Veronica: "Look at this. My long-lost sons beckoned to my deathbed. All that's missing is a soap-opera score. And a gin and tonic." Yes, this novel is just that predictable. And worse. Far too much techno-jargon, even more excessive and gratuitous violence, and the most unsympathetic, massively damaged characters I've encountered anywhere.

I received a free ARC ebook in return for an honest review, and my obligation to provide that review is the ONLY thing that kept me from deleting this dreadful novel. I am stunned to see so many favorable reviews on Goodreads. I enjoy a good thriller, but this was so over-the-top bizarre, it was painful to read. I can't recommend it to anyone, and a delighted that I have finally turned the last page.

PLEASE DON'T MAKE ME WAIT TOO LONG FOR BOOK #7!

"The greater the gift, the greater the curse."

Prodigal Son is the 6th book in the Evan Smoak series.

Still grappling with the choice to go straight or to keep being "the Nowhere Man," Evan Smoak, a former government assassin turned do-gooder assassin, aka "The Nowhere Man," finds himself at a crossroads until a disturbing phone call compels him to take on one more case, forcing him to face long-buried childhood memories and secrets.

Prodigal Son fills in a lot of the background information on Evan’s childhood and how he became an Orphan. This book has a different tone, as it is more emotional and focuses on the little boy who fought to survive. We learn how Evan was “chosen” and get more details about some of the horrors he experienced in foster care.

This book is packed with action and adrenaline, balanced out by visits from our favorite characters and friends, adding much-needed warmth and humor. Evan's misfit family expands as he makes some new friends, and I am interested to see how they add to the mix.

Evan to embrace more of his human side, making his choice to give up being The Nowhere Man even more apparent until…..CLIFFHANGER!

Prodigal Son ends with a cliffhanger, one that made me anxious. Evan’s character felt a little stuck, but this book certainly sets us up for his next chapter in a big way! I hope we don’t have to wait too long for book #7 because I need to know WHAT HAPPENS next!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

GREGG HURWITZ brings his top notch action writing style to the pages of PRODIGAL SON, while also making readers feel each and every emotional shot to the heart like it was a round from Smoak's ARES 1911 pistol.

For fans of the Orphan X series, this one is going to hit a little different than previous books. While it comes with all of the danger and general awesomeness that we expect from Evan Smoak, the 6th installment touches on something much more dangerous for the protagonist... his past and his lineage.

After receiving a call from an unknown number from Argentina, Evan must decide if we wants to continue his transition into "normal life" or take one last mission as The Nowhere Man. That decision catapults him down an unexpected and perilous road, both physically and mentally.

The overall storyline, weaponry description, and technological advancements are absolutely fantastic. We also see more character development from the other important individuals in Evan's life. Joey, Dog, Mia, and Peter all play key roles in this book. This is an added layer to the book and I think ratchets the series up a notch.

If you've never read anything from the Orphan X series, I'd recommend you read at least one of the earlier books before picking this one up. As a stand alone book, it was highly entertaining and enjoyable, but after talking with long time fans of the series, with their historical knowledge of the characters... it was heart wrenching for them.

Another good read by Gregg Hurwitz. While similar in theme to the other "Orphan X" novels, this story is unique in its own way that allows it to escape the threat of falling into the redundant trap that many series fall into after 5+ books. The intertwining of figures from Orphan X's past does get a bit far-fetched, but the writing still allows you to enjoy the story. I would recommend this book and look forward to the next chance to read a Hurwitz novel.

The Prodigal Son by Gregg Hurwitz is book six of the Orphan X series but the first of this series that I have read. Mr. Hurwitz gives enough background to help you understand what is happening but I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had read the previous novels. At the beginning, the story goes back to Evan’s time in the orphanage, how he gets picked out of all the boys for “The Orphan Program” and how he got his name, the Nowhere Man. I really enjoyed the intrigue, high octane action and the richly developed characters in this book. This novel takes you from the past to the present and then the two overlap as this assassin comes out of “retirement” when he receives a strange call “from his mother, Veronica, asking for his help. His life changes drastically as he gets involved in the case and with his mother. He seems to develop as a person right in front of your eyes. The Prodigal Son is an entertaining thriller that keeps you looking for more. I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Evan Smoak has retired with thoughts of living a normal life when he receives a phone call from a woman claiming to be his mother. Putting his unofficial presidential pardon at risk he agrees to help her friend who was definitely in the wrong place at the wrong time, catching the eye of some nasty people involved in super secret military drone warfare.
We learn more about Evan's past and how through grit and determination he became the man he is today.  He also starts to realize that being part of a family isn't such a bad thing after all.
I did find that some of the narrative was a bit much in the tech department and the scene at the party not really necessary causing the story to drag in places but this was still an enjoyable read.

Orphan X aka the Nowhere Man is back in another fast paced high octane thriller. This time around, Evan is pulled out of his unofficial retirement by his mother. She asks him to help out an acquaintance of hers. A down on his luck guy has witnessed a murder and now his life is in danger. As Evan digs into this new mission, he begins to untangle family secrets and comes up against terrifying drone technology developed for the military.
besides the thrills, this book gives Evan the opportunity to explore his feelings -especially towards his unofficial ward Joey. It's nice to see their relationship develop into a real friendship.
Orphan X fans are sure enjoy to enjoy this latest offering.

As usual the latest Orphan X novel did not disappoint! As Evan tries harder and harder to leave his vigilante life behind, he actually has to deal with the demons of his past life, including meeting of all people, his mother.

In a sense, the "save the world" story line that undergirds all of these novels takes a backseat to Evan learning more about how he ended up in foster care. Evan becomes more and more emphatic and dare I say more human?

But true to form, there is a menace from next gen nanotechnology to deal with and we get a visit from a character who was a foe turned friend, which is always welcome!

The story ends with a bang! I'm ready for the next book!!!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

After 5 books of Evan Smoak as the Nowhere Man with small snippets of backstory about his childhood and how he became Orphan X, we now go back and learn fully about his childhood and where he came from. We start with Orphan X taking a call from someone saying she is his mother and in parallell with a story about the advancement of drone technology, we explore his relationship with the lady who left him as an orphan.

The only downside to this story is the cliffhanger ending. Otherwise it is a great story and is a must read for the Orphan X fans as well as thriller fans in general

Better late to the party than not at all was my thought when I neared the end of this, the sixth installment of the author's Orphan X series. So enjoyable was the adventure that I almost resented having to put it down long enough to open Christmas gifts.

It took a few chapters for me to really get into the swing of it as chapters shifted back and forth in time, but that actually helped bring someone like me who didn't read previous books up to speed in short order. In the here and now, Evan Smoak has retired from his job as a government assassin in the Orphan program, which carefully chooses and trains orphaned children like him. He remains at the ready, though, billing himself the "Nowhere Man" who is willing to help those in desperate need.

At an impound lot, his mentor is murdered, and the lot attendant, Andre Duran, manages to escape the same fate. Then Evan gets a phone call he'd never have expected - from a woman who claims to be his mother. He's both upset and reluctant to meet her (after all, it was she who gave him up as a baby) , but curiosity wins and he heads for Buenos Aires for a face-to-face. There, she remains tight-lipped other than to ask him to help a man named Andre Duran.

With more than a few misgivings, he agrees; but when he gets back to the States and finds the man's house, let's just say it becomes clear that the man will need any help Evan can give. I could spend an hour writing about what comes next, but doing that would spoil it for others, so I'll say only that he seeks help from old friends - at least one of whom has a grasp of technology seemingly far beyond any mortal human - characters who I assume will be familiar to loyal readers. The action is nonstop and the aforementioned technology, especially when it comes to weaponry, is mind-blowing.

I was also struck with an overall feeling of sadness; when I read about the characters' backgrounds and why they've turned out the way they are, at times I almost got tears in my eyes. It was educational as well; not counting some very unique technological advances that, if they aren't already available, soon will be, I picked up on tidbits like this: There's enough iron in the human body to make a three-inch nail. Who knew?

Be forewarned: This one ends with the mother of all cliffhangers. All the more reason to anticipate the next one, I'd say - I'll be watching! Meantime, thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for offering me an advance copy to read and review.

4.5★
“Evan looked down at them, doing his best not to consider how satisfying it felt to knock the rust off his fighting-muscle memory. It had all the dark deliciousness of giving in to a bad habit. He knew too well the costs of surrendering to it and yet couldn’t shake the sense right now, with the night air keen at the back of his throat and the rush of blood in his veins, that this was in fact the thing he was meant to do. The greater the gift, the greater the curse.”

Evan Smoak had retired from the Orphan Program. No more Nowhere Man. No more answering the RoamZone phone from calls for help to 1-855-2-NOWHERE.

“So he’d agreed to leave his work as the Nowhere Man behind.

He was ready to try to lead an ordinary life, whatever that was. A life he’d never thought he could have, never thought he deserved. One without knife wounds and concussions. Without a threat around every corner, the reek of death one wrong turn away.

People would have to go about helping themselves the ways they had before he’d come along. Or the ways they hadn’t.”

He’s been good at avoiding conflict and keeping a low profile. We actually get some more back story, learn more about the home where he was dumped as a baby and the boys he grew up with. He was a little fellow, and it’s interesting to see how he managed to be chosen (not) for the Orphan Program.

You can’t help feeling for the boys in the home. We learn more about some individuals, who were the weakest, who were the bullies (one of whom was chosen for the Orphan Program).

“The home is a perpetual testing ground, every insecurity exposed, every vulnerability jabbed until it broke you or you broke it.”

The regular characters appear, and his extended family gets drawn in a little closer in spite of his resistance. I’m fond of them all and always nervous when they’re in jeopardy. If you don’t want to live dangerously, don’t get close to a guy like Evan Smoak.

Of course, how would you know? You’d never pick him in a crowd, which was, of course, the point.

“Evan had an average build, the better to blend in. Just an ordinary guy, not too handsome. He kept his muscles toned but not pronounced. When he was dressed, it was hard to discern just how fit he was.”

He does try hard now to be ordinary.

“Several evenings ago he’d even raised the retractable flat-screen TV from its slit in the floor and watched a Buster Keaton movie.

That was him now. Mr. Ordinary.

Especially if you overlooked the bullet-resistant laminated polycarbonate thermoplastic resin composing the windows, the discreet armor sunscreens made of a rare titanium variant, the motion-and shatter-detection sensors rigged in the frames, the base-jumping parachute stowed behind the inset panel of the planter strategically positioned on the south-facing balcony.”

Ah, that’s more like it! Here comes the tech, the invincibility (well, almost), the paranoia. When his RoamZone rings to request/require his immediate presence in Buenos Aires, we just know his retirement was premature. He answers the call, knocks the rust off (as in the opening quote), and off we go on another terrifying mission.

He becomes increasingly aware of what it meant for him and the others to grow up the home, a place where they felt abandoned, unwanted, and undeserving of love. He begins to itch to change that, becoming philosophical from time to time, not entirely sure why.

Evan Smoak is a terrific character, a hero and protector and assassin. He doesn’t need to know absolutely everything about weaponry and IT and cutting-edge tech, but he knows the people who do and he understands enough to make use of their assistance.

The situation he is finally trying to infiltrate and disrupt is disturbingly real. In fact, it’s downright terrifying. And talk about a cliffhanger . . . GASP!

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the preview copy from which I’ve quoted. All I have left to say is there had better be a follow-up soon!

He’s rich, he’s badass, and now he’s also a hard target of Brenden Molleken, a sinister biomimeticist. Evan Smoak, formerly known as The Nowhere Man – an assassin for hire, is asked to save a down-on-his-luck man, Andre Duran. What appears to be an innocuous mission turns into a deadly game of cat and mouse teaming with black ops intrigue.

Masterfully written, Prodigal Son combines the elements of science fiction, and military combat action into a thrilling novel. The characters are just enough not to overwhelm the reader. With each character having a unique feature or signature characteristic.

Prodigal Son is the sixth novel in the Orphan X series. And while it probably could be read as a standalone novel, I felt that I missed out on some finer details that were probably introduced in the earlier books.

Overall, I enjoyed Prodigal Son. Rated it three stars. However, my rating would probably be higher if I read the earlier novels.

I received a digital ARC from Minotaur Books through NetGalley. The review herein is completely my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions.

This review is concurrently being posted to my Goodreads account and it is scheduled to post to my blog, Twitter, and Facebook accounts on January 2, 2021. Reviews to retails sites such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble will occur on publication day.

Here we go again. So much action, so much technical data, so much movement, and finally a compelling look at the Nowhere Man’s background. Now we never have to wonder what drove Evan Smoak to take on the troubles of the most vulnerable. He has a long history of being knocked down and rising from the gutter and the ashes.

“Hey Mister I want another chance”. Another chance to be the one picked even if he had no idea what he would have to do or where he would find his story or whether he would live to have a story. Another chance to know and try to understand the dynamics between Evan and everyone else, Joey, Dog, Peter and Mia. Another chance to try to figure out what a life without a purpose would look like. And that chance lasted less than a nano second.

What I find so terrifying is that if Hurwitz could dream up the stuff and devices that he employs in his stories they probably exist in real time and we, the general public, have absolutely no clue. And like Smoak, who can we trust? What is real and what is about to become real and bite us in the ass? Who are the good guys and who decides who is expendable? So many questions and pokes at morality.

Oh yeah, I am reading this series until it is all played out and it ceases to exist. Thank you NetGalley and ST. Martin’s Press / Minotaur Books for a copy.

This story and series are so unique. The author has created a character that is like a machine. But a machine with flaws, wants, and needs that he cannot grasp.

Little by little Evan is cracking; bored and restless, he needs something in his life. Then he gets a call that is intriguing and will change his path and the readers path as well.

This is no ordinary thriller. This is a precisely structured book that is well researched and meticulously detailed with deep imagination and insight. This is a book that will keep you reading late into the night just to see what comes next.

With characters that are remarkable and intriguing along with a mission that becomes an edge of your seat ride, this mission Orphan X takes on becomes personal. Personal and intense. Hurwitz really starts tieing things together as this is supposed to be the end of this series. But I simply refuse to believe that he would allow the crazy ending to stay as it was written…. gasp!

From the group home where Evan grew up to secret military installations, we follow along as he fights to protect others and his own life too. Hurwitz gives our hero a heart of gold, full of protectiveness and caring which is unexpected yet humanizes him. But a wicked sense of right and wrong with badass strength and unbelievable moves.

Prodigal Son is a game-changer in this series and a book to remember for a long time to come. I can only hope that Hurwitz brings Evan into future series as his complexities and missions are simply brilliant.

An excellent assassin thriller with a fantastic storyline and great realistic characters. This action packed story has plenty of suspense and several twists and turns. Very well written and quite a page turner. Highly recommended book, series, and author. Will definitely be looking for the next adventure with Evan.
Thanks Netgalley for this ARC.

I am not a huge fan of action reads, this book intrigued me and I am so happy I gave it a chance. It was s good, Evan’s story was so heartfelt, him as a boy fighting against the odds, he was a small kid, and he had to prove himself. He was an orphan and he fought to the top to be kept, and he’s a trained assassin. OMG, I felt I was watching one of those action films my husband makes me watch but then I end up loving. I will be reading more from this author for sure. Thanks, Netgalley and St. Martin Press for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

This is the sixth book in the Orphan X series (I thought number five was the last since he retired. Silly me). Evan Smoak was a small-for-his-age 12-year-old orphan when he was snatched up and trained to be an-off-the-books assassin for the government. He gave up being Orphan X and switched to being The Nowhere Man, who helped people in desperate need of help that his incredible training and endless financial resources could provide. But he’d given up even that for a nonofficial presidential pardon. In this book, someone claiming to be his birth mother gets a hold of him, and asks him to help out another person in dire need of assistance from extremely deadly people.

He calls in old friends from his Orphan and Nowhere Man days and grudgingly helps this person at extreme mortal risk himself (as always). All the while he contemplates his feelings toward his birth mother and an Orphan who is just 16 who he helps out and who helps him out with her master hacking and other computer abilities.

As with the other books in this series, it’s well written and moves quickly. It’s a fun read. Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this novel, which RELEASES JANUARY 26, 2021.

Excellent again from Mr. Hurwitz, have loved reading this series of books. Evan Smoak didn't disappoint in Prodigal Son, looking forward to the next installment!

Prodigal Son by Gregg Hurwitz is the sixth book in the Orphan X series. If you haven’t read the previous books, I recommend you do, this is not a standalone. Orphan X, aka Even Smoak, is retired from his previous employment as a government assassin, now the Nowhere Man. Until he receives a phone call that his services are desperately needed, from the woman who gave him up for adoption. She wants Evan to help Andrew Duran, he was in the wrong place at the wrong time and saw things he shouldn’t have seen. Now a brother and sister assassin duo is out to kill him, unless Evan can save him first. In order to save Andrew, he must remain on the down low from the President of the USA, who has given him a pardon as long as he remains retired.

Evan has help from Joey, a 16 year old who is also part of the Orphan program and has amazing hacking skills. Their relationship is complicated, sort of uncle/niece, fellow orphans, family, guardian, but they always have each other’s back. I admit, I really loved their relationship throughout the novel, and particularly enjoyed Joey’s witty, sarcastic personality. And let’s not forget Dog, the dog...classic! When this mission starts unfolding, it is more complicated than anyone could have imagined. It involves the military and the use of micro drones for warfare, however the developer behind this warfare is powerful and ruthless with intentions of creating insect delivering death to anyone he wants, or that the drones decide to kill.

There is a lot of technical talk throughout this novel, high-tech gadgets, computer generated hacking information...much of which was way over my head. As I have already stated, this is not a stand alone, I have never read any of the other books in the series, so I felt I was missing a lot of background information. Most of the characters are like-able, I love the banter between Evan and Joey, Joey may be my favorite character in the whole book. The writing was good, the story was complicated, and I wasn’t really interested in the technical talk. Perhaps if I read the other books in the series it would have been better.

I would like to thank Netgalley, Minotaur Books and Gregg Hurwitz for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/Mintour Books for providing an arc of Prodigal Son by Gregg Hurwitz in exchange for my honest review.

Nowhere Man, Evan Smoak, is a complicated and intriguing character that I couldn’t get enough of in the first book. Since then Hurwitz has managed to keep the character interesting through 6 other books and Prodigal Son is no different. It’s still gripping and fast-paced with even more character building. If you thought you knew who Evan was, things are about to change.

In Prodigal Son we see Evan as a child, in an orphanage, and what he had to go through to eventually became Orphan X. Evan is retired with a pardon from the government, however that is contingent on him no longer working. But his phone keeps ringing and the woman on the other end claims to be his mother...and, as I’m sure you can imagine, chaos ensues.

Like the other five books in this series, Prodigal Son reads like a movie and it’s shocking to me that no one has tried to make it one, or maybe they have. The character building, attention to detail, and intensity of these books are addictive if you ask me. And the sixth book is a must-read because of its deep dive into the past of its main character, while also providing action, suspense, mystery, and even some romance.

I don’t want to give away any details, but let’s just say it’s a must-read if you’re a Nowhere Man fan, or if you enjoy spy/espionage books or movies. I can’t wait to see where Hurwitz takes this world next.