Once a black book government assassin known as Orphan X, Evan Smoak left the program, went deep underground, and reinvented himself as someone who will go anywhere, and risk everything to help the truly desperate who have nowhere else to turn - and this time, the truly desperate is a little girl who wants him to find her missing dog.

This crazy, tiny job quickly explodes into his biggest mission yet, one that finds him battered between twisted AI technocrat billionaires, a mysterious female assassin called The Wolf, who seems a mirror of himself, and personal stakes so gut-wrenching he can scarcely make sense of them.

I love the fast=paced action of the Orphan X novels, but even more I love, love, love Evan's attempts to navigate a world he doesn't understand -- the everyday human connections that he never formed as a child. His young sidekick and mentee, Joey, is in the same boat: using her mad hacker skills to help Evan while also trying to uncover the mysterious world of young college women. The pantyhose scene alone is worth the price of the book. Highly recommended. #LoneWolf #NetGalley #SaltMarshAuthorSeries

I LOVE this series, and I love that Gregg has continued to develop his characters throughout the series. I appreciate the different spin he put in this novel on how Evan got involved in the case. This is the type of series where it would be easy to only develop the main character and to keep a very similar story arch. I think Gregg does an amazing job of developing each of the main characters and weaving in sub-characters. This novel really had my brain churning about AI and sucked me in from the first chapter. The ending already has me ready to read the next one and I am sad I have to wait. Highly recommend picking this up if you like suspense!

I enjoyed this latest installment of this series, but...I didn't feel it was as strong as most of the previous ORPHAN novels. While it was still engaging, it lacked the action we've come to expect as well as the interaction between Evan and the supporting cast. Any long running series will have its ups and downs, so this series is no exception. I'm always amazed at authors who can write an ongoing series and continue to engage and entertain volume after volume. Like I said, I still enjoyed this book and its still a favorite series.

Gregg Hurwitz's latest installment in the Orphan X series, Lone Wolf, is another outstanding entry in the saga of Evan Smoak. This one starts out with a seemingly simple job, and explodes into Evan's greatest challenges yet. I was impressed with how Hurwitz has continually built his characters in each book, and this one is no different. We are also left with an ending this is explosive. I already cannot wait to read the next Orphan X thriller and that won't be until 2025. This books official release is Feb. 13, 2024 and it will surely be one of the best books of 2024. I highly encourage you to preorder this one; and if you haven't read the others or are behind to get caught up before this releases. I was given an advanced readers copy by the publisher and #netgalley for an honest review. 5 out 5 stars.

I went into this blind, not knowing anything about the author or that this was a series. I actually thought it was a well paced, well thoughtout book. This book packs a punch, definitely had moments were i was eagerly awaiting the next few pages. I would recommend this to friends. Overall good read, interesting plot, and enjoyable.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and Minotaur Books for an opportunity to read the ARC of Lone Wolf by Gregg Hurwitz. This is Book 9 of the Orphan X series, and yet again, I'd have to say it's the best of the series. In this novel, X takes on his smallest case yet, finding a lost dog. However, it's for the daughter of his half-brother, and comes just after X has met his birth father. Unexpected twists follow, and the case becomes far more complicated and wide-ranging. Featuring the memorable Joey and Tommy Stojack yet again, the action in this book is what we've come to expect from Orphan X. However, what is unexpected, and makes this novel the best yet, is the in-depth character development that we see from X, Joey, and Tommy, along with a cliff-hanger ending that promises a great Book 1o to come. If you've read the prior 8 Orphan X novels, you MUST RUN, not walk, to get this one. You won't be sorry. If you haven't read any of the prior novels, start with Book 1 and work your way forward. You won't be sorry.

I have read all the Orphan X books and this is on par with the rest. That is to say it is really good. Evan takes a job to find a missing dog which is well below his skill set with the pushing of Joey and it leads to a really fun story. I enjoyed how this book made Evan a little more human with his interactions regarding his father, Joey, and others in his life. The action with him and the Wolf is top notch. There are some spots where you must suspend belief but most books in this genre fit that as well. You find yourself turning page after page and it finished quicker than I would have liked. I want the next story as soon as possible.

The Best Orphan X Ever!

I don’t know how Greg Hurwitz is going to top this one. He has taken The Nowhere Man to hell and back, from a dusty trailer to a mogul’s mansion, from peace and serenity to a killing field, with more feeling and emotion than Evan has felt since he was a boy.

There is a phrase that is used often, I’m guilty of using it myself; “I couldn’t put it down”. Of course I could put it down, and but what I can honestly say is I didn’t want to put it down. Evan and his dad, Evan and the dog, Evan and Joey, Evan and the victim’s daughter, Evan and the homeowners association, Evan and one bad-ass assassin. So much interaction, emotion, and awakening that it seems impossible to all be in one book. But here it is. Don’t take my word for it, read Lone Wolf for yourself then tell me if I’m wrong.

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley, Greg Hurwitz, and St. Martin’s Press. This is my honest and heartfelt review.

I really enjoyed this novel. This Nowhere Man novel more than the others, we are seeing Evan become a bit more 'human'. The great thing about this book is although there is quite a backstory by now, it's covered in the first few chapters easily, making it a great jumping on point for new readers.
if you like your spies and thrillers with a slice of humanity and real world concern this book is for you. I did knock a star off as the foul language is worse than before, even showing up in chapter titles. Also a questionable decision made by Evan late in the book.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Gregg Hurwitz’s “Orphan X” series is single handedly one of my favorite book series on the market right now. I was asked one time what makes me pick up a book and keep reading it? My response was when a character has to deal with a heart and gut wrenching emotion. It is when they are torn down, when they have to look deep into that void and decide “who am I now” that a book grips me and will not let me go.

In every one of Gregg Hurwitz’s “Orphan X” novels, he drags his character, Evan Smaok, through this conundrum. Evan’s father figure growing up, Jack Johns, had a saying: “The hard part isn’t making you a killer, its keeping you human”. That saying is in the forefront of every novel, and it is a driving force for Evan. However, in Hurwitzs latest novel Lone Wolf, it feels like this saying was taken up a notch. Evan has always lived his life on the other side of the glass looking in. He will have his moments where he steps in, but in Lone Wolf, he challenges himself in how long he steps around that glass.

Evan’s latest mission starts when a little girl asks him to help her find her missing dog. As Evan grudgingly agrees, he stumbles into a world that forces him to evaluate the meaning behind the commandments that he was raised with. To question what does it mean to be human, to have and foster relationships. In the process, Evan must go toe to toe with an assassin who has the same skills and battle field prowess. Evan is pushed to the brink on two fronts. Can he outwit and outmaneuver his latest foes?

I am always left speechless after reading the latest "Orphan X" novel. In Lone Wolf, Hurwitz spun a tail that feels very relevant to what is happening in our daily lives right now. The world of technology and AI is a new and dangerous frontier, and what Evan faces in that world is terrifying. Evan must evaluate life around technology and the dangers that poses. What does it mean to be human in this ever growing world?

Evan Smoak is learning to embrace the mess that having close friends and family entail. And yet, he's still frightfully efficient at his job. One of my favorite books in this series.

Evan Smoak, the main character in Greg Hurwitz's Orphan X series, was raised from a child to be a soulless and flawless government assassin. He was expected to perform efficiently and be more deadly than any other assassin in the world.  The problem was the man who trained Evan--Jack--taught him everything about being a killer but also showed him how to remain human in the process. A tough expectation, one that got Jack killed and made Evan quit the business, which meant he had a target on his back for the rest of his life. To make amends for a history of taking lives, Evan devoted all of his waking hours to saving the lives of whoever called on his Roam Phone. The cost: pass his name onto another desperate individual.

The series deals with those phone calls. This ninth, The Lone Wolf (Minotaur Books 2024), is the strangest (in a good way) of all. Evan is called by Sonia, a young girl who turns out to be the daughter of Evan's half brother. Her request: find a lost dog before he is killed. Evan tried to say no, but couldn’t. What seems to be a simple job puts him in the crosshairs of one of the best killers he’s ever run into outside of the Orphan Project. The book is excellent, clever and riveting. It gets lost a few times in the exploration of ideas, but not enough to even lose a star.

An exceptionally enjoyable Orphan X read. How does author Hurwitz keep it fresh?

In this volume the challenge(s) are fresh: What starts as a dog search ends as a life-changing experience for those people Evan Smoak helps. The relationships are fresh: Previous love interest Mia (and her son Peter) are out of the picture, on a long holiday trip back east, and a new spark appears in the plot line. And Joey is up to exploring new relationships of her own.

And somehow, without being too repetitive, Evan explores more deeply his feelings (or lack of expressing them) and how that shows in a rival assassin and in his protégé Joey and with the family of his half-brother Andre. (What is going on with Andre??) And in the relationship with his armorer, Tommy. (How in the world will that develop?? The reader can feel the thread pulling to the next book.)

What hasn't changed: There's more of the rock'em sock'em action with bad guys who get put away expeditiously, and Evan dependably manages to survive all the life-threatening encounters. Hurwitz creates some really challenging bad guys in this novel - highly evocative and compelling.

If you know the Orphan X series, you'll want to grab this one at your first opportunity (pub date 13 Feb 2024). If you DON'T know this series, you MUST start reading it right away. Each book just gets stronger and more enjoyable as the series builds.

Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the chance to read and share this fun read. Opinions are my own.

It all began with a dog. The Nowhere Man takes on the unlikely mission on finding his niece’s lost dog and ends up getting more than he bargained for. And I don’t mean the mutt or getting hit by an old woman, but also getting caught in a murder plan and the world of AI. With the help of his sidekick Joey, the computer whiz and some of his usual band of helpful characters, his mission becomes much more dangerous.

As the series progresses, Evan Smoak is trying to become more human, more sociable and helping find the dog is a small step. I enjoy the progression of his growth, but really enjoy when he is in his element and doing what he does best, assassinate the bad guys. This has it all and is fast paced and emotional, and gutsy. Loved it.

Evan Smoak is in danger of going to the dogs if he doesn't recover from the previous book's consequences in this installment of the Orphan X series. Of course, this is wordplay. A dog plays an intricate part in the plot and becomes a catalyst to a rather clever adventure. As expected, Evan will face danger at every turn while being the saviour to a damsel in distress. Only, this damsel is not who you would expect. Add AI and the dangers it presents and you get one heck of a ninth installment of a brilliant series. Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this in advance. It was a pleasure and a lot of fun. I know others will agree.

I’ve been desperately holding my breath for the next Orphan X book…and yes... it was just THAT GOOD! All the stars!🤩 This my be my favorite installment of the series!
Oh my gosh...Where do I start!?

This read delves deeply into the characters of Evan and Joey. (Always a treat!) We’re also introduced to thought-provoking lessons and sobering realities concerning the tech world we live in and what’s in our future.

Evan, better known as “Orphan X” helps people who can’t help themselves. Those with nowhere else left to turn. In the past this has typically involved kidnappings, murders and even drug cartels. Your typical, everyday tough guy stuff. But when his roam zone phone rings, (an embarrassing tune thanks to Joey) this request for help falls close to home. His niece has lost her dog and begs Evan to help find him.

Who could predict this dog would put him face to face with one of the most lethal assassins. And this opponent may be even too much for Evan.

Evan lives by his commandments. One of the most critical…do not let anything become personal. But it seems to be getting harder and harder to do. Is our Evan becoming a softie? Does he in fact have a heart he is only now tapping into? I have to admit I love seeing this side of Evan. Yet I also realize that perhaps this will make him more vulnerable in the future.

As for Joey and her dog named Dog? Well, she’s growing up quickly. She even has the opportunity to rush a sorority! But Joey wonders…Is this the life she truly craves? Could she really leave Evan behind for a “normal” life?

This latest installment in the Orphan X series has it all. Perhaps my favorite to date!

I tip my vodka shot to you! 🍸Game well played Evan!

A buddy read with Susanne

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press

Darn. I finished it.

I look forward to the next installment of the Orphan X series each year. But, i am a little afraid that it will be the one where he jumps the shark.

This had me a little nervous at the start. Evan, taken from an orphan at a young age and raised to be an assassin for the US, tries to help his niece find her dog and soon is single-handedly being chased down by another excellent assassin while being chased by a whole platoon of LA cops. I thought the intelligent, thought-provoking books I enjoyed were over and it was shark time.

But, it quickly pulled out of that and became the treasure I had hoped. Evan has a lot of balls in the air - preventing the assassin from killing the daughter of one of her victims, finding out who hired her and stopping them, rescuing a whole group of trafficked women, and, of course, finding the missing dog. And he deals with important topics like the agony of fitting in and the dangers of all of us being glued to our phones and believing everything on the net.

There are two issues that bugged me. Even still manages to grow an aloe vera plant, which requires bright light, in a totally dark room. This time the light from the massive computer screens was mentioned. But, the screens go to sleep and the light is not the spectrum that the plant needs. (Evan also waters it with an ice cube. I won't even go there). I hope in a future book the plant is revealed to be plastic.

Evan also has a freezer room for his extensive vodka collection. He manages to spear an olive stored in the room. I know salt increases the freezing temp, but it would still be solid. And, as a vodka drinker who keeps their stash in a lesser freezer, I would never add ice to mine.

Otherwise, this was a really great book. In fact, it was one of my favorites in the series. I do recommend reading them in order to understand some complex relationships. But do read them. My only regret is that I raced through this and now it is over. Might be time to start back with book 1...

The Orphan X series is just so much fun. Intelligent writing. This one satisfies all the way. Don't miss it.
Evan Smoak is the hero we all aspire to be. He's human as well as very telented.

Thank goodness Even is back. I was missing him so and this installment of his hectic life is still in keeping with this excellent series.

We get to see a more personal side to Evan as Gregg Hurwitz is slowly introducing him and how behind all of that stamina and outward shell, Even is still human.

Evan becomes involved in another adventure initially searching for a missing dog that belongs to his niece. Oh course, he is adverse to getting close to anyone, but he finds himself involved. We also get to see the growing love that Evan and Joey have as she too is searching for her Joey humanness.

In this installment we are taken to the world of AI and two (?) men who are instrumental in their development, gathering more money but more importantly more power over the population. definitely, there is another lethal assassin, a girl, who seems to match Evan's move tick for tact.

Once again, it seems that Evan and Joey are the champions against the ones who plan our future.

Love this book, love this series, and most of all love Evan and Joey. I do hope Gregg Hurwitz is planning the next adventure of these two endearing characters.

Thanks once again for Gregg Hurwitz, Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the pleasure of being able to read this book out next February of 2024.

Well, I think I should be able to just cut and paste reviews from now on. Why, might you ask? Because I LOVED this book. I am a die hard fan of this series and Mr. Hurwitz has not let me down lately. It even feels to me that his writing is just getting better and better.

One of the greatest feelings in the world is seeing a new book released (or in this case, being awarded an ARC) from a book in a series that you LOVE. That feeling of excitement, of just knowing that once you start, you are going to be sucked into a new and thrilling adventure that is going to start your adrenaline spiking and have you holding your breath. Yep, holding your breath until you know if our guy is going to make it out of whatever mess he has gotten himself into this time.

Did this book do all that? Absolutely.

I liked this book because it had quite a bit of intersection between two of the series' main characters - Evan (Orphan X) and Joey (also of the Orphan program). It has been such a delight watching these two characters - who are probably two of the smartest and deadliest people in the world - try to navigate their way through their social awkwardness. To be fair, it is neither of their faults that they have so social skills - heck, it is amazing that they even have any humanity left after what they have endured up to this point.

I have loved watching Evan grow and evolve as a character. Joey as well, for that matter. Evan has come so very far from where we started EQ-wise (is that a word?). Just the fact that he has let Joey into his life, (and also into his heart) is an enormous milestone. It has been a long and hard road, but boy is it fun to watch. He and Joey are truly two peas in a pod - it is just that they're each peas from different pods.....

Okay, guess I should say something about the book. This storyline is kind of funny in the fact that it starts with Evan being forced into looking for a lost dog, and subsequently being blindsided and basically cold cocked by a septuagenarian. Seriously....... (see, that's funny)

Anyway, one thing leads to another (doesn't it always?) and we get sucked into the world of AI development and the enormous amount of power that we are giving up as humans to those who have the ability and resources to "mine our data". There are some truly frightening conversations and actions in this book, made all the more scary because they are true and occurring already.

There is a bad guy that really does give Evan a run for his money. Without going into spoilers, we get to see several new and different sides of the Nowhere Man. From a very rare intimate encounter to an overindulgence in alcohol and dare I say...."a pity party" .... to the realization that he has somehow let more people into his world than he was aware of happening at the time. Definitely lots of new things from Mr. Smoak.

Thank you Mr. Hurwitz for another winner 5tyg. But honestly, I really didn't have any doubts that you would knock it out of the park.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC. The opinions above are mine and mine alone.