Orphan X is back In what could be his most difficult save ever. The Nowhere Man, as he's called, is also learning about emotions and possibly making friends. A difficult experience for him. Figuring out how to do the impossible will take everything he has and more to work. Orphan X meets his match in physical strength, grows emotionally and learns to let go in this book!
This book rates five stars - for Orphan X’s character development and how he is learning to be a real person with feelings he is so unfamiliar with. If you are a fan of this series you must read this book! The story is fresh and new with ethical issues and surprises. Thank you, NetGalley, St. Martin Press, and author Greg Hurwitz for allowing me to read the eARC of Dark Horse. My honest opinion is I recommend this book!

Evan Smoak is still recovering months after the devastating events of the previous Orphan X adventure. We catch up with him in an amusing scene in which he recruits help with the secret nighttime rebuilding of his home/fortress. When he is called away to help a drug lord whose daughter has been kidnapped, he ends up deciding to help this bad guy because the daughter is an innocent victim. Thus begins a cross-border adventure featuring the usual Orphan X skills and creativity but also a high degree of gruesome violence. Appealing scenes in which Evan outwits someone or navigates his own difficulties with interpersonal relationships are interspersed with really disgusting interludes of brutality by the rival cartel leaders. I expect compelling dramatic action and a sense of impending danger (that’s what we’re all here for!), but once people start, you know, being tossed to captive lions and whatnot, it’s all a bit too gross. I love this series and can’t wait to read the next one. All the same, I’m ready for the crimes in the next installment to be slightly less gory/revolting. Maybe next time, the increasingly awesome Joey can help him catch some criminally-minded computer nerds.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books and Netgalley for a digital advance review copy.

Damn that was good!! I love this series and this was one great addition! Fans of Evan Smoak will not be disappointed! Many thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this early copy for review

Evan Smoak, aka Orphan X and The Nowhere Man, has survived the bombing of his apartment and is deep in the rebuilding phase when he is approached by a man whose daughter was taken during her 18th birthday party. But this man is a criminal. The girl is an innocent, and the suspected kidnapper is an unbelievably vicious drug lord.

Much of the book revolves around the idea of redemption: can good actions make up for past evil? It also takes a look at family - the messy emotions they bring, the vulnerability. Evan's OCD comes to the forefront in his dealings with rebuilding, spending time with Joey, and getting involved in a dispute in south Texas and Mexico. Evan's OCD reflects his need for control, and it is sorely tested here. I also continue to enjoy his emotional stretching as he interacts with Joey, Mia, and Peter, among others.

My quibble here is the off-the-charts violence of this book. The drug lord is almost cartoonish with his depravity and brutality. I have no idea if cartel bosses are this crazy (man-eating lions, etc), but for me, the high ick factor distracted from the story.

This is not family friendly in any way. For those sensitive to violence, you'll want to skip this one.

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of the book. My opinion is my own.

This series just keeps getting better. I love Joey and hope she gets a spin-off, at least a short story.

Evan Smoak is back! I am a big Evan Smoak fan and have read all six of the previous Orphan X novels (except the halves). Readers of earlier Hurwitz novels know that Evan Smoak had originally worked as a government assassin under the code name Orphan X. After leaving this government program, he became known as the Nowhere Man, a private vigilante for hire, who comes to the aid of people who find themselves in impossible situations and have nowhere else to turn.

In the continuation of the series in this book, Evan Smoak finds himself searching for the daughter of a cartel boss who has been kidnapped by another drug cartel lord. Evan infiltrates the enemy's organization to gain access to the girl in true Evan Smoak fashion, with the help of some friends who specialize in computer technology, spyware, and hi tech weaponry. There are some really nasty people in this story! On the other hand, the presence of a group of endearing characters in Evan's personal life, Joey, Mia, Peter, and others, add necessary relief and humor from all the violence. This also helps to give Evan some redemptive qualities as well as reveal his softer side.

This is a great read for those, like myself, who enjoy high adrenaline action packed kick-butt stories. However, readers who are sensitive to descriptive scenes of violence and torture should probably skip this book. I, myself, will be eagerly looking forward to the next Gregg Hurwitz novel about Evan Smoak and his adventures.

A big thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for providing me with the opportunity to read an advance reader copy of this book.

Gregg Hurwitz is a master storyteller and both his stand-alone thrillers and his Orphan X series are excellent reads for fans of dilemma-filled, action-packed, not-too-gun-crazed stories.
This seventh installation in his much acclaimed series about Evan Smoak - aka Orphan X aka The Nowhere Man - just continues to thrill me, and especially the human and relational aspects of the formerly somewhat emotionally cold former government hitman make the series getting better and better.
This time around, Smoak has gotten himself entangled with Mexican drug lords, and the deprevation and insanity of that world sets the stage for his attempt to straighten out some bad things on both sides of the border.
If it is unclear from the lines above, I really enjoyed the book and hope that Hurwitz will keep adding credible layers to X's persona and the wonderful cast around him. Readers new to the series are strongly discouraged to jump into the series with this book - there is simply too much background information in the past six books that is needed to fully get the picture in this book.

Evan Smoak Was Raised To Be A Killer

Aragon Urrea is a man perched somewhere between good and evil. He enjoys the life he has created using less than lawful means, but he is also a family man who helps his neighbors and adores he only child. Anjelina is turning 18 and the story begins at her extravagant birthday party. While Aragon is in another room Anjelina is kidnapped from the floor of the party by a rival cartel from South of the border in Mexico.

Evan is Orphan X, The Nowhere Man, a man who has lived his life mostly in solitary, doing things no ordinary man could do in service to his country. He is trying to wind down his life now, be more “ordinary” and enjoy the company of others. That lifestyle is so foreign to him, however, that he has trouble relating to people and finds himself in awkward and uncomfortable situations. Two of those situations persist to complicate his life as he tries to shuffle between the job at hand and the events in his personal life.

When Evan gets this call on his Nowhere Man phone he is somewhat reluctant to take the case, since Aragon Urrea is a drug lord who operates both inside and outside the law. Realizing, however, that Anjelina is a child and not responsible for her father’s crimes, Evan agrees to find and bring her home. Imbedding himself into a Mexican cartel puts Evan into his own life-or-death situation with only his quick wit to keep him alive.

I have loved every book in the series and this seventh book is no exception. While it could be read out of order, you will get so much more from this story if you have read the previous books. The character development is an important part of the enjoyment.

Thank you, NetGalley, for an advance copy of this book.

This is an amazing novel! My expectations are always extremely high when I begin a new Orphan X book and in this case Hurwitz has outdone himself spectacularly. He begins with Evan attempting to rebuild his life and penthouse after the drone attack at the end of Prodigal Son when he is drawn into recovering a young woman from a Mexican cartel kidnapping plot. It becomes more complicated when he finds that the father of the missing girl is the competition of the cartel, and also something much more. This novel delves into the interpersonal relationships that Evan has built and how far out of his comfort zone they have brought him. His bond with Joey is tested, along with his feelings for Mia when a tragedy occurs. Evan is thrust into a frightening tumult of emotions that he is unprepared to navigate because for all his extensive training he is completely unprepared for dealing with normal every day life. His work becomes even more dangerous because he begins to gain respect for, and even fondness of his client, an "unconventional businessman". This novel shows us a side we haven't explored before, Evan as a real person, not only the cold professional, but a man trying to live a complicated life and deal with feelings he's unprepared for. I will say some of the final pages brought tears to my eyes and the one nagging question that had bothered me was finally resolved in the last two pages. Every time I begin these books I'm not sure if Hurwitz can measure up to the expectations we have set, then when I read what he has created, I find that he surpasses them with ease. I am equal parts delighted and saddened to finish this story knowing that there will be more to come but that I'll be forced to wait for it. If you haven't had the pleasure of reading this series, you are in for a very delightful experience, but start at the beginning for the best effect!

I have read all of the Orphan X books and this one might be the best. It has nonstop action and the only thing stopping me from reading it in one day was the need to sleep. I wonder belabor the plot as others would recap it better than me but the dilemma Evan is caught in is the whole book in my opinion. How much should he help a person who has caused harm to so many others but desperately wants their daughter back. I hope in future book the involvement of his "niece" becomes more of a central character even though she is already involved a bit. A great book and a must read if you liked any of the previous books in this series.

The seventh book in the Orphan X series opens in south Texas, at a party for Anjelina Urrea, daughter of "unconventional businessman" Aragon Urrea - in actuality, as much of a cartel as any other south of the border. When he steps away from the party to deal with a young man who has forced himself on a woman, armed, masked gunmen invade the party and take Anjelina away. Indications are that she's been taken by the Leones - one of the worst of the worst of the Mexican cartels, led by a bonafide psychopath. The opening is quite long- enough for us to know that Urrea is a bad man who also provides good things: the town is healthy, protected, people are taken care of, and he has a bit of a philosophical bent, not unlike Evan.

Evan Smoak, AKA Ophan X AKA The Nowhere Man is rebuilding his penthouse condo after it was destroyed in the previous book. Although I think most of the Orphan X books can be read as standalones, I'd advise reading at least the one before this for context, since the book opens in what could only be termed (for Evan Smoak) complete disarray.

Smoak hires temporary day laborers to help out in the evenings with the more unusual pieces of his rebuild. One evening, one of the (presumably) Mexican laborers asks if he is a bad man, or if he can help a bad man. Evan gives the man the usual number and tells him to pass it on.

And pass it on he does - to Urrea. When Urrea calls, Evan answers, as he always does. He has something telling him to say no on this one, but ultimately, he agrees to help, and the story takes off. Joey and Dog arrive to take over coordination of the legit rebuild of the condo, and also to provide IT services to Evan (Vera III in place!) as he heads to Texas and ultimately across the border to deal with the Leones.

This is by far the most gruesome of the Orphan X books. If you're really squeamish, you might want to skim over those parts. There's one really bad one involving a floor buffer - you should definitely skip that one.

One of the more interesting things about Dark Horse are the lengthy talks between Evan and Urrea about the nature of good and bad, and what bad men do for good reasons or for the greater good. They do slow down the action a little, but that turns out to be necessary, as do the moments when Joey and Mia come into the story. If those breaks weren't there, it would be nonstop infiltration, fighting, killing, and bombs. There is nothing wrong with this, but we could read Mack Bolan or The Punisher for that.

As we rush headlong to the end, sometimes things are not quite what they seem.

While I didn't like this one as much as the last one, I did enjoy it quite a lot: it's true to what we know of Evan Smoak and continues his evolution from a disposable killer into a real human being.

Five out of five stars.

Thanks to St Martin's Press/Minotaur and NetGalley for the reading copy.

This is the seventh novel in the Orphan X/Nowhere Man series. As with the other books, for a full understanding of the main characters, it’s best to read the series in order, but if you’re looking for plot and action, you can read this out of order.

In Dark Horse, Evan Smoak, also known as Orphan X and The Nowhere Man, is asked to help a sweet, kind, beautiful 18-year-old girl who was kidnapped. She happens to be the daughter of a man who lives outside the law—drug trafficking and that sort of thing. He’s not a good guy, but he’s not completely evil like the cartel leader who it appears is the one who had her kidnapped. Evan normally doesn’t help people who aren’t innocent, but it’s not the daughter’s fault that her father makes his living the way he does, and when Evan learns more, he decides to help. As usual, it’s him against many, many well-armed bad guys.

I find this series super fun and fast-paced, and I like all the main characters and many plot twists.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this novel, which RELEASES FEBRUARY 8, 2022.

Gregg Hurwitz. Any diehard fan of thrillers knows that he has penned probably the most kickass assassin in the business; Evan Smoak AKA Orphan X. Taken from an all-boys group home in East Baltimore at the age of 12 by an ultra-secretive government entity to train the ultimate deniable assassins, Evan has a skill set none in the program possesses; the ability to be deadly yet still maintain his humanity.

Hurwitz has created a character that not only can kill in the most lethal fashion, but also must navigate the monthly HOA meeting in his building: a scenario where he has not the slightest idea of how to navigate! Evan Smoak is such a unique character because he is an individual looking in through the window; trying to do good with this odd skill set without the slightest idea of how to be “normal”. Hurwitz has made a name for himself for creating a character we have yet to come across as an assassin, and the plots he weaves for his characters are second to none!

In Gregg Hurwitz seventh Orphan X novel, Dark Horse, we pick up several months after the explosive cliffhanger of the previous novel Prodigal Son. Evans’ “fortress of solitude” has been decimated, and he is slowly picking up the pieces. Evan is semi-back to being The Nowhere Man, but he is not looking for the next mission. When an unlikely caller contacts Evan for help, it causes Evan to question what he does.

On paper, Aragon Urrea is not a good man. He is the leader of a major drug dealing operation in South Texas. However, he acts as the patron of the area: offering legitimate employment, and protecting the residents of his town. Urrea also has a beautiful daughter that is beloved by him and the community. However, when she is kidnapped by a brutal cartel, and held in their armored compound in Mexico, he is helpless to save his daughter. Urrea turns to the only person with the skill set to get this done: The Nowhere Man.

Before Evan accepts a Nowhere Man mission, he always checks that the mission is worthy. Is this person deserving of his help? At first glance, Urrea is not an upright man. However, something in Urrea’s plea to find his daughter reaches Evan. Evan starts to look into Urrea, and finds a common thread to himself that Evan never knew existed. In working with someone with as violent of a past as himself, Evan gets the opportunity to ponder his future. If someone with as questionable a past as Urrea can have a new beginning, can Evan?

In every new Orphan X novel, Hurwitz seems to throw Evan into a new and impossible situation. In Dark Horse the question for Evan is, is he worthy enough to have a future with hopes and dreams? Can an individual with his training and past have various aspirations beyond what he does now? This is a heartbreaking read with killer action, and crazy plot twists that I didn't see coming. Basically, a typical Gregg Hurwitz read!

Reviewed for Best Thriller Books

Evan Smoak is back and prepared for his next mission...

The book picks up where book six left off, with Evan getting his condo ( a super secret fortress with all the protections he needs and a very special collection of vodka in a glass freezer room) back in order after an explosion.

All my favorites are back! Mia, Joey, Peter, Dog the dog, and his friendly condo neighbors. When the Nowhere Man's phone rings, he is ready and willing to answer the help line.

Evan ends up infiltrating the Leones, a dangerous cartel in Mexico. A mission that questions his unassailable moral compass, puts him in serious danger, and has him tangled up in a more than a few action filled fights. Brutal violence, suspense and action filled scenarios. I admit that I had to skim a bit of these parts, but I'm always curious to see how Evan will pull off the final ambush. Oh, and the ending, has me anxiously awaiting the next installment!

Recommend to Orphan X fans, probably not a stand-alone because there is a lot of backstory that holds all the magic of the series.

I love Evan Smoak. and I eagerly wait for each new Orphan X book. It pains me to say I did not love "Dark Horse." Evan Smoak helps people who need help.. He is a semi-retired government assassin. After some thought, he decides to help a cartel leader whose daughter was kidnapped by another cartel. The action does not disappoint. I always suspend my belief when Evan Smoak is involved, but the action seems way over the top even for Evan Smoak. Evan can do some pretty unbelievable things, but this was a bit much. Needless to say, Evan prevails as he always does. He departs knowing that he leaves the remaining cartel leader better than he found him.
I am buoyed by the touches of what we can expect in future outings. Mia's health issues. Mentions of Evan's father. The directive to take Evan down. I look forward to a return to Evan Smoak I know and love. 'The' Evan Smoak. I feel for the people who try to take him down.

More, please!

Okay, this may be the best Orphan X book yet.

As usual, the book mixes edge, action, and heart...and yes, things go boom in spectacular fashion.

This one includes some heartbreak, but also includes a new character to love. I truly hope this character becomes a regular and maybe even get their own spin off series - it would be totally different than this one, but so compelling!

This was one of those super fast reads. I read page one and then I was done - and sad that it was over.

Love!

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Evan gets a call from a man who says his daughter has been kidnapped by a cartel. He is not sure he wants to help because the man has not always been good. It will take everything Ethan has in his arsenal to rescue the eighteen year old victim. I enjoyed this book.

This addition to the long-running series is definitely one of the more readable of late. Orphan X gets back into his Nowhere Man persona and his exploits power the novel consistently. The addition of Mia and Peter also helps humanize his personality and makes it more interesting as he tries to juggle both his lives at the same time.

As usual, Gregg Hurwitz does not disappoint. Each book manages to character build as well as tell a great story. We see the usual action/ thriller novel but the stakes are higher and more personal than ever. This is a quick read and these books are best read in order, but if you are just beginning here, this is a fine jumping on point.

The 'rock 'em, sock 'em" continues!
I've read all of Gregg Hurwitz's Orphan X novels and the entertaining style continues on. Location, characters, dilemmas and action may change from book to book but the enjoyment level remains at a high level.
Evan Smoak, "The Nowhere Man" is a stereotypical "Good Guy"; he has a sense of morality and justice that I admire yet how he maintains these principles, via violence and mayhem, is in line with his past actions.
Of particular importance to me reading enjoyment is the tale has to be believable. I like to have my imagination stretched a bit but not t-o-o-o-o much by tech, physical ability, etc.
In summary, a lot of fun to read in a style that lets me be right in the middle of the action.