Review: The Man Made of Smoke by Alex North – Spoilers

Last updated on May 27th, 2025 at 04:00 am

The Man Made of Smoke by Alex North is a thriller featuring Dan Garvie, who is a classic emotionally-subdued profiler with a tragic past. Suddenly, his dad went missing… Is this a trap?

Well let’s find it out. but if you are into Thriller Fiction, and want a similar read you can checkout story at The Year of the Locust by Terry Hayes.

Book Review: The Man Made of Smoke by Alex North

Well. what you will need after reading this book is therapy (jk obv.), a night light, and possibly a hug from someone who is alive. jokes aside..

Alex North really said, “What if a story can have generational trauma, small-town secrets & nightmares” And somehow, it works. The main lead, Dan had a harsh past and issues—and yet, loved him. His dad, John? Gruff, broken, kind of obsessed with justice. Also: heartbreaking. Their dual POVs wrecked me.

And the Man Made of Smoke? Good lord. I will be side-eyeing fog.

But was it perfect? Not quite. The pacing in the middle dropped a little—I felt like we were stuck in a internal monologue spiral (Dan, blink twice). And I could’ve used more Sarah, whose character felt a bit like emotional glue holding the plot together without getting much of her own.

Still, the setting? Chef’s kiss. The twists? Shocking and good. The emotional gut-punches? okayish.

Also Read: Hidden Nature by Nora Roberts

The Man Made of Smoke by Alex North Summary (Spoilers)

Okay, so Dan Garvie, haunted ex-islander and professional profiler of psychopaths, thinks he left his trauma back in his teenage years—specifically the time he almost witnessed a murder by a smoke-like serial killer. Spoiler: he ran. And it’s haunted him ever since.

“There are monsters in the world, Daniel. The trick is knowing which ones wear faces you recognize.”

Years later, Dan’s living a carefully curated, emotionally repressed life when he learns that his dad, John—a gruff ex-cop who was investigating a mysterious burned body—has gone missing, then is found dead under circumstances that scream not natural causes.

Naturally, Dan goes back home (island, gloomy, full of secrets—check) to figure out what the hell happened.

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Enter: ghosts from the past. Literally and figuratively. He reconnects with Sarah, his childhood best friend (hello, unresolved chemistry and trauma bonding), digs through his dad’s old notes, and slowly realizes that the Man Made of Smoke isn’t just some nightmare his child like brain cooked up. Oh no. He’s real. And possibly not done yet.

The Man Made of Smoke Ending Spoilers:

Dan’s dad was obsessed with the killer’s return and was doing his own solo findings. Even bigger plot twist? The killer—aka The Man Made of Smoke—is actually Sarah’s father, and he’s been hiding in plain sight. Yup. The man Dan’s been unknowingly confiding in? Literal murderer.

Cue: ultimate climax having abandoned places, fire (because ofc), and a tense standoff where Dan finally stops running away and confronts the monster who’s shaped his entire life.

There’s pain, closure, and yes—redemption. John’s sacrifice wasn’t for nothing. Dan finally frees of the guilt, accepts his past, and move on. And the killer? Let’s just say he doesn’t walk away from this one.

Quotes:

“He stepped from the smoke like he’d always been there, like the darkness had shaped itself into a man just to ruin us.”

Also Read: Strangers in Time by David Baldacci

Final Verdict?

If you like your thriller unhinged, this is your book. Just don’t read it in the dark. Or near smoke. Moral of the story? Face your ghost & lock your doors, and never trust the neighbor with a sus foggy presence.

Who should read it:

• Fans of creepy, slow-burning thrillers.
• Readers who like their serial killers with psychological depth.
• If you are a Alex North fan – If you’ve read and liked his previous works.
• True crime lovers & Thriller addicts.

Books like The Man Made of Smoke by Alex North:

• The Whisper Man by Alex North
• The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor
• The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones

About the Author:

Alex North is NY Times bestselling whose work has been translated in 30+ languages. His some of the famous books are of thriller genre like The Whisper Man, The Shadows etc.

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