I received a free copy of <i>Orphan X</i> through NetGalley.

What a ride! Reminiscent of Robert Ludlum's <i>The Bourne Identity</i> and Lee Child's Jack Reacher, young boy Evan leaves a troubled, lonely childhood to become part of the Orphan cadre, a secret government-sponsored program of fixers. Extensively trained, they fix through assassinations and covert operations. Without a family Evan looks to his handler, Jack, as a father-figure and role model. Eventually when Evan questions his chosen career path, he decides to quit and becomes "The Nowhere Man," a kind of fixer who solves problems for people in crisis. Here, he uses his skills to aid ordinary people who have absolutely nowhere to turn. Their only form of payment is to recommend his services to only one person in need. As he helps others, Evan must help himself as he is hunted by the remnants of the now defunct Orphan program.

Hurwitz writes fight scenes that have singular Evan fighting off numerous, highly trained opponents. He calculates as he fights similar to Jack Reacher's methodology. But, in many ways, Evan is a new persona. Despite never really having much humanity in his life, his personal code is to always protect the innocent and he risks his life and any possibility of personal gratification in order to protect.

This was a fun read, and I am looking forward to other books in the series.

A huge thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan and Gregg Hurwitz for the opportunity to read the first three books in the Orphan X series. Loved all three books and have recommended to fellow reading friends.

Orphan X by Gregg Hywitz is the first bock busting book in his series.
Evan, as a young boy was trained to become Orphan X.
It has all the thrills, chills and how in the world is he going to get out this!
How can you go wrong with a man doing everything wrong, but for the right reasons.
As an older woman that adores action thrillers this is a MUST read!!
Solid gold five stars.

Orphan X is a former government assassin and asset who has struck out on his own using his skills to help people in dire situations. Action packed with great characters. High recommended for fans of Jack Reacher or The Grey Man.

I really liked this introductory novel. Evan Smoak is the nowhere man. He, as a child, was trained to be an assassin and agent for an off the books group in the Government. Later, after the death of his teacher, he left the agency and became a free lance helper of people in desperate trouble. They would call him once on his cellphone to set up a meeting and explain their situation. If he found them to be in need and truthful, he would take care of matters once and for all. This time circumstances changed. There were two calls from two different people and some serious outsiders, who also may have been former Orphans, involved. The action is almost nonstop and the descriptions graphic. The reader could clearly visualize what is happening. The novel was good enough that I am reading the next two following novels immediately. I want to know what becomes of Evan and, amazingly, the people living in his condo with whom he inadvertently became involved. Thanks to Net Galley and Minotaur Books for an ARC for an honest review.

Thx to Netgalley, St. Martins Press and Gregg Hurwitz for this ARC.. I seldom read a book like this and even more seldom a book by a male author. But this series and this author might be my exception.. I loved the main character , Evan, his relationships with his friends and foes. This story had me digging deeper into a world I anticipate looking forward to even more. Thx for introducing me to Mr. Hurwitz and his series. St Martin Press seems to have all the great authors !

WOW!! This was one of the best books I have read in quite some time. Really on par with the Robert Crais Elvis Cole series. Loved the tense situations, the characters were well described. I cannot wait to read the next one in the series!

Trained as an assassin as a child Evan broke with his government and disappeared reinventing himself as the Nowhere Man. Evan helps those who are desperate, not seeking payment but for those he helps to pay it forward and give his number to someone else they feel could use his help. His latest case is different and he realizes that someone is using his new identity to flush him out - no he just has to figure out who and why.

This is a fast paced thriller that reminds me of the beginning of the Bourne series, except in this Evan isn't just trying to blend in, he uses his talents to help those who are desperate. It was interesting to see Evan evolve in this book and to read about his beginnings and how his trainer didn't just want to create an assassin but someone who didn't lose their humanity along the way.

The character development of several of the supporting characters is well done and I felt invested in what happened to them. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

In this first in a series by author Gregg Hurwitz, we meet kick-ass hero Evan Smoak, an intelligent and trained assassin, taken from his home and expertly trained as a young teen. I loved the flashbacks that define Evan for who he is today, the motivations that led him to become the ‘Nowhere Man’, helping others on his own terms. Also loved the integration of the many techie tools. I am thrilled to discover a new author that both my husband can enjoy which is very rare; Evan is our new Jason Bourne. What a great thriller. Hopefully, the second in the series will be just as good!

Gregg Hurwitz’s “Orphan X” could serve as a detailed outline for all authors striving to create a successful series. The outline would run something like this:

1) Create an interesting character with an odd background that matches your book’s hero. If the character seems a little over the top, don’t sweat it. If people can believe a blind man in a red costume can use a cane/billy club to swing around New York City, anything will work. As long as your hero demonstrates realistic human emotions and you follow all the steps, you will be okay.

2) Research the world your hero will live in. Talk to experts and gain the knowledge you need to craft places and things people understand and will believe. This includes technology and weapons.


3) Weave an incredible plot around your character and his world. Throw in some twists that make sense. Don’t forget to reveal some of the secrets early on, just cloud them with smoke so when they pop up later, readers will go “Oh, Wow! I saw that, but didn’t realize…”

4) Stir in tons of suspense and make your fight scenes realistic without letting the technical stuff get in the way.


5) Complete the story you are telling (that means no cliffhangers), with hints of what the next book or books might be about.

This was a great story, a start of a series that had everything a reader could ask for. One possible major error: Writing an incredible book that might be impossible to top…or even equal. My money’s on Gregg Hurwitz. Five stars.

The premise of this novel is good—a man trained to become an assassin in an elite, off-the-records program—uses his expertise and wealth to help people with nowhere else to turn.

It was like watching a super hero movie—I just had to decide, sure, I’ll pretend that’s plausible. It’s a little Batman meets James Bond—lots of special weapons and security measures that us normal folks will never encounter outside of books and movies.

I had some trouble envisioning the fight scenes, but I liked the fast pace and the twists and turns that Evan Smoak—Orphan X—has to figure out to keep innocent people and himself alive.

This is a fun read. Recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the opportunity to review this novel.

I throughly enjoyed Orphan X by Gregg Hurwitz . Though some of the violence was difficult to read Evan, the main character tries to help those in need. From the time he was twelve years old he was only taught ways to hurt and even kill his enemies. He now uses those skills to help others who desperately need protection. I like this book and found the other two books that the author wrote with Evan as his main character. I wish he would write more.

A story that pulls you in and wants you to read more. Action packed and moves at a good pace. Worth reading.

4.5 for me. I don't usually read books of the mystery & thriller genre, but I really liked this. I found it engaging, nicely written and entertaining with the little humor and lust-ish bit that sporadically came up. I liked the author's writing style. I liked the methodical way all the details gave me a better sense of Evan's life. It stayed put on the big picture with the smaller stories added on the side to make you smile or think even harder about plot twists and suspenseful tricks, and it was just cool with how they all eventually connected in some way. I only had about a handful of impatient moments when the details would be too much for me because I just HAD to know what was going to happen, but other than that, I was overall content with what I read. It's definitely made me excited to read the second book.

This is the first book in the Orphan X series, and what a great start to a series. Fast-paced, with a fascinating main character in Evan Smoak. His background is a bit reminiscent of Vince Flynn’s Mitch Rapp character, but Evan Smoak has transformed himself into the Nowhere Man, who uses the skills he learned as a government operative to privately help ordinary citizens who find themselves in extreme danger, and then asks them to “pay it forward” by passing his phone number on to one person who needs his help. But this time he finds himself unsure of who whom he can trust when two different people say his last client has passed his number to them. The end left me anxious to move on to the next book in the series - and to me that’s an excellent recommendation for the first book in a series.
Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books for providing a copy for an unbiased review.

3.5 stars

Orphan X is a black ops assassin trained from childhood by an off-the-books government program that, as so many of these secret programs do, goes awry. When ordered to kill another "orphan," Evan Smoak decides the problems in the program run too deep to ignore. Using the training and finances he has received, Evan builds an untraceable life.

What to do with the skills he has mastered? Since he doesn't have an alternate career path, Evan embarks on missions to protect the innocent, his only requirement is that whomever he helps must pass his Nowhere Man name and number to someone else in difficult circumstances. One mission at a time, Evan pursues the despicable evil-doers.

What I liked: Exciting and full of adventurous action. Kind of...action fantasy.

What I disliked: 1) The emphasis on the aesthetic treatment of alcohol. I mean, Evan doesn't drink much, but when he does the alcohol is really special--distilled 7 or 9 times, blah, blah, blah. 2) Too many, too detailed fight scenes. While realizing the need to establish his fighting skills and variety of techniques, describing it punch by jab becomes filler rather than fun. I get it. Hurwitz knows what he's talking about and/or has expert researchers.

OK--so Evan Smoak is a high-tech Jack Reacher. Hurwitz gets a lot of background and details established in this first book and it is fun when things are moving. It took me a little while to decide whether or not I liked it because of the excess of information setting up Evan's knowledge of alcohol, martial arts, and weapons, but I did end up enjoying it. Don't we all wish for a superhero kind of vigilante to defeat and punish the bad guys?

Once you accept that this is fantasy-vigilante-hero stuff--Orphan X is great fun. I liked Evan Smoak and cheered him on, but a lot of bad people die.

NetGalley/St. Martin's Press

Techno-thriller. 2016. Print length: 367 pages (less)

A Nice Assassin?

Evan Smoak is a deadly assassin. Evan Smoak is a hero, if a person desperate for help from a hopeless situation calls. Gregg Hurwitz has created one of the most loveable assassins in the world of fiction. As his character developed, I felt I was right there, getting to know Evan. I felt his strength, his fears, his loneliness, and his awkwardness in domestic situations. I could picture his home, share his deep feelings for his mentor, and his lust for revenge when everything went wrong.

The plot has been described over and over by many, so I won’t go into it further. Just know if you choose to read Orphan X you will be drawn into one of the most interesting thrillers ever, and you will meet a remarkable man. I’m beginning the next book, The Nowhere Man, as soon as I can get a glass of iced tea and settle in on the patio. Can’t wait to see where the next adventure takes Evan.

I received a free copy of this novel from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

A book with many twists and turns and keeps you on edge of seat. This is a series and I am headed for the 2nd.

Grab the edge of your seat and hang on tight! Gregg Hurwitz’s ORPHAN X is about to go rogue and the humanity they couldn’t train out of him could be the edge he needs to survive.
He had no one, he was an orphan, trained to kill, to become invisible, the perfect back ops pawn the government could deny ever knowing. The only thing he had going for him was his trainer, and his own will to live and the humanity they couldn’t train out of him.

Evan Smoak’s one weakness was his work as The Nowhere Man and it was that weakness that could be his death.

The action never stops, following Evan’s grueling journey from an unwanted teen to a honed killing machine to his human side as a man uncomfortable in his own skin in the presence of normal human interactions.

While I was mesmerized by Orphan X as a machine-like operator, I think I was drawn to Evan’s human side, the side that could be called weak by the heartless. Gregg Hurwitz’s characters are dynamic, carved into being with his words. Evan Smoak cold be the most intriguing anti-hero ever as his story unfolds in bold strokes with an atmosphere that morphs right along with him!

I received a complimentary copy from Minotaur Books!

Series: Orphan X
Publisher: Minotaur Books (January 19, 2016)
Publication Date: January 19, 2016
Genre: Thriller | Suspense
Print Length: 367 pages
Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
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(Thank you Netgalley for an early reader copy, which in now way affected my review!)

OMG, I am hooked! An underground superhero who doesn't wear a cape but saves the downtrodden, super cool technology galore, truly evil villains, lots of twist and turns...fantastic! What more could you ask for? Gregg Hurwitz's book grabbed me from the first pages and didn't let go. It's unbelievable, but also very well researched and the writing is so good you feel like you are there with Orphan X, aka Evan. Who IS this guy?

Known as the Nowhere Man (but not to many) Evan helps those who are in impossible situations and are, to use his word, "innocents" who are being preyed upon. Most think that the Nowhere Man is a myth, and Evan is a hidden underground hero, but very very real. Using his vast resources of intelligence and technology, he saves the innocents from those who would hurt them. Brought into the stealthy Orphan program as a 12 year old, he has learned to be lethal, impervious to pain and all too human. But somebody is setting him up and perhaps one of his innocents is not so innocent. But which one? Is it Katrin who called so quickly after his last project? Is it Morena, the one before? His neighbor?

It's clear that Hurwitz did an incredible amount of research, which he details at the end: martial arts, weapons, the military. His descriptions are so details you can clearly see in your mind's eye how the scene unfolds move by move; its fascinating. Think Mission Impossible on steroids, only with a much more human and likable super hero. I can't wait to read the rest of the series!