Orphan X returns in his fourth page-turning book. As a boy, Evan Smoak was taken from his foster home and put into a top-secret government programme. Code-named Orphan X he was trained to be a lethal agent, ready to be dispatched wherever he was needed around the world. But the programme was shut down, and Orphan X has rebranded himself as The Nowhere Man, seeking to help innocent people caught up in trouble.
But this time Orphan X is fighting for his existence, and for that of the other Orphans that haven’t already been assassinated – and he needs to kill the President of the United States, Jonathan Bennett. Jonathan has risen to the most powerful position in the free world, but Ethan knows his dark secret, that he is systemically trying to kill all the orphan operatives, to erase his involvement in something that goes way beyond a single mission, but relates to Evan’s first mission in 1997. Then things get more complicated when an innocent person reaches out to Evan as he prepares to try to kill the president, a task that seems impossible given the huge resources employed to keep him safe.
There is loads of visceral action in this book, but what I enjoyed the most was the character development, and Ethan beginning to make attachments with other people after a lifetime of being trained to be a lethal killer and not have emotional connections. But other readers, I’m sure, will enjoy the non-stop action and danger – but I have enjoyed seeing Evan’s softer side, and his caring of some people around him. Gregg Hurwitz is a very assured thriller writer, and this is a wonderful read!
Reviewer: Karen McMillan
Penguin Random House, RRP $37.00