The Man Made of Smoke

THE MAN MADE OF SMOKE

ALEX NORTH

***

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?

MY REVIEW

***

I am a little unsure of Alex North as an author - on the one hand I absolutely loved The Whisper Man, but did not enjoy The Shadows or The Angel Maker, which left me wondering how I’d find his latest novel – The Man Made of Smoke.

When Dan’s father goes missing, he leaves his life as a criminal psychologist behind to explore what might have happened in his old hometown. However, when clues begin to emerge that link to an old case which Dan helped to solve as a child, it becomes clear that things may not be as straight forward as they appear.

I was gripped with The Man Made of Smoke from the outset – the beginning chapter, which describes Dan’s childhood memory of meeting a man and the boy he has abducted is chilling and creepy. I enjoyed the interesting narrative aspect of Dan conjuring his father and even the suspect at times and speaking to them to try and solve the case. This is unusual for a crime thriller and did keep me engaged – although this was perhaps due to the lack of action which would have gripped me in other ways. I can see that this narration style is divisive for some readers, and it does mean you have to suspend disbelief and just go along with what is presented without real evidence.

The narrative is split between the perspectives of Dan, his father John in the past and young boy James. Although the pace slows in the middle, the ending is fast past and climactic. However, I would say I found the ending disappointing - although there are plenty of clues to establish links throughout, the end reveal comes from nowhere, throwing a character that we hadn’t even been properly introduced to into the spotlight. This kind of twist only really works if these types of characters have been integrated into the wider plot, which creates a reveal which is truly shocking. This felt like a twist, but only because there was really no way that a reader could have guessed it ahead of time. I was left with a lot of questions and potential plot holes which were left unanswered.

Overall, The Man Made of Smoke is step in the right direction back to highs of The Whisper Man for Alex North, but the almost paranormal twist may alienate some readers and the ending was disappointing. Thank you to NetGalley & Penguin Random House – Michael Joseph for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

LINKS TO BUY

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