoy atmospheric, psychological mysteries about serial killers.

When I read The Whisper Man, I distinctly remember saying “that’s how a horror thriller should be written!” The Man Made of Smoke is no different —- right from the start, it gave me the chills and the creeps! The narrator was so effective in evoking an atmospheric setting that I couldn’t help but feel my goosebumps erupting everytime he mentions “Nobody sees. Nobody cares.” I liked the alternating past and present timelines and how the past focused on the father’s POV while the present is centered on the son’s POV. I rarely come across a novel where the focal point is about the father and son’s complicated relationship so this was refreshing to read. I also liked how everything slowly unfolded to reveal the plot twists. I didn’t have any issues with the audiobook though some might find it confusing as to whose POV was being narrated. I actually alternated between the book and audiobook so I was able to get into the groove early on. All in all, I enjoyed reading this book. My first love is still The Whisper Man, but this comes a close second. The Man Made of Smoke is already out. Pick it up if you want to read something spine-chilling this summer.

***Thank you @macmillanaudio for providing me a complimentary ALC of this book.

In The Man Made of Smoke, acclaimed author Alex North weaves a chilling psychological thriller that blurs the line between memory and menace.

Daniel, a criminal psychologist shaped by trauma, has spent his life trying to understand the darkness that hides in human minds—beginning with his own. As a child, he narrowly survived a terrifying encounter that has haunted him ever since, leaving behind more questions than answers and a lingering shadow he could never quite outrun.

Now, years later, that shadow stirs again. When Daniel receives word of his estranged father’s sudden and suspicious death, he’s drawn back to the small town he thought he had left behind for good. Among his father’s belongings, he discovers a photograph—an image capturing a grim and uncanny moment: his father, standing before the charred remains of a woman’s body. The victim, he soon learns, may be connected to an old local legend whispered in childhood nightmares—the Man Made of Smoke.

As Daniel begins to unravel the layers of this mysterious figure, he finds himself tangled in a web of secrets, lies, and long-buried trauma. The past, it seems, is not content to stay silent. And as more victims emerge, each death eerily echoing the last, Daniel must confront the terrifying possibility that the Man Made of Smoke is not just a story meant to scare children—but a living nightmare that has returned for him.

Gripping and atmospheric, The Man Made of Smoke explores the weight of memory, the fragility of truth, and the terrifying possibility that some horrors never die—they wait!

Somebody check on Alex North. Is he ok? Need a hug maybe? Because he's written yet another gnarly, dark, gritty, horrible, beautiful thriller 🖤

The Man Made of Smoke is about such a wretched criminal and wretched crime, and yet the story is somehow so poignant and stunning to read. It's another tumultuous father and son story. I can't decide if I like it as much as Whisper Man, but I do like it more than Angel Maker and Shadows. Consider him an auto-buy author for me!

I had originally gotten into his audiobooks when the mystical, magical Christopher Eccleston narrated The Whisper Man, and it's been a little disappointing that he hasn't done all of his books (why can't I always get what I want😂); but voice actor Shane Zaza gives a similarly skillful performance and has a lovely accent!

Pub day: May 13, 2025
Narrated by: @shanezaza1
#Gifted @macmillan.audio

{3.5 stars}

Thanks to Macmillan Audio for gifted access to this audiobook. All opinions below are my own.

Dan crossed paths with a serial killer as a child and it has defined his whole life. He becomes obsessed and dedicates his life to solving crimes. When he gets a notification that his father has died he heads back to his small town and realizes there is more to his father's life and death than he knew.

I liked the structure of this one with some chapters being in the father's POV sprinkled throughout. Lots of elements of the story were great and creepy. But there was a lot of the story in Dan's head and that made the story pacing a little slow. I really liked the reveal at the end though.

I am an avid fan of North, and he's given us yet another intensely readable mystery. The characters were a bit hard for me to parse out, since the names were all so simple, but I enjoyed this immesely.

I read The Whisper Man a while back and loved it so I was really excited to get The Man Made of Smoke and I have to say that it lived up to my hopes and expectations, I mean I finished it in a day because I really needed to know what happened at the end. We are introduced to Dan Garvie, who has a connection to a long deceased serial killer and grew up to be a criminal psychiatrist. However, he is drawn back to his home and his childhood when he get's a cryptic call surrounding his fathers death.

I think the eerie Alex North vibes are definitely present for this one. I did think that there were some repetitive parts and some slow parts, but overall I was honestly captivated. I fell into the dual timeline narrative and I think that brought about some added suspense and tension that was able to push through the slower parts. The concept of "nobody sees and nobody cares" is heartbreakingly honest and scarily true, so it was a story that sat with me and made me think, too, which was a good addition. Rated down for 4.5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio and Alex North for the ALC of The Man Made of Smoke in exchange for an honest review. The Man Made of Smoke was published 13 May 2025.

The Man Made of Smoke by Alex North is an absolutely gripping, edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller that kept me reading late into the night.
It was fast paced and I found it wasn’t to predictable which helped massively to keep me engaged.
This book is extremely well written with vivid descriptions that really set the scene and put you in the storyline.

I wasn’t completely sold on The Whisper Man, but I decided to give The Man Made of Smoke a shot, and I’m glad I did—it turned out to be a much more engaging read than I was expecting.

The story follows Dan Garvie, a criminal psychiatrist, who returns to his childhood home after his father’s mysterious death and gets caught up in unsettling connections to a past serial killer. The eerie atmosphere North is known for is definitely here, and this time, the suspense felt tighter and more gripping.

It’s not perfect—there were moments when the pacing felt a bit slow, and I didn’t find the twists as jaw-dropping as I hoped. But overall, the characters and themes of guilt and trauma kept me interested, and it was an enjoyable read for anyone who likes psychological thrillers with a dark edge.

If you weren’t sure about Alex North after The Whisper Man, this one might just win you over. 3.5 stars bumped to 4.

Nobody sees and nobody cares.

This book was so heartbreaking. This is the first Alex North book I've read, and I enjoyed it. The beginning was slow for me, but once the book started ramping up, about 20-30% of the way through, I couldn't stop listening. I love the dual-point-of-view narration as well as the seamless transition from past to future.

Dan Garvie is haunted by his childhood memory of an encounter with a serial killer. Today, Dan is a criminal profiler and has dedicated his life to putting monsters behind bars and seeking justice for their victims. When Dan's father disappears, he must face the past to figure out where his dad is before it's too late.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley, who provided me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

I thought this was a really interesting story. Without spoiling it, I thought the killer’s reasoning for the murders was a really unique one. It’s not one that I’ve heard before, so bravo to the author for offering a unique storyline! I wish I would have been able to listen to this when I didn’t have so much going on because I feel like I missed some things (my fault, not the author’s). I didn’t guess who the killer was, which is pretty rare for me, but I did know what happened to Dan’s father. But the introduction of Dan’s childhood friend really added a layer of tension that would have made the story lacking were it just a straightforward crime novel. I liked the dual timeline investigation aspect of it and how it tied up at the end. Really a very good read!

Huge thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for sending me this ARC for review! All of my reviews are given honestly!