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