The Man Made of Smoke by Alex North

 

My thoughts

This book absolutely captivated me. I had no idea where it was going at first but couldn't put it down. 

 

You follow Dan Garvie from when he was just a kid who escaped a serial killer at a rest stop. Dan was with his parents and his best friend Sarah. He always felt guilty that he didn't save the little boy that was with this man. The boy with the haunted eyes. The scared child that it seemed everyone turned their backs on. 

You meet Dan and his childhood friend and the bully who became the sheriff after Dan's dad retired. You hear from Dan's dad also. Dan was called to come home because it appeared his dad committed suicide. Dan is a prison psychologist. He listens to the worse of the worse as they try to come to terms with things that happened to them. Dan feels so much guilt over the little boy from his childhood. 

Dan and his dad didn't have such a good relationship. He mother left shortly after what happened at the rest stop. Each had their own problems. 

This is a very intense story. One that will captivate you. Hold your interest all the way. Parts made me cry and near the end it made me weep. I forgot about the letter that 

You'll be trying to figure out who the Pied Piper is. Who the killer is. And what happened to all the children. All the adults. Why is this guy doing these things? What happened to him to make him so cruel. And he is cruel. 

The Pied Piper always said, "Nobody sees. Nobody cares". But my favorite line in this book was at the end... "We See. We care."

This author knows how to write a good thriller/horror story. This one had me on the edge quite a lot and I did not guess who he was. I did have a few guesses of course. I was always wrong. 

If you like a page turner thriller with a touch of horror wrapped in you need to grab this one. 

I received an ARC via NetGalley and a physical copy from the publisher. This is my honest opinion of this book. 

I'll be looking for more by this author. 

About

The latest gripping serial killer thriller from the New York Times bestselling author Alex North.

Dan Garvie’s life has been haunted by the crime he witnessed as a child—narrowly escaping an encounter with a notorious serial killer. He has dedicated his life since to becoming a criminal profiler, eager to seek justice for innocent victims. So when his father passes away under suspicious circumstances, Dan revisits his small island community, determined to uncover the truth about his death. Is it possible that the monster he remembers from his childhood nightmares has returned after all these years?

With his signature shock and suspense, Alex North brings us The Man Made of Smoke. In turn emotional, introspective, and utterly terrifying, this is a story of fathers and sons, shadows and secrets, and the fight we all face to escape the trauma of the past.