Cover Image: The Nowhere Man

The Nowhere Man

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Member Reviews

This is the second book in this series. This book, I'm not sure how that it picks up and goes even faster and farther than book one. It might leave you breathless. Evan Smoak, he is the "Orphan X", he is now... The Nowhere Man. What a name! What is this man up to? So while we go through some twists and turns, a girl in trouble, and a whole lot more; I'm wondering if I'm going to turn into a fan.

Net Galley is the reason I have this copy of this book. This review is left freely, and it is my own.

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I enjoyed this book more than the first in this series. Non-stop mystery and suspense. The only criticism is that if you had not read the first book in this series there would be parts that you would not fully understand.

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Another great book to add to this series. It's full of suspense and I love the "Macgyver" ways of Evan Smoak. My only caution to other readers is that if you read the first book in this series you may want to skip over portions of the second book as the refreshers are almost identical to the first book. I understand this needs to be done for those who may not have read the first book or for those who may take a large break between books but, for me, it was very disappointing. That said, once you get to the main story it is like a ride on a torpedo. I couldn't put it down. And didn't. Can you see my dark circles?

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Gregg Hurwitz' Orphan X is one of my favorite "action hero" characters. The pace of these of these novels is super fast, but also full of human details that build a bond between the reader and the characters. Not just Evan, but all of the people in his world. The over-the-top mandatory thriller elements are all there, and Mr Hurwitz makes them all seem plausible. I am really looking forward to the next installment!

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I am really enjoying this series, I love Scott Brick and he makes Orphan X alive to me!

In this story Evan is the one that needs saving, we learn more about his past.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review from Netgalley and St. Martin's Press. I actually read this book as an audiobook, because I love the narrator so much.

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"The Nowhere Man" is almost as good as "Orphan X" was. This book is a fast paced thriller that's a pretty good addition to the series.

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Book 2 in the Orphan X series is just a good as the first book. Evan has been captured and locked up in a room in a big house in the mountains. Where is he, who kidnapped him, and what do they want? Another great, fast-paced thriller.

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I can’t believe this series was in my pile for so long without being read. Now that I started, I can’t stop. If you like the Jack Reacher series you will love the Orphan X.

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Bruce Willis on Steroids

You know how, in the movies, the hero is beaten up and shot up and struggles along, taking out bad guys, and then he's beaten up again and hurt more, and takes out more bad guys, and then he's smashed down and beaten up yet again, but he keeps on coming like the Energizer Bunny? Yeah, it's just like that. And the adrenaline rush of the story keeps you reading. It's dark, it's grim, it is dystopia magnified, but it's a lot of fun as a thriller despite all the blood, and gore, and nastiness. Certainly if you were reading just this book, it is a good stand-alone story. However it depends heavily on the first book for the deeper background and explanation of how things got to be where they are. (Pertinent data is, of course, reiterated as needed.) In many ways, that one is kinder and gentler than this volume despite themes of abuse and terrorism; book two ramps things up but concludes all active business with no cliffhangers within its own plot. However, there are more volumes to come in the larger story arc. Go, good guys!

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Evan Smoak is becoming one of my favorite characters. An ex-assassin who has kept his humanity. And he's also funny. Damn that's sexy! The 2nd book in the Orphan X series was a high octane, white knuckle thriller. It was so intense it kept me on the edge-of-my-seat with my pulse racing the whole time. I couldn't put the book down. This book has everything a thriller story needs. Fast-paced, action-packed, fascinating characters, suspense. Love this series so far. Can't wait to read the next book. Highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of Gregg Hurwitz's "The Nowhere Man" in exchange of an honest review.

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NOWHERE MAN (Orphan X #2)

NOWHERE MAN

Another book in the "Orphan" series, these stories are just plain fun to read. Formerly part of a clandestine government program consisting of highly trained orphans, Evan Smoak is now working on his own. He helps desperate people. He takes care of the their problem.

In Nowhere Man, Evan gets himself caught and trapped in a palatial chalet... somewhere. His captor has some very odd proclivities and doesn't enjoy Smoak interfering with his business. In the meantime, there's a young lady involved in human trafficking who desperately needs his help. Also, a child is trying to reach out to him.

Evan's past revisits him in this book in a way that really shakes up his beliefs. Soul-searching, but patterns are hard to break.

I really liked Orphan X and I liked Nowhere Man even more. I can't wait to read the next one in the series.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Gregg Hurwitz, and Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

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This was another "not good, not bad" read. I felt like things were a bit slow in the middle at the Chalet though. I did like that Evan is a bit less robotic, less one track savior to all mind. It's nice to see that he is a bit more human, especially after all the emphasis about Jack trying to keep him human during his training.

Candy continues to be the most ridiculous character in a book ever, though. I really wish we were done with her, but somehow I just don't think I'm that lucky.

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He was once called Orphan X.

As a boy, Evan Smoak was taken from a children's home, raised and trained as part of a secret government initiative buried so deep that virtually no one knows it exists. But he broke with the programme, choosing instead to vanish off grid and use his formidable skill set to help those unable to protect themselves.

One day, though, Evan's luck ran out . . .

Ambushed, drugged, and spirited away, Evan wakes up in a locked room with no idea where he is or who has captured him. As he tries to piece together what's happened, testing his gilded prison and its highly trained guards for weaknesses, he receives a desperate call for help.

With time running out, he will need to out-think, out-manoeuvre, and out-fight an opponent the likes of whom he's never encountered to have any chance of escape. He's got to save himself to protect those whose lives depend on him. Or die trying . . .



My thoughts

rating: 5 stars

This series gets better with each book , and with each book you get to see the character grew as well, its one of those series that once I started reading it I get pulled into the story and just want to keep reading until the very end. It also reminds me of an old tv show : Have Gun Will Travel , to find out why ,you need to read the series , with that said I want to thank Netgalley for letting me read and review it exchange for my honest opinion.

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Evan Smoak was Orphan X--a boy trained in a top-secret government program, groomed to become a lethal weapon, an assassin. After being asked to kill another operative, Evan decides to leave that life behind and disappear. He becomes the Nowhere Man, the helper of people in trouble.

In book 2, Evan is called upon to help a high school girl being entrapped in a sex trafficking scheme against her will. After taking care of her problem, he decides to follow through further and find the local house where the girls were kept before being sent off to buyers. There he himself is attacked and he awakens to find himself a captive in a plush room in a chateau in the mountains with bars on the balcony window and armed guards at his door. Who has done this and why?

The major portion of this book is spent watching Evan carry out a plan of escape, eliminating his captor's hired muscle one by one. Remarkable, edge-of-your-seat action with a truly intelligent hero who is flawed and all too human.

The touch of humor was missing from this second book. Instead, Evan begins to face an existential crisis. Is this all his life will ever be? Can he possibly live a normal life with a wife, children?

I like this character very much and thought this thriller was one of the best I've read with its host of evil villains salivating at the chance to get revenge against Evan. Excellent ending with the punishment fitting the crime! I look forward to reading the next two books in the series. Highly recommend for lovers of the genre.

I wish to thank the publisher for providing me with an ebook copy of this book and the others in the series via NetGalley for my honest review.

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I loved the first three books in this series. I flew through them and enjoyed the suspense, characterization and plot.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley.

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Forget Rambo, forget Ethan Hunt, forget even Superman for have we have a new hero for you all rolled up in a character, named Evan Smoek in the book Nowhere Man. This is Gregg Hurwitz's second book featuring Evan and a bevy of bad, really bad people. Having met Evan already in the book Orphan X, and knowing if I was ever in big deep dark trouble, Evan would be the man I would call and have frighting for me.

Those of us who know of Evan's past as a child secreted into a super elite killer force of orphans, know that any adventures he becomes involved in are dangerous, life threatening, and a ride into a world of darkness and depravity.

Evan is constantly being chased. He is wanted by the group he withdrew from years ago. They want Evan and will pull out all the stops to get him and eliminate the threat he has become. Evan has been able to hide all while helping one person who is in extreme danger at a time. However, Evan's time as a free man has come to an end. He is captured, wakes up in a place where his abilities are well known by his cruel guards, and the man who controls them. If that is not bad enough, Evan receives a call for help while being held captive. He believes himself capable of helping, but given his circumstances this seems impossible. However, this is Evan Smoek and as he battles the evil that surrounds him, he learns more about himself as well as the man who not only taught him many of his skills, but also has loved him as a son.

Fraught with action and hold your breath thriller scenes, Mr Hurwitz has once again created a story that rolls along seeped with action, menace and peril. I definitely recommend this book to those of us who so enjoy a book where the suspense pours out on every page and where one will find their ample fill of hair raising events. Can't wait to find out where Evan is headed in the next book of this mind blowing series.

Thank you to Gregg Hurwitz who once again had me turning pages in the middle of the night, Minatour Books, and NetGalley for an opportunity to read this spine tingling book

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Like any superhero, Evan Smoak has a nemesis and a secret identity. That identity is anonymity clothed to blend into his surroundings. He lives by the Ten Commandments taught to him by the closest thing he ever had to a father. These are NOT the commandments taught in Sunday school.

This sophomore effort in the series is exciting, well written, and compelling, but somehow it is lacking in an almost intangible something the first book had. Perhaps it is merely my perception derived from immediately jumping into THE NOWHERE MAN without taking time to finish digesting ORPHAN X. Yet, maybe not so intangible. If I had to put my finger on it, I would say this book lacks the human messiness of the first.

As I was reading about items that seemed too good to be true even in the 21st century, I did some Googling. RoamZone? Real. Floating bed? Real. Sub Zero? Real. All those vodkas? Real. So here we have another writer using real world items to solidify the reader's suspension of disbelief. I'm someone who enjoys a good vodka martini every once in a while. I will most certainly be looking to try some of those heretofore unknown to me brands that Evan Smoak enjoys. The vodka references could become as famous as James Bond's gin martinis.

Although I found that little something missing, this is absolutely an exciting page turner. I was most impressed by the imagery Hurwitz's writing conveys. I often found myself admiring the unique perfection of a phrase… not once, but over and over again. Whether he is describing a person, place, or thing, you cannot help but visualize it with your mind's eye the illustration he paints with words.

I am continuing to binge the series by immediately diving into HELLBENT. This is one rollercoaster ride I wouldn't miss for the world.

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The Nowhere Man by Gregg Hurwitz is part of a series about Orphan X or Evan Smoak. When quite young he was removed from an orphanage and trained to be an assassin for a secret branch of the government. He breaks away from his role as a government assassin and tried to use his skills to help people in need. He has a special telephone number where he can be reached and he uses his ability to use force to help those it need it. Orphan X is an interesting character with moral values though quite different from most people. He has difficulty establishing close relationships since so much of his life has to be kept a secret from others.

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This is book #2 in the series. After the excitement and fast pace of Orphan X, The Nowhere Man felt like it was written by either a different author or with a different goal in mind. What is believed to be the plot or the driver of the storyline and action ends up being secondary if not tertiary in terms of plot line. It wasn't until the final quarter of the book that the story picked up pace, connected the dots a bit more, and created a nice twist at the end that made you want to start book #3.

Overall, a good book for someone who is a fan of these Jason Bourne-type thrillers.

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I was looking forward to reading this book but the download was no longer on my Kindle and it was archived on NetGalley. I've had several books disappear from my Kindle before I read them. Makes me sad.

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