The nowhere man continues to surprise and delight the reader with fast paced action and a story line that grabs you and keeps you rapidly turning pages as quickly as you can read. A book to enjoy which ends and leaves you looking forward to the next adventure.

I loved this book. There were aspects of the near future, with connected weapons, nano machines, big data enabled probes, and believable explanations of how they worked.
There were also backstories of Evan's origins, his family, and how he was shaped into becoming Orphan X......adding yet another layer to a complex protagonist we have all come to love.
The ending was...shall we say..ambigious.
I'm looking forward to the next novel in the series!!!!

Prodigal Son is a true action thriller with loads of heart. Not only do we get to experience Evan Smoak as a child, but also in relation to his mother and a sibling. Replete with high-tech excitement, Hurwitz again pens a best-seller that doesn't disappoint.

Evan Smoak or X has retired or has he? Essentially forced into retirement by the President his Roamzone phone rings with a new person needing his help. After making the decision to look into the case, he learns it has ties to his childhood. The book has several twists and turns to keep it interesting but seems to want to provide Evan's origin story more than it wants to provide a compelling thriller. In learning about his past Evan's internal walls begin to break down and he starts seeing "normal" life and the ordinary as something that could be in his future after all. This series and the characters have alway been exciting and it will be interesting to see how and if there's a change in the tone of the series as Evan becomes more self-aware and enlightened. Will this make him more deadly to his enemies or less? That remains to be seen in the eagerly awaited next installment in this series.

Well, let me start by saying that I really love this series. Part of the reason that it resonates with me so much is due to the main character Evan Smoak. Here is a character who by all traditional ideas should be a lost cause. He was in the foster care system, taken in by a government program who tailor made him into a weapon, became an assassin and has dealt with some of the most horrible beings on the planet. But, what we see in Evan is not a horrible person. He is a person who is trying to find redemption. He became the Nowhere Man to give back. To try to atone for some of his prior actions. Then, as that phase is coming to an end, he is searching for who he is and who he wants to be. He knows that he is never going to have what is traditionally considered a "normal life" but he is slowly realizing that he just might have a couple of relationships that might prove that he has value.

There is Mia, who he sees with Peter and knows that they are "good". Unfortunately, every time he takes a few steps forward in that relationship, something from his other life pops up and interferes. Then, the most important relationship that Evan has at this moment is the relationship with Joey. They are two peas in a pod, neither of them growing up understanding love or trust yet wanting both so much. Evan is beginning to realize the impact that she is having on his life and doesn't know what to name some of the emotions that he feels.

So, that is where we begin with this book. Evan receives several phone calls from someone claiming to be his mother and decides to investigate. This starts a domino falling process that leads to a huge mess all around. I think that where this book shines is with showing the journey that Evan is on to find out who he is. Not who he decided he was and made himself out to be to survive, but who that little boy who kept picking himself up and throwing himself in front of danger can now be. The relationship with Joey is hilarious. I mean, she is such a typical teenager. She is only 16, but Evan isn't sure how to protect her because she's smarter than people twice her age and we all know she's tough, but, she is only 16. His spying and listening on her date with binoculars and then calling her to let her know what his GPA is and his credit rating....there are no words:)

Where I had a small issue was with the actual "investigation" that Evan sets out on. Normally, these books are so fast moving and I am hooked from beginning to end. I was still hooked, but for some reason, the flow wasn't as easy as I'm used to with an Orphan X book. Without spoilers, I do not want to go into too much detail. I ended up being pulled out of the story a few times near the end. There were lots of ends...some of them loose and some of them felt like they were tied in a knot. I just didn't feel like the story arc was completely finished, and that had nothing to do with the cliffhanger ending that happens at the end of this book. I have made it clear that I am willing to stretch reality for this series, I have no problem with that. This one though, was a bit hard for me.

Regardless, I am looking forward to the next book. With the ending that was given....it is guaranteed to start with a bang!

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. In this book you learn what Ethan's life was as an orphan and how be became the man he is today. This book was action packed. I cant wait for the next book in the orphan series.

Prodigal Son by Gregg Hurwitz Is the 6th book in the Orphan X Series.

I have been a fan of this series since the first book. They are full entertainment and have a pace that just does not let up.

The main character Evan Smoak as a boy is living in an orphan home, before his action-packed life is changed

In this book Evan has an unexpected call from a woman claiming to be his unknown mother

This is a series, and book that does not disappoint. They read as though they were written for the big screen – shall we see more of them in the future?

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and the author for my advanced copy to read and review.

#ProdigalSon #NetGalley

An absolutely engaging read! You learn a ton about Evan’s past, younger days, and dedication to being the #NoWhereMan do yourself a favor and preorder this one!! Drops January 26, 2021!

Character development, great locations/scene descriptions are top notch, intrigue with misdirection and multiple bad guys on different agendas. 5 stars all day long!

Evan Smoak is an assassin par excellence. He is the Orphan X, selected at a young age from an orphanage by a shadowy government agency and trained to be a highly-skilled assassin for the government. After having had enough of killing for the government, he becomes the Nowhere Man, the helper of desperate, persecuted people. But the government, not wanting to risk the exposure of such a sensitive asset, forces him to retire in return for letting him live. His retirement, an opportunity for him to get the first taste of a normal life, is cut short when he gets a call from someone who claims to be his mother asking him to help a man whose life is in terrible danger – a man whom Smoak might know from his past life in the orphanage. It is up to Smoak to unravel the conspiracy and stop some extremely powerful bad guys from executing their deadly plan, while dealing with his past that has come back from nowhere to haunt him.

Prodigal Son is my first experience with the hugely acclaimed Orphan X series by Gregg Hurwitz and it turned out to be so good that I have decided to read the five previous novels soon. This is an excellent book with the perfect mix of heart-stopping action, cutting-edge technology and a moving human element. While the breakneck narrative of Smoak’s adventure and the technological wizardry is exciting, his amusing interactions with his teenaged ward-cum-associate, Joey, and his little-bit-more-than-neighbour Mia and her son Peter, expose his hitherto concealed human side and lend this book a touch of tenderness. Smoak’s fight is as much internal as it is external and it is a lot of fun to watch the tough guy exploring the unexplored corners of his heart.

The writing of Prodigal Son is top-notch and the plot is crisp. The characters, even the ones with minor parts to play, are finely etched and the dialogues are enjoyable. Though this part of the story is finished satisfactorily, the novel ends in a cliff-hanger, forcing the reader to wait impatiently for the next one. On the downside, the technological angle feels a bit over-the-top and the skills of Evan Smoak and Joey, in their respective fields, are unbelievable at times. Also, the part of the killer twins, Declan and Queenie, could have been developed more. Apart from these minor flaws, Prodigal Son is a fantastic piece of fiction that is sure to light-up a dull day, and it deserves 4.5 stars out of 5!

I am grateful to Netgalley, Gregg Hurwitz, St. Martin's Press and Minotaur Books for the ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.

This is a fun book, it's part of a series, so having read previous books make understanding Evan a little easier. Notwithstanding the story is easy to follow. Orphan X is the result of Evan's special private training when he is taken from his foster home.
It has given him some special skills and changed him other ways that are not ok- but I sure would like to have him have my back.
Being asked by his long absent mother to care for a childhood friends, he finds himself in a world of hurt...some he gets and some he puts on others. When he reacts to an attack that ends up with knife penetrating his forearm, I am suitably impressed.
This is a great series, some fun characters, but I love the dog the best.

Gregg Hurwitz is a superb writer and I love the Orphan X series. This installment is as much a character study as it is a thriller and it is both thoughtful and thought-provoking. Of course, it has all of the requisite villains, conspiracies, gee-whiz technology, action and general mayhem that seems to follow Evan everywhere. My only disappointment is having to wait for over a year for the next title.

Another wonderful addition to the Orphan X series. While the series sagged a bit around book 3-4, it has picked up pace again with this one. I had started wondering after the last few books whether I want to dedicate anymore time to the series. I am glad I stuck to it for now.

This book picks up soon after the last one in the series where Orphan X gets a call from someone claiming to be his birth mother. From there, the book goes into the usual action packed thriller with a lot of technological marvels thrown in (some real, some not-so-real and some not-too-far-from-reality).

The difference between this book and the last few is the human angle (something that started with the introduction of Joey in book 5). This book is a lot heavier on emotions and the humane side of Orphan X.

Loved the book overall. A fast-paced ride that never relents. The setup for the next book in the series has me looking forward to it.

I was so excited when I saw that Gregg Hurwitz newest book about The NOwhere man ,Prodigal Son ,was avalible on NewGalley!. I check the library and other web sites to find books by Gregg Hurwitz since h,e is one of my favorite authors. This book is a little different since it begins with his life before he met Jack and was living at the Home for orphans. He also meets his mother and his brother. Evan realizzes he wants to form more satisfying relationships with them . He wants to change. so that he can be more friendly and social witht others. Towards the end of the book he is activly working on this..
I don't like the end of the book but hope there will be more stories about Evan so we can see how his is able to change his violent personality and become a man capable of love and strong helathy relationships.

I have really enjoyed this whole series. In this episode, former assassin Even tries to save a childhood friend, Andre. They grew up in a group foster home together until Evan was selected for his training, leaving Andre behind with what seemed to him to be no future. And a mysterious woman shows up and says she is Evan's mother.

Although the plot was good and it was paced well, some of the descriptions of Evan's skills and apartment seemed a little over-done and almost campy. If I hadn't read the other books they would have put me off.

If you are a fan of quirky tech whiz Joey like I am, she has a small part in this book as does bad girl Candy.

I recommend this book, but it really helps to read the series in order. Earlier books give a good basis of Evan's back story that make this book more enjoyable.

A great addition to the orphan X series. Prodigal Son is a fast paced, action thriller that will keep you engaged from the start. I really enjoyed this book.

Through NetGalley, I received a free copy of PRODIGAL SON (Orphan X, Book 6) by Gregg Hurwitz in exchange for an honest review. Evan Smoak is trying his best to enjoy his presidentially mandated retirement. However, Evan is recalled to his role as the Nowhere Man by an unexpected source; he’s been getting calls on his business phone by someone claiming to be his mother. This mission will bring Evan full circle; he’s been requested to save the life of someone from Evan’s childhood who knew Evan before his recruitment into the Orphan program. As Evan’s past and present merge, he’ll confront what it means to be an adult, what gives meaning to life, and what makes life worth living. However, just as Evan is considering becoming a fully functioning human rather than an assassin with a remnant of humanity, the future of warfare may mean his end. So, past, present, and future all merge for an adventure that will change Evan’s life forever.

I liked this book and enjoy the series. I recommend this series to fans of the old Equalizer television series (not the movies, never the movies). I also recommend this series to fans of spy/assassin/techno thrillers. I caution that this book has a cliffhanger ending which leaves the author the option of either ending the series (this is the obvious option) or continuing Evan’s story (an idea from a previous book). Since these books are a lot of fun, I vote for continuing the series.

#ProdigalSon #NetGalley

What are the events and experiences that make you who you are? With Evan, he has always been Orphan X. He has never experienced what his life could have been if he was never put in the system. As Evan stumbles through domestic life, he gets to be in a new “training ground” he has yet to fully experience in his sessions with Jack.

In Prodigal Son, Evan gets to confront someone who had the power to completely alter his life. Throughout the book, Evan grapples with this persons decision, and he is faced with his own internal battle of how to live with this.

It seems like every book, Gregg Hurwitz increases the anti for Evan. However, I can’t even begin to wrap my head around what Evan goes through in this novel! Hurwitz always adds a level of heart wrenching story line to all of his Orphan X novels, but he outdid himself here. We get the technical aspect that we’ve come to know and love, but we get this amped up level of gut wrenching in this installment. On top of all that, get ready for the ending! Although this will not be the first time I say this...the next Orphan X novel can not come fast enough!

Wow, what an amazing book. It continues the story of Evan Smoak, AKA Orphan X who was taken from a foster home in his early teenage years and turned in an unparalleled killer. This story continues his story arc as he grows close to his somewhat adopted child as she attempts to fit in in college while also helping X on his missions. The focus of this book is family and how far we all will go to maintain that connection. Orphan X is no different. This book he is against so serious hi tech bad guys and he must pull out all of his tricks to survive. I hope this series continues forever as I love these books and will read them as the come out in the future. Excellent book.
Thank you Netgalley, by Gregg Hurwitz, St. Martin's Press and Minotaur Books for the ARC for my honest review.

Prodigal Son is an amazing novel, wherein author Gregg Hurwitz takes on the underside of military contractors with a bold imagination that one can only hope does not become reality. Orphan X finally confronts his humanity and his feelings as his mother introduces herself to him. The side characters, Mia, Peter, and Joey become more interesting as he discovers and expresses what they mean to him. All of this is done in stark reality, with no tear jerking! Thanks, Gregg Hurwitz for this wonderful novel and series. And thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Gregg Hurwitz continues not to disappoint with another thriller featuring Orphan X and his sidekick, Joey. This story is loaded with some interesting twists with learning more about his childhood; as well as trying to end an attack by micro-drones that are self-controlling and seemingly indestructible. Orphan X is one of the best continuing characters in a thriller series today. He's a trained one man army from when he was a child and only accepts missions from people who are in distress and need his help.