Out of the Dark is book #4 in the Orphan X series by Gregg Hurwitz. This series follows the adventures of Evan Smoak, clandestine black ops operative who has left the world of government sanctioned assassination behind and chooses instead to use his gifts to help those who cannot help themselves. But the life he left behind is coming back and it wants to do much more than haunt him. It wants him dead.

Evan Smoak was taken from a group home at the age of twelve and trained to be part of the Orphan Program. A operation strictly off the books, created to be assassins for the United States. As an adult, Evan broke of from the program and using all his training, went into hiding. There, he started his own program that he calls, The Nowhere Man. An urban legend passed about by the desperate to solve problems that no one else can. But now Evan has his own mission. His surrogate father and the man who raised him once he was taken from the group home is dead, and the man responsible wants Evan dead as well. The man who is the most protected man in the world. The President of the United States. Evan's only choice is to kill the Leader of the Free World.

President Bennett know the Orphan Program very well. When he ran the Department of Defense he made good use of them. But now with the Program shut down and his reputation at stake, he believes he needs to erase all evidence of their existence. So he has begun the systematic killing of all the Orphans, even using one of their own to do the jobs. But he knows that Orphan X is after him as well.

But the line for the Nowhere Man buzzes as well. Someone needs help. Someone whose family has just been killed. Someone who needs the Nowhere Man.

Out of the Dark is a strong addition to the Orphan X series, which is something along the lines of The Equalizer (the original TV series and not the remake movies) and the iconic Repairman Jack books by F. Paul Wilson. What separates Orphan X is his alter ego of Evan Smoak. Being taken from the group home at twelve and trained to be an assassin has stunted Evan's social skills and his fumbling about with his neighbors is somewhat endearing to the character. He realizes that there is a whole part of his life that is missing and he wants to have it. Only he doesn't really know how to go about attaining it.

Hurwitz has created a character that though completely unique, is completely his own. The novels are dark and thrilling and with a pounding tempo that is missing from many of today's thrillers. They are also very human in the pain and grief they deal with. There is a naivete to Evan Smoak that, even with all he does, with all his violence, that you hope he never loses. He realizes that he is not a good man. Evan Smoak is not a hero. He is just a dangerous man who now wants to do good things. To save those who cannot be saved and somehow right all the wrongs he feels in his soul.

A really good read.

The book reminded me of Nikita except the program is called Orphans, not Division.

I enjoyed reading the book ,especially where Evan masterfully plans out how to kill the president. I thought he was a genius in the method the president was killed.

The plot was full of endless action, but the lack of character development is what led me to give this book a 3 star.

Compared to Bourne series, I felt like this was not meant to be a standalone novel. Perhaps, the character development progressively took place in the prior 3 books in the series. ^^

I did not know much about the people Evan interacted with. All I could do was assume that he had encountered them previously in the prior books.

I think I would have given this book a higher rating if I had read the first 3 books beforehand!

Thankyou to NetGalley, the publishers and the author, Gregg Hurwitz, for the opportunity to read a digital copy of Out Of The Dark in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
I really enjoy the Orphan X series. This book was no exception.
I thought the storyline was well thought out and written with well described characters. Plenty of twists for a thriller fan to enjoy. A riviting read.

Out of The Dark is the fourth book in the Orphan X series written by Gregg Hurwitz. Once again, Gregg Hurwitz spins a thrill ride, and probably the best book in the series. Evan Smoak is being hunted down by one of the most notorious Orphan, only known as Orphan A. Orphan A has been tasked to get rid of all of the remaining Orphans, even if they assimilated in to normal full civilian life. The order comes from the very top of the United States goverment. For certain secrets would come to public light, a lot of heads would roll, including the most powerful man in the U.S.A.
Orphan A tries to track down Orphan X, and doesn't realize that X has some unlikely partner(s).
Gregg Hurwitz definitely knows how to pull his readers in, keep them intriqued, engaged, and I love it! Evan even takes to heart of the danger that nay follow him him around, and dies not let him slow down, but heeded when it comes to those who are in his life.
Out of The Dark is full if action, fast-paced, and some surprising characters growth. Mix in a few surprises along the way, which I had to re-read a few pages to make sure I read what I read. Absolutely love Out of The Dark. Thank you Gregg Hurwitz for taking me on great thrill within the pages of your latest Orphan X book.
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Orphan X (Evan Smoak) is back and determined to put an end to those who are killing the others in the Orphan program. He knows who but does not know why. A face paced, action packed race to the finish with plenty of twists.. I hope this is not the last of the Orphan X novels..

3.5~4★
“Evan waited for two of them to cross by the front gate. Then he seated the accelerator against the floor. The Ram shot forward, 240 horses and 420 pound-feet of torque powering more than two tons of Detroit Steel through the perimeter fence. The gate smashed down, crushing both men.”

A scene for the good ol’ boys among Hurwitz fans. Then there are highly choreographed battles between Evan (mostly alone) and a dozen or so bad guys with no redeeming features, so we won’t worry too much about their being crushed by a gate. He does his best to avoid or minimise collateral damage, but it’s going to be hard this time, when his target is the President of the United States.

Mind you, this isn’t political. President Bennett used to be the head of the department that set up the secret Orphan Program under which Evan was “recruited” (at 12) and trained as an assassin for the US. I am always reminded of the old Mission Impossible TV series with Peter Graves in the telephone box getting his orders from a nameless voice which said something like “Good luck with your mission, Jim, and as always, if you are caught, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions.” I’m sure other fans will remember the exact words.

Back to Evan Smoak. The president is trying to eradicate all the remaining Orphans, especially Evan, because the president was personally implicated in one of Evan’s earliest missions, revelations of which would not only wipe out his reputation and presidency but also land him in jail – or worse. So, of course, Evan is out to eradicate him first, and the set-up and action are fascinating. Look what he’s up against!

“The limo was designed to take a direct hit from a bazooka. Evan had a Dr Pepper Big Gulp. If need be, Cadillac One could serve as a self-sustained, fully functional emergency bunker. Bottles of the president’s blood were stored beneath the rear seats. At an instant’s notice, a designated backup oxygen supply fed the air-conditioning vents. Firefighting gear stowed in the trunk was accessible through a hatch behind the armrest. The gas tank self-sealed, preventing combustion. Encrypted comms gear maintained continuous contact with federal and state law enforcement.”

I have to say, Evan doesn’t have a limo like this, but he does have vehicles and safe-houses and weapons and special suppliers everywhere. Here he’s juggling three cases. This Orphan case, his Nowhere Man work, and as a brief sideline, attending to an unjust court ruling in a kind of vigilante action. He’s also accidentally acquired a few people he cares about and who care about him, a novel situation for a boy who grew up with only his recruiter, Jack, as a surrogate father figure, albeit one who trained him as a killer.

Caring about people makes him vulnerable in ways he hasn’t been in the past, but it does allow us to enjoy him as a man, at least now and then. And it helps him understand the vulnerability of the people who call the Nowhere Man on his special Roam-Zone phone. That has a secret number to be used only by someone who has been given it by the last desperate person he helped.

His tangled web gets more and more criss-crossed when the Roam-Zone rings during a battle, or when the various deadlines for his activities start conflicting. I quite liked his exasperation in this scene.

“Evan . . . sat in the rear of the dark auditorium as the PowerPoint continued, urged glacially onward by a matronly headmistress who seemed intent on reading every last bullet point.

Evan had once sat a sniper post in a tree in Sierra Leone for fifteen hours without moving. He’d lain in wait beneath a bridge in Kirkuk, sipping from a CamelBak, eating protein bars, and pissing on the same spot on the wall for three days. But this? This was actually going to kill him.”

We don’t call it Death by PowerPoint for nothing! He flies around the world on his cases, occasionally getting “home” to his fortress-like flat in a building where Mia and son Peter live, two people he’s come to care for.

No time for that! Trevon is an anxious young man, “high-functioning”, he says, who is depending on the Nowhere Man for help. Trevon’s mama raised him with rules, and he always obeys the rules. Trevon was kidnapped and threatened by really nasty dudes, and now he’s all alone with a bad case of the Scaredy-Bugs, trying hard to be brave. Evan has no choice but to make good on his promise to help, all while carrying out his personal assignment.

I am fascinated by the tech that Hurwitz describes, the fingerprint transfers, the overall cleverness. Again, it’s over the top but compelling stuff. How about finding the image of the shooter reflected in the pupil of the eye in the photo the shooter took of the victim? Good stuff.

I often skim the bloody bits, but sometimes I read every step to visualise the action. It is completely unbelievable, but I’ve got to say, Hurwitz makes it sound almost believable. Hanging on to roof flashing by a fingernail, scrabbling for a foothold while sliding down something, all while ducking machine gunfire. Weapons enthusiasts will be checking every code number for errors, I'm sure, but they mean nothing to me.

Full on action, the stuff of cinema blockbusters, and this is one that the fans will love. For that, I give it four stars, although the blood and guts is getting too much for me now.

Thanks to #NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the preview copy from which I’ve quoted.

The government certainly has its share of secrets—often deep, dark ones. The Orphan X series by author Gregg Hurwitz follows one of those deep, dark secrets as he struggles to pay for the things he’s done. And in Out of the Dark, he sets out to make others pay, too.

Review published on NightsAndWeekends.com and aired on Shelf Discovery.

I have enjoyed the Orphan X novels although I think the author is moving away from his initial characterization. In the previous novels, he sets out to help a person in need. For every person he saves, he gives them a phone number to give to someone who might need his help. OK. Interesting premise. But the similarities to Jason Bourne and the dissimilarities are obvious. Maybe it's because I can picture Matt Damon as Bourne but no one as Evan Smoak.
Someone at the highest level of government wants the Orphans eliminated. And they are doing a fine job of it, but Smoak teams up with an unlikely orphan from the past, and together they make a fine team.

An extremely riveting thriller with interesting characters and plot lines. Although I prefer the "Nowhere Man" parts of the series, it was nevertheless interesting to see the early life of the main character and how it shaped him.

Published by Minotaur Books on January 29, 2019

Each Orphan X novel has impressed me more than the previous installment. Greg Hurwitz continues to humanize Evan Smoak, adding substance that most tough guy protagonists lack. I’m even getting used to the subplots, which involve Smoak’s sideline as a protector of the unfortunate. While Smoak’s apparent invincibility is still a little hard to swallow (assaulted by a dozen guys with machine guns? no problem), the action scenes are written with such detail that it is easy to set aside disbelief and get lost in the story.

Smoak’s new plan is to kill the president. This is a fictitious president, Jonathan Bennett, who rose to the presidency from a gig in the Department of Defense, where he sent Smoak, a/k/a Orphan X, on his first mission. The president wants to erase all the details of a 1997 assassination — an assassination that Smoak carried out at the not-so-tender age of 19 — by having Smoak killed. Bennett also had someone killed in a previous novel who was close to Smoak, so Smoak intends to return the favor. Why Smoak’s dirty deed in 1997 is important to Bennett is something Smoak does not immediately understand, but he makes it his mission to find out while he plots the president’s assassination.

Meanwhile, Judd Holt (a/k/a Orphan A) is biding his time in a supermax prison until he gets the chance to kill Smoak. The president releases him for just that purpose.

The subplot deals with Smoak’s Have Gun - Will Travel sideline as the Nowhere Man, a problem solver for those who need his muscular assistance (except that Smoak, unlike Paladin, does it for free). This time the call for help comes from a developmentally disabled (albeit high functioning) young man whose immediate family has been wiped out in retribution for the young man’s failure to follow orders issued by a drug cartel. So Smoak takes a break from killing the president and battling Orphan A to take on a drug cartel.

All in a day’s work.

Smoak’s plan to kill the president and then to escape is worthy of a Mission Impossible movie. Some scenes — Smoak appears in the mist, gives a speech, and when the person he’s talking to looks for him again, he has vanished — suggest that Smoak is Batman without the cape and cowl. There’s even a character who seems to be based on the X-Files’ Cancer Man. But it’s all fun, and even ideas that aren’t entirely original are assembled in original ways. The truth behind Smoak’s mysterious 1997 mission is so plausible it’s scary.

On the whole, this series has been getting better since its inception. The ending assures that the storyline will take a turn after Out of the Dark. I’m curious to see what the Nowhere Man does next.

RECOMMENDED

This is the 4th book in the Orphan X series. For those of you who have not read these, WHY? Gregg Hurwitz is an excellent writer who keeps his readers totally immersed in the story and turning pages as fast as you can to see what's next. Evan Smoak is The Nowhere Man, formerly known as Orphan X. The two identities merge to make him a formidable enemy of the people who would like to see him dead and a formidable ally of those who are most desperate for help. The back story of the Orphan X program keeps the present day action on edge. Our hero cannot just solve problems, he has to stay at least a couple of steps ahead of the hunters after him. Pick up any of this series and you are in for a great read that will keep you waiting for the next book.

The Orphan X series has become a mainstay on my yearly best-of lists. Gregg Hurwitz manages to consistently match magnificent writing (signaling his Harvard and Oxford backgrounds) with fast-moving plots. This is literature with a galloping pulse. Attempting to distill the plot in a few paragraphs would do the author, now deservedly a #1 New York Times bestseller, a disservice, so I won’t bother. The premise of the series, however, is a different matter. Evan Smoak is Orphan X, a government-trained killing machine who spent his career secretly scribbling in the margins. Tasked with carrying out highly sensitive US missions, with the understanding that should those missions reach tenuous heights, he should expect no safety net from the government that created him like Frankenstein. But now Smoak operates as The Nowhere Man, with a wholly different mission. Those in dire straits need do nothing more than call 1-855-2-Nowhere, and wait for The Nowhere Man to ask “Do you need my help?” Happily for us Constant Readers The Nowhere Man’s phone rings quite a bit.

The fourth Orphan X novel works well as a stand alone story even though the third book does lead into it. Orphan X was part of a government program to raise orphans to be assassins. After a time, his conscience got the better of him. He went off on his own as the Nowhere Man, setting up a service to help those in dire straights with nowhere left to turn to. In this novel, he's also being hunted by the President. He used to be in charge of the Orphan program and is now hunting down the Orphans before they can expose his involvement. Orphan X is now trying to kill the President before the President finds him. Since this is an Orphan X story, there's also the added element where a mentally handicapped man also needs the Nowhere Man's help. Orphan X has to juggle both missions at the same time without getting killed.

This is my favorite book of the series so far. It doesn't spend as much time reflecting on the past, instead focusing on X's current missions. I really liked Mia and Peter's interactions in this outing as well. Mia is X's long standing will they, won't they partner. X is torn between keeping them safe and actually having a personal relationship.

Out of The Dark by Gregg Hurwitz is a fast paced, fun novel that follows the adventures of Orphan X, a former government assassin who spent most of his life carrying out black ops missions for the US government. He retires from the government gig, but takes all his special skills with him. When he ends up on a hit list, ordered to die by his former boss, who also happens to be the current sitting US president. Not knowing why he has been slated for execution, Orphan X begins a deadly game of cat and mouse. He desperately seeks answers to the major question, what did his 1997 mission to assassinate a Middle East leader have to do with why the president wants him dead? I love the character of Orphan X. He is a vulnerable, anti hero who kinda reminds me of Dexter in a way, a skilled vigilante who operates in the shadows trying to atone for his past sins, and bring balance to the world. In taking on trying to kill the president, Orphan X is handed the most difficult case of his long, and storied career. The story is a fast paced, must read for those who enjoy spy novels. The characters are well developed, and interesting. I have not read the series, but I would like to. This novel stands well on its own. If you haven’t covered the other novels in the series, you don’t need to to understand this novel.

Another great Orphan X novel. There are multiple interlocking stories where We hear about his entrance into the Orphan program, his new mission to help people, his personal life, and the ongoing battle with the President and his Orphan henchmen. I see some other characters developing for subsequent novels which is good. Keep them coming.

Minotaur Books and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Out of the Dark. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

What happens when a secretly trained assassin decides to take on the most powerful person in the land? Evan Smoak ends up on a self-destructive path, as he seeks closure for his past. The road to justice is paved with landmines, but will Orphan X be able to navigate his most dangerous challenge yet?

I am a big fan of Gregg Hurwitz and Orphan X, so I was disappointed that this novel felt more like a farewell than a continuation of the series. There does not seem to be a path forward that is filled with new possibilities. As always, the novel is filled with death defying action and thrilling moments. I wish that there had been more revelations and more growth with regards to Evan Smoak's present and past. Orphan X has a good moral compass and the author does a great job of showcasing it with a strong side plot. Readers new to the Orphan X series should absolutely start from the beginning, as the character is worth exploring fully. I would definitely recommend Out of the Dark to other readers and I look forward to reading more by Gregg Hurwitz in the future.

Spectacular! Gregg Hurwitz has done it again! Out of the Dark had me on the edge of my seat the entire way through. This series keeps getting better and better.

Always reliable writer and great story arc. Definitely believable. The main character pitted against the President. Who will be victorious/

"There are no good guys. There are no bad guys. There's only what needs to be done."

Nobody writes thrillers like Gregg Hurwitz, particularly his Orphan X series. What an incredible group of books, full of pulse-quickening suspense, whip-cracking action, and at their heart, a flawed yet amazingly appealing protagonist. Like Dexter or other anti-heroes, Evan Smoak is someone you root for wholeheartedly even if you're troubled by what actions he must take.

When Evan was 12 years old, he was taken from a group home and trained to become part of the Orphan program, a deep-deep-cover operation that created intelligence assets for the U.S., assets that could be used to create all kinds of mayhem—and become assassins. Evan spent a number of years following orders across the globe as Orphan X, but after a while, he decided he needed to be free of the program.

Evan reinvented himself as the Nowhere Man, the person people turn to when they have no hope left. Evan helps one person at a time, often putting himself at great risk, but the missions give him purpose, and helping others makes him feel like he's making amends for his past sins in some way.

Although the Orphan program was discontinued a number of years ago, someone deep within the U.S. government has made it their mission to kill all of the remaining Orphans and their handlers. Evan knows he is a prime target of this person, so he has to figure out a way to strike first, to not let this person destroy all of the evidence of the chaos he had the Orphans sow. His formidable enemy? The President of the United States, who had the Orphans, particularly Evan, create chaos that was beneficial to him.

The President knows Evan is on to him, and figures the only way to catch an Orphan is with another Orphan—Orphan A, the very first Orphan the program created, and one of the deadliest. Evan must devise a plan to take down the President before he can destroy all of the evidence of his past misdeeds, but this is the biggest challenge he's ever faced—and perhaps the most dangerous.

There's a lot going on in Out of the Dark, the fourth installment of Hurwitz's Orphan X series, and it's definitely one of the best. In addition to Evan's plan to assassinate the President, which requires more intelligence, firepower, and sheer chutzpah than even he may have, as the Nowhere Man, he also has to help someone out of a desperate, dangerous situation. At the same time, he also must confront the reality that who he is, what he has done, and what he is trained to do are not the ingredients for a "normal" life, no matter how desperate he may crave some normalcy.

Evan Smoak is one of my favorite characters of late. He's smart and dangerous, although principled, and he really has a good heart despite not always knowing how to handle his feelings. I love how Hurwitz balances his strength, intelligence, and potential danger with his more vulnerable side. But for the most part, this is a book with a tremendous amount of action and suspense. It's amazing to watch Evan face off with other Orphans.

Although this is the fourth book in the series, you could start by reading Out of the Dark if you don't want to read the series in order, as Hurwitz gives you enough information for things to make sense. But this is one of the strongest series out there over the last few years, so it definitely will be worth your while to read all of them when you can.

It's a mark of how terrific this book is—and how nice it was to have a holiday Monday—that I read the entire 400-page book today. I just couldn't get enough.

NetGalley and Minotaur Books provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!

All I have to say is “Wow!” This is the 4th installment in Gregg Hurwitz’s Orphan X series, and it may be the best. The mission that Evan Smoak (The Nowhere Man) takes on in this book is a wild ride in storytelling. No spoilers, but this is the climax for the previous three books. I don’t know how he will top this one in the next book. Be prepared for a wild ride. If you haven’t found the Orphan X series, go get introduced to Mr Evan Smoak, you won’t be disappointed