Nemesis

Evan Smoak, aka Orphan X, returns for a highly anticipated tenth high-octane, breakneck-paced thriller. Reading an Orphan X novel is a guilty pleasure, akin to eating dessert before dinner. Evan isn’t a superhero but rather a cross between James Bond and Robin Hood. Although trained as a highly skilled assassin, he refuses to abandon his moral compass and his deeply ingrained desire to retain his humanity.

Evan was a twelve-year-old orphan, rescued from the projects of East Baltimore, only to endure a grueling seven-year training program under the tutelage of his handler, Jack Jones. Jack was the closest thing to a father and family he had ever known. This was all part of a clandestine black ops initiative, the “Orphan Program,” created by the Department of Defense. The program molded a cadre of assassins with unparalleled abilities—both deniable and expendable. Each was sent on solo missions to eliminate high-value targets without backup. As his trainer and a man of principle, Jack knew it was easy to teach Evan to kill but far more difficult to help him retain his sense of humanity—a core theme throughout the Orphan X series.

After a decade of covert assassinations, Evan wanted out. He no longer wished to be a lethal weapon of the government and was one of the few Orphans with an actual conscience. He embarked on his own mission as a pro bono freelancer, helping innocents trapped in impossible situations. He became known to his enemies as The Nowhere Man, remaining on call 24/7 for the desperate, awaiting a 1-855-2-NOWHERE call on his high-tech, untraceable, and indestructible RoamZone phone. Gregg Hurwitz seamlessly weaves this backstory into his latest explosive thriller.

Evan soon finds himself in an impossible situation. His closest friend, Tommy Stojack—a gifted gunsmith and arms dealer who has supplied Evan with weapons, combat gear, and even armored vehicles—has violated one of Evan’s most sacred tenets. Tommy has allegedly provided weapons used in the slaughter of multiple innocents, a violation of Evan’s unbreakable code. When Evan approaches Tommy’s workshop to confront him, he is ambushed by a cadre of skilled killers. Outnumbered, Evan relies on guile and skill to dispatch all but one, who escapes without warning. Hurwitz crafts a cinematic, multi-layered shootout that puts a John Wick film sequence to shame.

Evan soon learns that Tommy wasn’t even there. He had already left town to honor a promise to a deceased war buddy—one that involved helping the man’s troubled son. Tommy finds himself in a rural town rife with racial and economic tensions. The boy is among a group of young men living in a makeshift military enclave, ruled by a belligerent and absentee father who is supposedly working out of town. Tommy quickly discovers their involvement in the deaths of multiple innocent Mexicans. (“We were just trying to scare them.”) With his own brand of hard-edged discipline and justice, Tommy takes it upon himself to bring order to the chaos.

Evan must track Tommy to this desolate town and confront the unfolding crisis. What follows is a series of brutal confrontations, impossible choices, and escalating bloodshed. Prepare for visceral action sequences as the tension builds to an unbearable level.

Gregg Hurwitz proves yet again that he is a master storyteller, carefully unraveling this riveting, high-stakes thriller. With exquisitely plotted twists and deceptions, the violence and action reach a boiling point, culminating in a deeply satisfying conclusion. Each new installment in the Orphan X series reveals further emotional growth in this complicated and flawed man. While this novel can certainly be enjoyed as a standalone, be warned—you’ll likely find yourself compelled to devour the previous books as well.

Personally, I switched between reading on my Kindle and listening to the audiobook, but for the last half, I was completely engrossed in the audio version, narrated by the incredible Scott Brick. A multi-award-winning narrator of over 800 books, with a background in acting and writing, Brick’s nuanced voice inflections brought each character to life in the theater of my mind. He is a natural storyteller with a mesmerizing voice, perfectly capturing the book’s emotion and intensity.

Thanks to NetGalley, Minotaur Books, and Macmillan Audio for providing an Uncorrected Proof and Advance Audio Version in exchange for an honest review.