Evan Smoak was taken from a group foster care home in Baltimore when he was 12 years old. Trained to be a government assassin by the black ops 'Orphan' program. He is a perfect killing machine....but when it comes to human and social interactions, he is completely out of his element. After leaving (escaping), the Orphan program, Orphan X used his specialized skills to become the Nowhere Man. Making ammends for his prior life by helping innocent people when they find themselves in impossible situations. He has become a sort of shield for hire and his payment? That the person he has helped passes his phone number on to the next person in desperate need.
Book 8 in this series left us with Evan knocking on a door. What happened when that door opened has left him reeling and unable to cope with his emotions. This knocks him so completely off his game that he ends up making mistakes that could be lethal for him. Luckily, despite himself, he finds that there are a few close friends who worry and care about him.
Reluctantly he agrees to take on a small, insignificant job. Find a young girl's lost dog. Easy right? Somehow Evan finds himself crossing paths with a killer for hire known as 'The Wolf'.. What follows is another exciting Orphan X story. This 9th book can be read as a stand alone, but it is so much better to follow the character's growth from the beginning and to see how each event had shaped him. It is also enjoyable to see how other characters were introduced into Evan's world. Especially Josephine 'Joey', the teenage computer genius who is so important in Evan's life now.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for the opportunity to enjoy this action packed e-ARC.

Just when you think Gregg Hurwitz cannot top his last book, he writes Lone Wolf and takes the thriller genre to a whole new level. I was shocked, amazed and left wanting more after finishing this book. If you have read all of Gregg's previous novels you will love this one.

Gregg Hurwitz never disappoints! The Orphan X series is excellent! Evan Smoak, aka; Orphan X and the Nowhere Man, continues to evolve and strives to live up to the lessons Jack taught him. Yes, he’s trained as an assassin but Jack also wanted him to retain his humanity. In many ways this is Evan’s biggest challenge., but he finds himself thrust into forging those human contacts, makeshift family and friends. There is always a blend of real world issues, action and personal life lessons in each storyline, which just makes the books so much more interesting in my opinion. I highly recommend this author and this series!

Not much in Evan's life seems all that simple, not even looking for a weird little dog. The story had a nice mix of action and personal life awkwardness. A chase went a few chapters too long for my taste, but that's just my take. One of the things I like about this author is that his stories make me think, sometimes to the point of being made uncomfortable or unsettled by what a character is saying or doing. I appreciate that.

I think was is the first time in reading this series that I sat there arguing with the book after finishing it. Not a bad thing. The characters almost feel like old friends now, so when something less than positive turns up it matters more than it might with some other books. Really need to see what's next.

Another non-stop ride with Evan and company! It is nice to see how The Nowhere Man has changed over the years and how he keeps ending up with family members he doesn’t want but needs and finding friends in the most unlikely places. You experience snarky humor and even some "warm fuzzies." The book has multiple mysteries occurring and some insight into the current perils society is facing. A bit of a set-up at the end that lets you know where the next book may be going.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books, and Gregg Hurwitz for the eARC.

📚 #BOOKREVIEW 📚
Lone Wolf (Orphan X, Book 9) by Gregg Hurwitz
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / Pages: 389 / Genre: Thriller

Evan Smoak, AKA Orphan X, AKA The Nowhere Man, is a government-trained assassin gone rogue. He’s broken free from the program that built him and now he’s using his deadly skills to defend the weak, get back what was taken, and punish those that deserve it. Evan’s case in this story starts out with a lost dog and quickly escalates to sadistic tech moguls, human traffickers, sorority bitches, a ruthless HOA election, and Evan’s own revelations about family and friends.

I’ve been a fan of the Orphan X series from the beginning, and Lone Wolf, the ninth and latest book, is hands down my absolute favorite. It was non-stop action with compelling characters—new and old. This book in particular was also really funny. All the quick one-liners had me giggling between all the action. While I think you’d get a lot more out this one if you read the series from the beginning, I think you could still jump into this one and enjoy it just the same.

Thank you, @NetGalley, @StMartinsPress, and @GreggHurwitzBooks for the advanced copy of this book. I absolutely loved it!

I’m always so excited to get the latest in this series and this one definitely didn’t disappoint! Always so much action, a great storyline and some snarky humor! A great continuation of this series! Many thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this copy for read and review

Love Wolf is the 9th book in the Orphan X series and does not disappoint! This one is different with the rest as Even spins out after meeting his family then dives head long into a lost dog case. Wait what? Yes that’s right an adorable little girl hired him to find her lost dog. What happens next no one could foresee as even delves into his series most dangerous case yet! It was excellent and I highly recommend it if you’re an orphan X fan. Non-Stop action with all the mystery and intrigue you could imagine. Dive right in you won’t regret it.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is getting great reviews, so clearly I am in the minority, but I didn't get it and DNF'd at 40%. I think a BIG issue is that this was my first in the series and I don't feel like it can be read as a standalone. It felt like it picked up where the last one left off and I couldn't catch up. My dad is a big fan of this series and gave me some background before I started reading, but it wasn't enough. I also don't love overly action packed books so this was a little out of my normal genre.

I am giving it a 3 star because I am sure it is not a bad book, it just isn't a good fit for me.

No good deed goes unpunished. Evan Smoak is the Nowhere Man. When someone is in desperate trouble he is a phone call away to make things right. This time when he answers his phone it is his half-brother’s young daughter who has lost her dog. Trained as an assassin, this is not the type of case that he would take on but he is forced to reluctantly agree. Finally tracing the dog’s location, Evan stumbles on a murder with the assassin still in the home. The victim’s daughter Jayla unexpectedly arrives and the assassin is determined to leave no witnesses. Her skills are evenly matched to Evan’s, leading to action scenes that will leave you breathless.

Evan has finally found his father, but their meeting does not go well, leaving him in a bad spot mentally. It is Joey, his young protege, who begins to pull him back. Not only does she provide technical support for him, but she has become like a daughter to him and injects humor into the story, constantly calling him out for being blindsided by an old woman while looking for the dog. Evan is determined to keep Jayla safe. To accomplish this he must discover what is behind the murder and stop the assassin. I have been reading this series from the beginning and it has been consistently exciting. Gregg Hurwitz’s action scenes are edge of your seat and his plots are complex. While reading his previous books will give you an introduction to the people connected to Evan, it can still be read as a stand alone. If you enjoy Mark Greaney’s Gray Man series then the Nowhere Man series is highly recommended.

When it comes to reading I'm a big fan of strong characters that appear in a series of books.
Over time Hurwitz Lone Wolf becomes one of the better reads in the ongoing series Orphan X.
Coming off the disappointment of it's predecessor, I was looking for more in this one - and it certainly delivers.
In this book, Orphan X [the Nowhere Man] receives a call from his niece about her missing dog. What starts as a dog search leads to murder and a chase between two accomplished assassins.
It was a great ride as Evan went after the killer of a prominent computer AI engineer; the killer, a female assassin he referred to as the Wolf.
The strength of this book leans on the development of its key characters, and I wasn't disappointed here. It leaves me wanting for more.
All in all, a great read. Four stars!
Thanks to St. Martin's Press and Minotaur Books, as well as Netgalley, for the opportunity to provide this unbiased review.

Book #9 in the Orphan X series. Each book could be read as a stand alone, but I recommend you start at the beginning. One of the things that make this series so good is the back history as Gregg Hurwitz has built Evan Smoak from an ultimate bad guy into an ultimate good guy. Each book has a central story that will draw Evan into situations that provide readers with as much "thrill" as any of the popular series currently on the shelves. The supporting cast of characters keep the story moving as fast as you can turn pages. Orphan X books will hook you at page one and leave you trying to keep up as they race to the end.

Who would think that a lost dog would lead to Evan in opposition with big tech geniuses? I really enjoy watching Evan become more “human” in his thoughts and deeds as he continues to interact with friends and family. I did miss Mia and Peter. Oh, Tommy! Hurwitz does it again. He delivers an intense, convoluted story while showing us Evan Smoak’s continuing journey toward learning what it means to be part of found family and friends.

A new Orphan X thriller always straight to the top of my To Be Read list. Gregg Hurwitz is writing the best thriller series around - a combination of Evan Smoak's hyper-competence as an operative, complicated plots incorporating real world concerns (this one has just-beyond-reality AI and corporate tech-bros run amok), and Smoak's semi-successful and often very funny efforts to find and maintain community connections. In recent books the villains have occupied morally murky ground, and the distance between good guys and bad guys has gotten closer and in some cases disappeared,

This installment rings all of the bells: breathtaking action sequences, a fast-moving story that still leaves time for a great supporting cast, crisp writing, and Smoak's continued development. And it can only be a matter of time until Joey, Evan's foster daughter and sidekick, gets her own series. She steals most of the scenes she's in.

If you enjoy thrillers, you should definitely read this one.

This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart


Review copy was received from NetGalley, Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Orphan X series is one I never want to miss. I would read the books in order because of the character developments and also because they are all amazing and fun!

I've been worried about Evan. He can't really have a normal life and has to stay hidden. I'm surprised the government isn't after him more after his disregard for their plans. So he seems to be drifting some, with only his Nowhere calls to answer but they aren't frequent.

Evan's character development is the really story here, along with those he is trying to help. He met his biological father, but Jack was more of a real father to him. He has Joey. There's also his half brother, ex-wife and daughter now. Then there are his vendor contacts like Candy McClure, Melinda and Tommy. Not to forget the ex-drug cartel leader and Luke Devine who are another sort of contact.

Evan considers and tried to figure out his connection with these people. His closest relationship these days is with Joey. It's precious how they support and help each other. And I love how they were able to help Jayla Hill after her father died in every way.

Book 9 in the Orphan X Series is, not only, a fast-paced, pulse-pounding thriller; but, also, a deeper look into an ever-evolving Evan Smoak. If you haven't read the earlier books you can still enjoy Lone Wolf, but I recommend meeting the younger Evan, so you can appreciate his growth and changing relationships with the cast of surrounding characters. Fantastic!

I received an ARC for free but I gave my honest opinion voluntarility.

Orphan X is one of my favorite ongoing series'.

In this volume, we meet a member of X's real family and I think I heard my heart crack somewhere along the line. X's relationship with Joey continues to grow and change, as she grows and X tries to.

This time around X is trying to locate a missing dog. Yep. A missing dog. lol

I don't care what X is doing, I want to read about it. Grocery shopping with X? I'm there. Watching TV with X? I'll bring the popcorn. (Though X rarely watches television.)

I love me some Evan Smoak, (X), and I will continue to read about him until he passes. At which point I will be ugly crying for sure.

My highest recommendation! Long live Orphan X!

*E-ARC from the publisher, via NetGalley.*

Evan Smoak, once a black ops assassin, is now a person who helps anyone in trouble. But this mission is not like any other he has ever taken part in. He is helping to find a dog. You heard me, a lost dog. But this dog leads to an unusual murder and Evan may have finally met his match with this assassin.

Orphan X is truly one of the best characters on the market. He is a cross between Jack Reacher and Batman.

I loved finding out about Evan’s family in this one and how it affected him! Makes me see a whole new side of this character!

Now, this is part of a series. I have read them all. They are stand alone. However, this one did not really explain his past. And it is a good, strange, weird past. So, read this but go back and pick up all of them. You won’t be sorry!

I just love Orphan X. And there cannot be a better narrator than Scott Brick. He is the best ever! He makes Orphan X come alive.

Need a great, action packed series…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

Sometimes even the smallest ask can lead to great danger.

Evan Smoak, known formerly as Orphan X when he was an off-the-books government assassin, now masquerades as a bland businessman while actually being the Nowhere Man. He keeps a satellite phone with him at all times; anyone who is in terrible trouble of some sort and have nowhere else to turn can call his number and enlist his aid. Each time he helps someone, the only payment he requires is that they be alert to seeing others who are in need of his services, and when they do they are to pass his number along. Over the course of the series, the barriers that X has kept up to keep other people away have slowly eroded in spots…he now finds himself with Joey, a computer wizard teenage girl with whom he has a mentor:mentee/big brother:little sister relationship (along with her messy dog, Dog); a half-brother with an alcohol problem, an ex-wife and a daughter; fellow residents of his condo building who keep trying to drag him into their activities and their lives; and several other business contacts who have developed into friends, at least of a sort.
As this installment, ninth in the series, opens X seems to have disappeared. He isn’t answering his sat phone, which has never happened, and Joey and others are worried. When it turns out that he had summoned the courage to meet the man who fathered him, it didn’t turn out well, and he got well and truly drunk in response to the encounter, Joey is more than a little upset. X is off-balance, not operating at his usual high level. When the sat phone rings, and it is his niece (who doesn’t actually know she’s his niece) wanting him to find her lost dog, it is easier for X to just do it than explain that it is really not a Nowhere Man-caliber case. Such a small request….but things explode when he starts looking. He comes upon a murdered man with the murderer still in the building, and just when X is about to capture the assassin the murdered man’s teenage daughter arrives and is used as a human shield. The murderer, a woman whom X will come to identify as a professional known as The Wolf, escapes. X is able to save the teenager, but not before she is badly injured. That partial failure fuels X’s desire to find out why the murder was committed. Soon he finds himself in the frightening world of next-level AI, competing billionaires weaponizing the use of personal data of their online customers to manipulate life choices and create markets, and an assassin who is as well-trained as he is and is now not only looking to finish the job of killing the teenager who survived, but adding X to her kill list as well. It’s not all dark….there are plenty of humorous moments between X and Joey, amongst the HOA political shenanigans at his condo, and the maddeningly elusive Loco the missing chihuahua mix. Learning to let people in to your life comes with emotional risk, and that is one arena in which X does not excel (but he’s trying).. Ever-developing characters, frighteningly real scenarios to which our online activities have exposed us, and the rewards and risks of claiming people as friends and family are all woven around a briskly paced search for the reasons behind a slain man and the person or persons behind the kill. For readers who enjoy a good thriller, particularly authors like Lee Child and Mark Greaney, I highly recommend you give the Orphan X series a try….if you’re already a fan of the series, this latest installment won’t disappoint. Many thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books for allowing me access to a copy of Lone Wolf, it was a fantastic read!

Evan Smoak, aka Orphan X, was trained by Jack - his handler and mentor. Ever since he was trained as an assassin, Jack became Evan's father figure. Evan was constantly trying to use his skills and keeping with the Ten Commandments that Jack handed down to him. This made it certain for him to stay in harmony with the job and his own moral compass while in the Orphan Program, which was designed to stop sex traffickers, domestic abusers and other equally vile characters.

If you are a fan of movies like The Bourne Identity, then you will truly love this book and the entire series. I definitely would recommend going into your online library or Audible, and getting each and every book which I will list below.

At some point, Evan left the program and came to be known as The Nowhere Man. He is in a race for survival. One thing Evan hopes for at this point in his life is to find his biological father. But, there is an assassin taking lives, and Evan, along with Joey, his computer genius, he works hard to find the female assassin. Joey is a young college kid who consistently messes with Smoak’s need for order, but Evan cannot deny how brilliant she is.

As Evan hunts the assassin, he realizes that her skills match his. Thus, there is incredible action in this audiobook. My heart was racing every single minute of this read.

Many thanks to Minotaur Books and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.