2 Book Lovers Reviews

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 Suspense/Mysteries

​​The Man Made of Smoke delivered the creep factor that I fully expect from Alex North. Right from the beginning, I had that sense of foreboding and fear that comes with a book in this genre. I knew that this book was going to keep me eagerly flipping the pages.

When Dan Garvie was a child, he spent a few moments in the midst of a real monster. Luckily for Dan, he wasn’t the child on this monster’s radar. This monster already had his young victim, and Dan was helpless to do anything to help him. After years of guilt and obsession over this encounter, Dan became a criminal profiler, hoping that he might not only be able to help others but also help himself heal from this traumatic event that consumed him for so long.

When Dan receives news that his father has died, he goes back to the island and home where he had grown up. His father, a retired policeman, spent most of his time filtering through cold cases, including the files associated with the infamous Pied Piper, which was the case that had affected Dan. While the Pied Piper was believed to be dead, strange things are happening and people are going missing that suggest that there is something evil at play.

I could visualize everything that was transpiring in this novel. The setting was eerie, the characters were definitely intriguing, and my suspicions were constantly on high alert. I am pretty certain that I had goosebumps on my skin for much of this story.

With every turn of the page, I was deeper and deeper into this story. I wanted to discover what had happened to Dan’s father, why people were going missing, and who was responsible. It kept me on pins and needles, and that is exactly what I want when I read a book in this genre.

The Man Made of Smoke delivered just what I wanted it to and even more. The one thing that surprised me was that I found the story to be quite emotional. It made me sad, not only for the victims and those they left behind, but also for the relationships that had been affected. I honestly didn’t think that The Man Made of Smoke would make me feel much beyond fear and apprehension. It’s a true testament to the author’s writing ability to be able to deliver so much more.

 

*4.5 Stars