The Last Orphan: The Thrilling Orphan X Sunday Times Bestseller (An Orphan X Novel)

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Though he managed to stay under the radar for a while, the government has found him and given him an ultimatum: Kill a powerful man of face the consequences. Evan has a code to only kill if the person really deserves such a fate, so he investigates this man and finds a great deal of corruption that requires him to use his fighting skills. Hurwitz goes into a lot of detail about these hand-to-hand combat sequences. Now that Evan is a little older, he feels he’s just a little less sharp than he used to be. Maybe because of his age, his knowledge of technology isn’t the greatest, so he relies on his 16-year-old ally Joey, who we met in book three. She’s such a great character and foil to Evan. Other members with unique skills also reappear in this book to help out. Just when I thought the Orphan X novels couldn’t get any better, Gregg Hurwitz takes the series to an even higher level. The Last Orphan is pulse-pounding, heart-stopping, and thought-provoking. I loved it.” —Meg Gardiner, #1 New York Times bestselling author

The cop cupped his hands and blew into them. “They say he’s walked straight into the headquarters of some of the most fearsome men alive. Outnumbered twenty to one. And when they sneer at him, he doesn’t bat an eye. He just stares at them and says…” The theatrical pause overstayed its welcome. “‘Do I look like I’m someone who you can frighten?’” What follows is not quite the expected route that a Nowhere Man type of operation leads. Instead of moving swiftly into action and leaving a devastating trail behind him, Evan treads a more careful path and the pace of the book slows dramatically. The focus of his attention is on who murdered the pair and so he essentially conducts a thorough investigation. The Nowhere Man.’ It’s said that he left the world of spycraft. But he’s still around. In the shadows.”Encounters with two of Devine’s ex-marines have ended fatally (for the marines), but when he enters Devine’s home, he is eventually chatting with a man who rationalises his every move and casts serious doubt on Donahue-Carr’s motives. Does Evan begin to second-guess his own convictions about the man? The Premise is so bad the only word to describe it is Ridiculous. The President sends a huge special ops team to capture Evan Smoke just so that he can Kill lobbyist, Luke Devine. who is trying to stop a trillion-dollar environmental bill that will not do anything for the environment but will get her re-elected.

I think one of the reasons I love this series so much because justice usually wins out in some form eventually. The baddies get their comeuppance, something I long to see in real life, but don’t always get. The bartender gave him another shot, this time safeguarding it through the handoff. “American?” he asked. “What did you come to Iceland for? Business? Whale watching?” As always the adventure is over-the-top, hair-raising and lively. X has a close call in this one and I found myself saying, "Nooooo, no, no..........." but his skills are worthy. He cats and mouses around with the baddie as he tries to assess his character. Is he truly evil or is he motivated by something else? Because the depth of the characters was really expanded here, and in a direction I loved it to go, I gave this four stars, even though the plot was a little disappointing. Don't get me wrong, the action and the planning on X's part are all here, but I found the denouement kind of frustrating. After that though, the final sentences have me feeling ASTRONOMICAL excitement as to what happens next!This novel has Evan face-to-face with his old agency and they intend to use him again for one last campaign. The idea that he has remained for years under their radar is, of course, absurd, but go with it. This campaign, of course, coalesces with a call for help that he gets on his special phone which has Evan delving into the lifestyles of the rich and debauched where the rich think all others are toys to play with, to break, to humiliate, and to throw away. It is not clear why the plot had to include Evan having to bargain with his old agency rather than just following the call for help. Before he can make any decisions he must first go see Mia (his maybe girlfriend) who has just come out of a two month coma. He sneaks a cellphone to her hospital room so he can at least call. He knows he can’t let the gov’t know they have a relationship of any kind or she could/would be used as leverage. When he is captured, the president offers him a deal, and that is to eliminate a powerful ultra wealthy man and the action and Even moves to the very rich sands of Southampton, New York. Evan through his wills and of course with a little help from his friends (hi Joey, Dog, and Orphan V), get into the high tech ultra guarded mansion and meets this man who becomes his nemesis. On the way there are a few scuffles with henchmen of course! Orphan X's mantra of doing no harm, unless a person deserves punishment, is put to the test in this one. In this installment, Even starts to view himself as growing older and perhaps not the killing machine he once was. We also see his growing attachment for Joey and hers for him. They try to hide it but they are starting to feel hope that a loving relationship is developing. I want to see where Mr Hurwitz takes us next on this perilous journey with Evan Smoek.

In The Last Orphan Evan’s pardon has come into question, because as we know, he hasn’t exactly lived up to his end of the bargain he made with the President. If someone calls and asks for help, he’s not the type just to ignore it. Things get dicey for Evan, and I was on the edge of my seat! There was a government assassin known as Orphan X,” he continued. “Think of him as the Big Bad Wolf. Probably American, maybe British. No one knew who he was. No one ever found out. Maybe he didn’t even exist. Maybe he was just a name they whispered to bad men to make sure they didn’t sleep well at night.” A new series character to rival Reacher . . . anyone reading Orphan X won't be surprised that a cadre of peers, from Tess Gerritsen to Lee Child, have lined up to praise it IndependentThank you, Minotaur Books and Macmillan Audio. This is a book that's great in either format I highly recommend it!