The Man Made of Smoke

The Man Made of Smoke uses conventions from Gothic and psychological horror to present a character-driven version of the crime thriller. Focusing on the inner lives of characters, the novel deploys psychological terror and generational trauma to create a sense of disquiet; the horrors within reflect those outside. For instance, John’s sense of alienation often makes the world around him seem a hostile place, while Dan’s bitter childhood memories cause him to think of the island as a place stuck in time. In addition, like Gothic masters Shirley Jackson, author of The Haunting of Hill House (1959), and Susan Hill, author of The Woman in Black (1983), North uses everyday spaces and situations to generate horror, as in the case of the mundane service station where Dan encounters the “Pied Piper” killer. Ordinary objects like photographs and camper vans take on a terrifying quality in the novel. This effect is further amplified by isolated settings mirroring the characters’ inner loneliness, a hallmark of Gothic fiction. An example of such a setting is the beach from which James Palmer is abducted; its off-season bleakness highlights James’s sense of unease.

Often, the narrative also blurs the line between realistic and supernatural horror, with characters noting that a terrifying situation is something out of a fairy tale. While Dan and John use forensic skills to investigate the present-day crimes, they’re often aided by hunches, intuition, and odd strokes of coincidence, which adds to the supernatural air of the novel. An example of such an extraordinary coincidence is the appearance of a camper van near Abigail’s grave, convincing John that his hunch about James’s identity is right. Dan’s method of clearing his mind to conduct conversations with his recreated subjects further amplifies the supernatural element. By enhancing supernatural horror in real life, the novel suggests that nothing is as terrifying as reality.