The Man Made of Smoke by Alex North #TheManMadeofSmoke @alexnorth.co.uk @MichaelJBooks #BookReview

 

You never forget the day you meet a serial killer.

Dan was just a teenager when he had a chance encounter with the elusive killer known only as “the man made of smoke”. Nobody could blame him for being too scared to intervene, for being too scared to save the latest victim, for letting the killer vanish again.

Nobody except Dan himself.

Years later, Dan has a successful career as a criminal psychiatrist, unpicking the very darkest of human behaviour. Because, despite what he saw that day, Dan knows there's no such thing as a monster.

But now his father, John, has gone missing. And, when Dan returns to the small island where he grew up, he finds out that not long before his disappearance, John had stumbled across a body.

As Dan begins to dig, he finds unsettling links, stretching all the way back to the man made of smoke.

Which means this might just be a chance to not only save his dad, but to finally find redemption.

But what if he's been wrong about that day for all these years.

What if he was right to be scared?

The Man Made of Smoke by Alex North was published on 8 May 2025 by Michael Joseph. This is one of my most anticipated books of the year and pre-ordered it from Amazon. 

Ever since I read The Whisper Man by Alex North I have raved about it. For me, it is up with there with The Silence of the Lambs as one of the best thrillers ever written. I have enjoyed North's last two novels too and have looked forward to The Man Made of Smoke for months 

Oh. My. Goodness!  Move over The Whisper Man, I have a new favourite from this author. This novel is electrifying, I read it on a flight to Rhodes and found it utterly compelling, so thrilling. 

As he has done before, North features the father/son relationship in this novel, it's an aspect of family life that he excels in, I am always so impressed by his depiction of the anguish, grief, pain and joy that can be found in these relationships. 

Dan Garvie is a criminal profiler. Dan has a past that haunts him every single day. The event from his childhood has shaped who he has become as an adult. Dan had an encounter in a service station rest room with a serial killer. The man who became famous as the Pied Piper Killer, or The Man Made of Smoke. Dan's biggest hang up is that he didn't save the young boy that day. Instead, he hid.  These events make him determined to learn more about the minds of killers and to make them stop, 

When Dan's father John disappears, he travels back to his childhood home.  John's disappearance looks like suicide but Dan finds clues left by his Dad and learns that he found a body just before he disappeared.  John has spent his retirement trying to solve the age old Pied Piper case and it is clear that it certainly has not gone away. 

There are touches of the supernatural in this story, yet it is always plausible and totally and utterly believable. The characters are beautifully created and the setting is superb. This is so much more than a crime thriller; it examines the human emotions so well; it considers the closest of relationships and the long term effects of trauma on the brain. 

Absolutely perfect in my view and highly recommended by me. 

Alex North was born in Leeds, England, where he now lives with his wife and son.

The Whisper Man was inspired by North's own little boy, who mentioned one day that he was playing with "the boy in the floor."

Alex North is a British crime writer who has previously published under another name.

www.alexnorth.co.uk

Bluesky @alexnorth.co.uk

Instagram @writernorth

Kill Them With Kindness by Will Carver BLOG TOUR #KillThemWithKindness @will_carver @OrendaBooks‪ @willcarver.bsky.social ‬@orendabooks.bsky.social‬

 

Compassion may be humanity’s deadliest weapon…

 

The threat of nuclear war is no longer scary. This is much worse. It’s invisible. It works quickly.

 

And it’s coming.

 

The scourge has already infected and killed half the population in China and it is heading towards the UK. There is no time to escape. The British government sees no way out other than to distribute ‘Dignity Pills’ to its citizens: One last night with family or loved ones before going to sleep forever … together. Because the contagion will kill you and the horrifying news footage shows that it will be better to go quietly.

 

Dr Haruto Ikeda, a Japanese scientist working at a Chinese research facility, wants to save the world. He has discovered a way to mutate a virus. Instead of making people sick, instead of causing death, it’s going to make them... nice. Instead of attacking the lungs, it will work into the brain and increase the host’s ability to feel and show compassion. It will make people kind.

 

Ikeda’s quest is thoughtful and noble, and it just might work. Maybe humanity can be saved. Maybe it doesn’t have to be the end.

 

But kindness may also be the biggest killer of all…

Kill Them With Kindness by Will Carver was published on 26 June 2025 by Orenda Books. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this blog tour. 

I have been reviewing books for around twenty years. I have read every book by Will Carver that has been published by Orenda. Every single time I read one of his novels, I then sit for days wondering just what the hell I'm going to say about it.  Nothing has changed. Kill Them With Kindness is another spectacular work of wonder by one of the cleverest and funniest authors currently writing. However, that doesn't make it easy to review ..... no, it just gets harder and harder. 

Basically, Carver has taken events from our recent past that we have all lived through, events that changed our world, changed the way that we look at those in charge and often changed the way that we saw our friends and our families, and created his own story around them. 

This is a story of a pandemic, it's not Covid, but the circumstances are similar. Carver has created a cast of mainly white, powerful males who are intent on controlling the world be releasing certain death on the people. It's purely speculative fiction ..... but it is? As you meet these fictional characters who will find yourself recognising some of them .... I'll leave that detecting up to you. 

Dr Haruto Ikeda is a decent man who just wants to make a difference and whilst he has created the deathly virus, he has also worked on another - a virus that when unleashed, will make people kinder and nicer. It will improve the world and its population ..... things often don't work the way that the good people think though.

I could go on for a long time about the issues in this novel. There are plenty of people who don't believe in the virus - another familiar trope taken from real life.
Oh, and I almost forgot about the deadly poison!  Yes, just to make things a million times worse, there's that to contend with too. This brings us to the 'Dignity Pills' issue - a whole new thing to contemplate and discuss.

Everything in this novel is finely tuned and excellently woven together. Carver's trademark dark satire is there in abundance, his cleverly created and colourful characters will not disappoint and that sense of WTAF will pounce on you as soon as you close the final page. Recommended by me. 

Will Carver is the international bestselling author of the January David series and the critically acclaimed, mind-blowingly original Detective Pace series, which includes Good Samaritans (2018), Nothing Important Happened Today (2019) and Hinton Hollow Death Trip (2020), all of which were ebook bestsellers and selected as books of the year in the mainstream international press.

Nothing Important Happened Today was longlisted for both the Goldsboro Books GlassBell Award 2020 and the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award. Hinton Hollow Death Trip was longlisted for the Guardian’s Not the Booker Prize, and was followed byt he literary thrillers, The Beresford, Psychopaths Anonymous, The Daves Next Door, Suicide Thursday and Upstairs at the Beresford.   

Will spent his early years in Germany, but returned to the UK at age eleven, when his sporting career took off. 

He and his partner run their own fitness and nutrition company, and live in Reading with five children and a tortoise

www.willcarver.co.uk

X @will_carver

Instagram @will_carver

The Unravelling of Mary Reddish by David Whitfield #TheUnravellingofMaryReddish @davidwhitfield1 @Legend_Press‪ @davidwhitfield.bsky.social‬ @legendpress.bsky.social‬

 

Nottingham, 1827. Mary Reddish, a young housemaid unjustly committed after defying her employer’s advances, must navigate the brutal treatments of the county asylum while trying to prove her sanity. Meanwhile, Ann and Thomas Morris, the asylum’s matron and director, struggle to uphold humane practices against outdated medical methods that haunt the institution.

As Mary forms an unlikely alliance with a fellow patient, she finds herself at the centre of a battle between compassion and cruelty that will determine the course of her life – and the future of the asylum itself.

Inspired by real events that took place at England’s first publicly funded asylum in Nottingham, The Unravelling of Mary Reddish shines a light on the brutal reality of mental health care in Georgian Britain.

The Unravelling of Mary Reddish by David Whitfield was published by Legend Press on 21 May 2025. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review 

I was drawn to this book for a few reasons. Number one is that fact that it is published by Legend Press. I've been reading their books for years now and they never disappoint. Beautifully presented with stunning covers and well edited, they are a joy to read.  Number two is the Nottingham setting. I was raised in Nottinghamshire, ironically, my bedroom window looked out over a very famous asylum - not the one in the book - I've always been fascinated by mental health treatments, and finally number three is the historical setting and insight into the various treatments given to patients suffering with mental health issues. 

I began reading this the night before I flew out to Rhodes and finished it on the plane the next day. It is a beautifully written, extensively researched novel based on true facts that is both enjoyable and enlightening. As we follow Mary Reddish on her often traumatic journey through the mental health system, becoming a patient at the groundbreaking Nottingham General Lunatic Asylum - the first publicly-funded asylum in England, we are privy to the sometimes brutal and violent methods used by the doctors in charge. 

Some of the treatments are incredibly grim, including forced vomiting and diarrhoea, bleeding, blistering with hot irons and in my view, the worst ever treatment, the spinning chair. 

This author has created some wonderful characters, it is not just about the asylum and the treatment. There are some superb accompanying stories, with effective and elegant creation of characters and their voices. 

This is a brilliant debut novel. So well researched, with a story that grips and often shocks. Highly recommended. 

David has worked as a journalist for 25 years and is currently working for The Guardian. 

He used to live less than half a mile away from the site of the asylum featured in the novel, in the Nottingham suburb of Sneinton.


Twitter: @davidwhitfield1

Double Room by Anne Sénès (t. Alice Banks) BLOG TOUR #AnneSenes #DoubleRoom @OrendaBooks #BookExtract

 

A grief-stricken composer slips into a world where sound and colour blur, and the present collides with a devastating past..

London, late 1990s. Stan, a young and promising French composer, is invited to arrange the music for a theatrical adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray. The play will never be staged, but Stan meets Liv, the love of his life, and their harmonious duo soon becomes a trio with the birth of their beloved daughter, Lisa. Stan’s world is filled with vibrant colour and melodic music, and under his wife and daughter’s gaze, his piano comes to life.

Paris, today. After Liv’s fatal accident, Stan returns to France surrounded by darkness, no longer able to compose, and living in the Rabbit Hole, a home left to him by an aunt. He shares his life with Babette, a lifeguard and mother of a boy of Lisa’s age, and Laïvely, an AI machine of his own invention endowed with Liv’s voice, which he spent entire nights building after her death.

But Stan remains haunted by his past. As the silence gradually gives way to noises, whistles and sighs – sometimes even a burst of laughter – and Laïvely seems to take on a life of its own, memories and reality fade and blur...

And Stan’s new family implodes...

Double Room by Anne Sénès was published by Orenda Books on 19 June 2025 and is translated from the French by Alice Banks. As part of this Blog Tour, I am delighted to share an extract from the book with you today. 

Extract from Double Room by Anne Sénès (translated by Alice Banks) 

••

‘Téo, get a move on, you’re going to be late!’ A grunt, heavy footsteps on the stairs and Téo appears in the kitchen, unkempt, hunched over as if he were carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, sporting a T-shirt from the day before, and the day before that.

I open my mouth, then close it again. It’s not worthcommenting on. The kid couldn’t care less.

This T-shirt, made in Bangladesh, 100% cotton,machine wash at 40°C recommended, has been wornfor three consecutive days and nights. According to theWorld Health Organisation, it would be suitable to...

I hold back a smile that is inevitably erased when Téo strikes out at Laïvely, shutting her up. Bab, half in earnest, half in jest, pipes up, ‘Since when did that thing have eyes?’

It’s true. Since when has Laïvely been able to see us? In fact, can she see us? Or is she simply able to smell the odour that is emanating from Téo as he settles down in front of his cereal and mug of fair- trade coffee? Because, yes, he stinks. As soon as he lifts his mug to carry it to his lips, all the while stooping his neck to avoid too big a movement that would be detrimental to his hunched back, a sweet- and-sour aroma wafts towards my nose. But there’s no reason Laïvely should have a sense of smell. That’s not what I was aiming for when I created her.

I scrunch up my nose and avoid responding to Bab, who has already moved on to something else. She’s preparing her lunch box to take to the swimming pool with her. A few months ago, when she and Téo had just moved in, she would come back to have lunch with me. She had the time. Then, little by little, she started to take up this new habit, always with a good excuse: a break cut short due to a colleague being off sick, a private lesson that had been added to her schedule, the need to run an errand. Without me ever really realising, our lunches for two have become an exception. Now, she doesn’t return to the house until her day has come to an end. And for my part, I don’t offer to meet her for a picnic at Buttes-Chaumont, or at a brasserie in the neighbourhood so we can spend a romantic couple of hours together. I have neither the desire nor the courage.

Lisa has already left for school. I finish my coffee pensively. Two little notes have been obsessing me for days, yet I still haven’t been able to extract a melody from them. Maybe I would if I went for a walk? No, I’ll be better off in my studio, with my instruments. What’s more, the weather is unpredictable. There’s a risk of rain. I don’t feel like getting soaked.

Téo finishes and leaves everything spread across the table, his place adorned with varying and diverse stains. Before I can venture even the smallest criticism, his mother has already piled the dirty dishes in the sink, wiped a sponge across the table and put the milk back in the fridge.

I sigh. Is she just on autopilot, or is it a tactic to avoid yet another argument about the kids? Laïvely flickers softly. It’s like she’s winking. Having made sure that Bab’s back is truly turned, I wink back at her. On top of everything else, there’s no need to provoke a fit of jealously that a tube stuffed with electronics doesn’t merit being the object of.

Anne Sénès was born in Paris and studied at the Sorbonne, where she obtained a PhD in English studies. 

Her passion for Anglo-Saxon literature and culture has taken her all over the world, from London to Miami, passing through the south of France. 

She is currently based on the Mediterranean coast, where she works as a journalist and translator. 

Chambre Double (Double Room) is her first literary novel.

Good For The Soul by Philip Rennett BLOG TOUR #GoodForTheSoul @RandomTTours #Giveaway #Prize #Competition #Win

 

Good For The Soul is an acerbic, heartrending and laugh-out-loud satirical rollercoaster. It rips chunks out of politicians and oligarchs, spits them onto the ground, then grinds them into a mush, before wiping its feet on the doormat and heading inside for a cup of tea.

Six months after assisting the UK’s missing prime minister and avoiding two assassination attempts on the same day, Simon Pope is on holiday with friends, trying to cheer up a man who finds retirement depressing. But Pope also has a secret mission, which requires him to remain unobtrusive. He must assess whether specific individuals in the small Irish town of Clonbrinny are in mortal danger from a criminal overlord.

Failing miserably to maintain the desired low profile, Pope and his group become embroiled in events outside their control and discover all is not as it seems.

Perceptions dissolve, revealing a far more dangerous reality.

Meanwhile, former prime minister Andrew Blackwell’s self-imposed media silence has made him more popular than ever. His Path Finder philosophy generates global intrigue and excitement, despite nobody knowing what it is – including him.

When a secret conference on Ireland’s west coast goes badly wrong, Blackwell must evade a media manhunt and return to London, relying on old friends and new acquaintances for help.

Subsequent events and a meeting of minds raise the tantalising prospect of an unlikely collaboration, creating the foundation of a movement that could transform the world.

Good For The Soul is the second book in the Path Finder series and follows on from the award-winning Paths Not Yet Taken.

Good For The Soul by Philip Rennett was published on 25 April 2025 by Pea Arr Books. As part of this #RandomThingsTours Blog Tour, I am delighted to offer one copy of the book as a prize. Entry is simple; just fill out the competition widget in the blog post. UK entries only please. 

GOOD LUCK! 

One copy of Good For The Soul by Philip Rennett

Philip Rennett’s writing career started in 1970, at the age of eleven. 

“I found my mum crying with worry about how we were going to pay the bills. She thought we were going to lose our home,” he says. “I noticed that some comics published letters and offered prizes for the star ones, so I started writing.”

Phil’s first letter won a star prize in The Victor.  “I thought it would be some money,” he laughs, “I won a table tennis set.”

Undaunted, he did more research in the newsagents, wrote to the football magazine Shoot and won a £2 postal order, which he gave to his mother. She gave him a big hug, then put the money in his savings account.

“I realised I could make money doing what I enjoyed. I spent my entire working life writing, firstly for my employers and then for clients,” he says. 

His career started as a public relations officer for a police force in the Middle East. Experiences included crash-landing in a plane whose pilots forgot to lower the undercarriage; flying in another plane with a dead body knocking against his leg; and gate-crashing a reception at the Sultan's palace where he bumped into the UK prime minister and the Sultan. 

In an unrelated incident, he spent a couple of uncomfortable minutes sitting in his Volkswagen Beetle while three very angry soldiers pointed guns at his head through the open driver’s window.

Opting for a quieter life, he returned to the UK and worked in newspaper advertising before starting his own public relations consultancy, which he ran for thirty years.

After decades of news releases, case studies, articles, advertisements, websites, award entries, major bids, mail shots and newsletters, he started writing for himself when he retired in 2020.

His first novel – Paths Not Yet Taken – was published in April 2024.

A keen if mediocre sportsman, he took up golf after his right knee decided it didn't want to take part in more physical sports any longer. Missing the thrills of his early working life, he also goes storm chasing occasionally in Tornado Alley.

www.philrennett.com

www.facebook.com/PhilipRennettAuthor

We All Live Here by Jojo Moyes #WeAllLiveHere @jojomoyes.bsky.social‬‪ @michaeljbooks.bsky.social‬ @MichaelJBooks #BookReview

 

Welcome to the Kennedy household:

Lila wrote a bestseller about keeping your marriage alive, before discovering her ex was playing happy families with another woman. A woman she sees everyday at school pick-up.

Bill, her stepdad, moved in after Lila’s mum died. He’s kind, old-fashioned and driving her absolutely nuts.

Celie, Lila’s eldest, hates school. Hates it so much she’s stopped going. Her mother’s fine with that – because she doesn’t know yet.

Violet is nine and sings age-inappropriate rap songs, laughs at fart jokes and Lila dearly hopes she’ll never, ever change.

And Truant the dog, who has just bitten the American actor who’s suddenly landed on the Kennedys' doorstep.

This is Gene – Lila’s estranged father, and no one’s idea of a role model. He walked out on Lila and her mum years ago – and wherever he goes domestic discord follows.

Because Gene’s presence changes things in unexpected ways. Soon the girls discover a kindred spirit in a man always chasing life’s joy. Bill even loosens up. And Lila finds herself, astonishingly, dating.

Something is happening to the Kennedy household – but what is it?

And will it break, or save, their family?

We All Live Here by Jojo Moyes was published on 11 February 2025 by Michael Joseph. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review. 

I have been reading Jojo Moyes for well over twenty years, way before I began this blog, before I even wrote book reviews. She's been a go-to author for so many years. I've always had a soft spot for The Last Letter from Your Lover (2010), and The Girl You Left Behind (2012). Surprisingly for me, both historical novels but both beautiful. 

Of course, Joyo really became hugely successful when Me Before You was published and then made into a film. That trilogy really showed just what a talent she is. 

We All Live Here is a modern, contemporary novel, based on the Kennedy family.  Lila once wrote a bestselling book about how to keep your marriage alive. Ironically, Lila is now single. Her husband Dan left her for another woman - not just any woman, but one of the school gate Mums and Lila has to see her every day ..... oh, and the other woman is now pregnant. 

Lila is doing the best job that she can in bringing up her two daughters. Dan gets involved when it suits, but it's Lila who bears the brunt of most of it. Eldest daughter Celie is having school issues, youngest daughter Violet is a joyful child and Lila just hopes that Celie's behaviour will not influence her. 

Recently Bill moved in with Lila and the girls. Bill is Lila's step-dad. Her Mum died some time ago and Bill is lonely. He just wants to be wanted, to look after people, to ensure that they are eating enough vegetables. He wants to be part of the family.  And then Gene arrives. After a thirty year absence, Lila's Dad Gene just appears on the doorstep. A fading American actor, he needs somewhere to stay. 

Jojo Moyes has created a family that her readers can really invest in. It's fair to say that there's no big plot twists, reveals or secrets, it's just a well written, at times very funny, domestic drama that kept me entertained throughout. It is wise and compassionate and shows us just what is important in life. Recommended by me

Jojo Moyes is a novelist and screenwriter. 

Her books include the bestsellers Me Before You, After You and Still Me, The One Plus One, The Giver of Stars, Someone Else's Shoes and her short story collection Paris for One and Other Stories. 

Jojo's novels have been translated into forty-six languages, have hit the number one spot in twelve countries and have sold over fifty-seven million copies worldwide. 

Me Before You has now sold over fourteen million copies worldwide and was adapted into a major film starring Sam Claflin and Emilia Clarke. 

In 2023, Jojo joined BBC Maestro’s online platform of world-class experts with her course, Writing Love Stories, which is available now. 

Jojo lives in the UK.

www.jojomoyes.com

Facebook : JoJoMoyesAuthor

Instagram @jojomoyesofficial

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Into The Fire by G D Wright BLOG TOUR #IntoTheFire @GDWrightWrites @AvonBooksUK @RandomTTours @gdwrightwrites.bsky.‪social @avonbooks.bsky.social‬ #BookReview

 

HE RUNS INTO THE FLAMES A HERO.

Steve thought he had left his troubled past behind. Living a quiet life with his wife and children, everything changes the night he rescues a baby from a burning house, becoming an unexpected national hero.

HE EMERGES FROM THE ASHES A SUSPECT.

But as the spotlight shines brighter, so does the scrutiny, and a shocking accusation is made – that Steve is the man responsible for an unsolved murder in Beachbrook years prior.

BUT WHICH ONE IS HE REALLY?

As his world unravels, public opinion is firmly divided. Steve pleads his innocence, but DS Sue Willmott is determined to get to the bottom of what really happened all those years ago.

After all, even heroes hide secrets of their own.

Into The Fire by G D Wright was published on 5 June 2025 by Avon Books. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for this #RandomThingsTours Blog Tour

I have to confess that I've not read this author's previous novel; After The Storm which also features DS Sue Willmott. However, I don't feel confused by any of the characters in Into The Fire. This author is able to provide any back story needed by incorporating it well into his narrative. 

The prologue to this novel is stunning. I was instantly hooked, gripped by the descriptive prose, the element of fear, the wondering what is happening, and who to. This author certainly knows exactly how to engage his audience from the beginning. 

Steve and his wife Sarah have been out for drinks with friends. When they see a house up in flames, Steve doesn't hesitate to run into the building and rescue a baby that was inside. Steve is now a hero but Steve really doesn't want to be one. He's always avoided exposure, he doesn't do social media. Steve has a lot to hide. 

From hero to villain .... or, from villain to hero .... both can be applied to Steve. When things from his past are uncovered, his reputation changes instantly. It's an interesting theme to think about and to discuss. 

I'm not going to go over the plot, that's the job of your local book group!  However, I will say that Wright's ability to create characters who appear real is incredibly good. He sets up the reader with situations that are so challenging, this is not just a fast paced story, it is one that raises so many questions too. 

Into The Fire is very emotional, it's gripping and tense, with a finale that will blow your brains!  Highly recommended. 

Gary Wright joined Kent Police at the age of 18 and worked in a variety of uniformed roles. 

At the age of 29, and completely out of the blue, he suffered two cardiac arrests that led to the diagnosis of a life limiting and incurable disease of the heart. 

Following the implantation of an internal defibrillator into his heart, he was unable to continue policing and retired at the age of 30. 

He bought a coffee shop in Ramsgate Harbour, and spent years looking out over the sea

and dreaming up stories. 

He now writes full time, committing those very stories to paper.

www.authorgdwright.com

X @GDWrightWrites

Instagram @gdwrightwrites

Blue Sky @gdwrightwrites.bsky.social‬