Another top-notch thrilling Orphan X book release by Mr. Gregg Hurwitz. I highly recommend this title to all fans of his Orphan X series. I also look forward to discussing etc. this title with my students. I will definitely be encouraging them all to go out and purchase a copy.
Thank-you to NetGalley / St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Evan Smoak was taken from a foster home and trained as an assassin in the Orphan Program. Now he uses his training to help people who have nowhere else to turn, taking on the title of the Nowhere Man. Threatened by the government for unlawful actions, he was granted clemency on the condition that he retire. Ignoring repeated calls, he finally answers his phone to tell the caller that he is no longer available to help, but the caller identifies herself as the mother he never knew. She needs his help to save Andrew Duran, a man who was at the wrong place at the wrong time..

Against his better judgment, Evan agrees to find Duran and is surprised to discover that he once knew him as Andre at the foster home. Duran witnessed a murder and is being hunted by the assassins. Now Evan is up against the wealthy head of a company developing drones for the government that act as a swarm and have the intelligence to act independently once they are committed to an objective. It was one of these drones used in the murder. With no ethics to guide their actions, this is a program that must be stopped.

Evan has never known family. His friendship with his neighbor Mia and her son have given him a look at what he could have if he stays retired, but as the Nowhere Man he never had the feeling of warmth and caring that family provides. In finding his mother, he begins to question his relationships. We get a glimpse of Evan’s history and his mother fills in some of the gaps that help explain how he became the man that he is. Now he just has to survive his latest job to benefit from his personal reflections. Gregg Hurwitz’s Orphan X series just gets better with each book and his finale will have you wanting more. I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin Press for providing this book for my review.

How could I not have known about the Orphan X series by Gregg Hurwitz before now? I have been missing out on the action-packed techno-thriller of my dreams, and it's time to rectify that situation.

What I Love

I always enjoy cool and scary technology and the people who know how to create it and use it. In this regard, Prodigal Son does not disappoint with its military-grade drones that have been programmed to make ethical decisions. How scary is that?

My favorite character, Josephine "Joey," knows her way around a computer and is a freshman in college at the tender age of 16. Like Orphan X, Joey was in the foster system until she was offered a position in the same program that rescued Evan from foster care. She is smart, sassy, and is every inch the sixteen-year-old who acts like she's 25. And, she makes the perfect partner for her intricately layered father-figure and guardian, Evan.

Evan and Joey are both merely sublime in their development. Though both are extraordinary, their very human flaws and proclivities make them feel as real as my next-door neighbors. They are sympathetic, engaging, and part of a more in-depth emotional story running alongside the mystery plot. This layer with the powerful theme of family and family ties brings this story to a whole new level in techno-thrillers—a mix of stories that will have me coming back every time.

I also love the respect toward women and the empowerment of women shown so overtly through the novel with Evan and how he treats the female characters. He is a knight in shining armor when the situation calls for it. Add to that a female president, an ultra-smart Joey, and a kickass Candy, and you have a cast of female characters that are enviable in all the right ways.

Lastly, I enjoyed the fight scenes, and I don't think I have ever said that before. Evan is an inventive and creative fighter that demanded I not speed through those scenes and instead stop, slow down, and admire his ingenuity as he took on impossible odds and won.

To Read or Not to Read

Yes, you should read this book, but be warned, you are going to want to stop everything and read the rest of the books in the series, as I do.

Evan Smoak, a.k.a. Orphan X was a government assassin until he eventually broke ties with the program and became The Nowhere Man—helping the most desperate. That is until the highest power in the country offers him an unofficial pardon; however, he must cease his activities as The Nowhere Man.

As Evan tries to settle into early retirement, he gets a call for help from a woman claiming to have given him up for adoption—his mother.

Her one request, help a man by the name of Andrew Duran, whose life is upside down after he finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, bringing him face to face with a team of assassins.

PRODIGAL SON, the first book that I have read by Hurwitz, is Book Six of the Orphan X Series, and one of the best Mystery-Tech-Thrillers I’ve read in a while, centered around characters I genuinely care about and never-ending tension that had me on the edge of my seat until literally the very last word.

Please tell me Book Seven will be released soonish!

Needing to know more about Evan, Joey (I love her!), and how these cast of characters happened to converge together, I will be delving into Books One through Five of this series in what I hope will be the near future.

PRODIGAL SON–HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!

Scheduled To Release On – January 26, 2021 (Subject To Change)

Thank you, NetGalley and Minotaur Books, for loaning me an eGalley of PRODIGAL SON in exchange for an honest review.

After having been one of the most successful members of the "Orphan" operations group who spent their time killing off spies, dictators and drug kingpins, Evan Orphan X had been retired. He had been involved in a situation where he ended up saving the current President. He was given a pardon but he had to swear that he would "retire".

X gets a call on his 1-800-4Nowhere phone from a woman who says she is his mother. X was dropped off as a baby and ended up in an orphan home. One day a man showed up at the Home looking for 'special' boys. X wasn't one of them, but managed to get himself recruited. He had no idea who he was or who his family was. This call could be a trap.

When he meets her she's able to prove she's his mother and immediately tells him she needs him to rescue someone she knows. All this leads to some discoveries X may have wished he never found out.

It's not a surprise that I am a fan of the Orphan X series and this is another solid entry into the sada. While Evan claims to put out "I just want to enjoy retirement" vibes, he clearly can't step away from his true calling as The Nowhere Man. Throughout the book, the stakes become both increasingly heightened and much more personal. As per usual in this series, it's a non-stop thrill ride, that leans heavily into drone warfare and the implications of nanotechnology and AI. Definitely worth a read. It's a clear 4.5 stars, only brought down by the gigantic cliffhanger at the end. I need book 7 like yesterday.

ARC from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

3.5 stars

In this 6th book in the 'Orphan X' series, Evan Smoak protects the life of an impound lot worker who witnessed a crime. The book can be read as a standalone, but familiarity with the series is beneficial.

*****

When Evan Smoak was a spindly twelve-year-old living in an orphanage - where he slept on the floor between bunks - he was 'rescued' and placed in a black ops program that trained orphans to be highly skilled assassins. Evan was dubbed Orphan X.

After doing his assassin job for many years, Orphan X left the black ops program and set himself up as 'The Nowhere Man', a badass who helps people in trouble. When a person in dire straits is given Evan's number by a former client, the call goes to Evan's uber-encrypted RoamZone phone, which he answers with the phrase "Do you need my help?" The 'help' always involves Orphan X killing people, so it's frowned on by the authorities.

Evan's controversial work puts him the sights of government assassins until Evan makes a deal with President Victoria Donahue-Carr. POTUS grants Evan an unofficial pardon with the stipulation that he has to give up being the Nowhere Man. In accordance with his deal, Evan stops answering the RoamZone phone. However one caller is very persistent, phoning again and again. When Evan finally responds, the caller claims to be his mother, who gave him up as an infant. The woman, whose name is Veronica LeGrande, has a mission for Evan.

Veronica implores Evan to protect a man called Andrew Duran, who's the target of assassins. Duran was working at a Los Angeles impound lot when he was visited by two people claiming to be U.S. Marshals. The supposed marshals coerced Andrew into informing them when a man named Jake Hargreave was coming to pick up his battered truck. Duran complied, and when Hargreave showed up at the impound lot, he was killed. Duran - who saw the murder - was targeted as well, but managed to escape. Now the killers are after him.

When Evan meets his mother, he experiences all kinds of emotions. Evan longs for the connection, but is angry that Veronica abandoned him to a miserable life in a downtrodden orphan asylum. Evan has flashbacks to the institute, where he was housed with a bunch of 'lost boys' who were always clawing for food, space, and the chance to get out. This is the first time we get a clear look at Evan's childhood, and his acceptance into the Orphan Program, and it helps us understand the direction his life took.

In any case, Evan agrees to protect Andrew Duran, who's an impoverished alcoholic living in a hovel above a Chinese restaurant. Duran scrimps and saves to provide child support for his 11-year-old daughter Sophia, but is too embarrassed by his circumstances to actually SEE the girl. Moreover, Duran is so depressed he doesn't even want Evan's help.

Evan forges on regardless, and gets assistance from his 16-year-old protégé Josephine (Joey), who's one of the best computer hackers in the world. Evan discovers that Jake Hargreave was killed because he was about to expose a controversial government program involving killer microdrones that mimic dragonflies. Proponents of the scheme are determined to go forward, and will kill anyone who gets in the way. They're now after Duran and his protector Orphan X.

As always in this series, there's plenty of action, including hand-to-hand fighting and skirmishes with (almost) surreal advanced weaponry, some of which is provided by Orphan X's friend Tommy Stojack - who's on the cutting edge of weapon design. Beautiful former Orphan V, Candy McClure, helps Evan as well.

We also get to see Evan's fortress penthouse apartment, which has a secret surveillance/computer/weapons room; a parachute to jump off the building; and a freezer room filled with expensive vodka.

When Evan isn't actively pursuing his mission he shows his softer side, which includes looking after the welfare of Joey and her pooch Dog; visiting his neighbor Mia and her 9-year-old son Peter; attending the moving party of an elderly Jewish woman in his building; chatting with the doorman; and so on. Most of this is very difficult for Orphan X, whose upbringing gave him no facility for social interactions.

There are plenty of twists in the story, and a dramatic finale that has me anxious to read the next book in the series.

Thanks to Netgalley, Gregg Hurwitz, and Minotaur Books for a copy of the book.

Wow!! This was my first Gregg Hurwitz novel, and it won't be my last! Such a fast paced book! Great characters, great story, great plot.. I feel like I just ran a race!! And that ending...WOW!! Now I need to read his backlist!

Thank you to Netgalley and Minotaur Books for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

This is the sixth book in the Orphan X series. The series features the character of Evan Smoak, who was trained by the government since the age of 12 to do it's bidding, but now works as The Nowhere Man, helping others who have no one else to turn to. Forced into retirement in the last book, Evan receives a request from a woman claiming to be his mother. She asks him to help a man who witnessed a murder and is now being hunted by very powerful figures, including a brother sister assassin team. Evan must now decide whether to continue in his work helping others or stay in retirement and try to live a normal life. This is a fun read and a wonderful recommendation for fans of books by Daniel Silva, David Baldacci, or Vince Flynn, but I do recommend starting with the first in the series "Orphan X".

Evan Smoak is back in this sixth installment in the Orphan X series. Evan had been forced into accepting retirement if he wanted to remain a free man, but a phone call from a woman claiming to be his mother drags him back into his life as the Nowhere Man. Fans of this series will really appreciate the opportunity to have Evan’s backstory revealed. As with previous installments, there is plenty of action to satisfy and keep you on the edge of your seat. For those that want a little bit of humanity, self exploration and character growth along with all that action, this series gives you that too. Evan may have been trained as a weapon, but his humanity remains intact and he continues his quest to make interpersonal attachments and find his place in the day to day world. There are more adventures ahead for Evan Smoak and I’m looking forward to taking that journey with him.

This is the 6th in the series starring Evan Smoak. Selected as a child for the U.S. black Orphan program training assassins, Evan deserted to become the legendary Nowhere Man and help people in desperate need.

Now, the mother Evan doesn't remember contacts him, asking him to help Andrew Duran who's on the run from a vicious assassination team.

The story moves back and forth in time, revealing facets of Evan's childhood, plus friends and foe in foster care - and how he was enlisted in the Orphan program - never seen before.

There's certainly action a plenty and the episode ends on a cliffhanger that leaves readers keen for what will come next.

Prodigal Son is the sixth book in the Orphan X series, featuring main character Evan Smoak. Forced into retirement, will a phone call from the last person that Evan expected be enough to break his promise?

Unlike the other novels in the series, which just tease readers with snippets of the past that Evan wants so hard to forget, Prodigal Son brings the main character to his humble beginnings. Desperate to be away from his foster home, Evan strategically places himself to be chosen for the Orphan Program. The choices he makes, and those made for him, help to shape Evan into adulthood. The only part of Prodigal Son that is not as successful for me is the case in the present. The story line drags a little, especially with the constant toggling between Evan's past and present time lines. Overall, readers who are fans of the series will be thrilled to learn Evan's backstory, so I would recommend it.

Disclaimer: I was given an Advanced Reader's Copy via NetGalley and the publisher, Minotaur Books. The choice to review Prodigal Son was my own.

Evan is back!

Evan Smoak is an ex-assassin who now kills people because, well, they deserve to die. Really, they’re asking to be murdered, and Evan is exceptionally skilled at ways in which to comply.

Prodigal Son is a high-octane thriller, with poignant, emotional moments and just the right amount of levity to lighten the intensity.

This is the sixth Orphan X novel. Gregg Hurwitz does an excellent job of weaving in backstory so this one can be read as a stand-alone, though I highly recommend starting at the beginning with this series.

My only complaint is that I’m finished, and now I’m back to waiting for another Evan Smoak novel.

What can I say about Prodigal Son, the latest installment of the Evan Smoak series, except Hurwitz has outdone himself this time! And that ending! I will be on tenterhooks waiting for the next book to come out.

You must suspend a lot of belief when reading these books, but this one, in particular, has the most over-the-top plot. At least, I hope so, because if this stuff is real, we are all in big trouble! Evan, forced to retire his Nowhere Man persona, meets the woman who gave him up for adoption. She asks him to help a troubled man, which, of course, leads him into all kinds of trouble.

What didn’t I like about this book? Well, nothing. What I loved most was Evan, grappling to come to grips with his emotions and deep feelings for those closest to him.

The story winds up with a nail-biting, explosive end, and with Evan once again saving the day. My pounding heart had just settled down, and bam! Oh, please, Gregg Hurwitz, don’t leave us waiting too long! My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book for my honest opinion. I gave it five stars!

Oh my goodness! The ending of this is something. Can't wait to see what happens to Evan next. Evan finds out about his family and he is not really equipped to deal with it. When he is contacted by someone who says that she is his mother, Evan needs to find out if it is true. This woman sends him on a mission that could end his life and the life of an old friend. He is forced to relive his childhood and he isn't happy about that. On top of that, Joey starts dating. How will he get through this emotional mine field. Then there is the mine field he has to traverse on a military base to find out why some military members are dying. He runs across rapists and egomaniacs. Will he survive it all?

In the sixth book of the exhilarating Orphan X series, we find black ops assassin and freelance vigilante, Evan Smoak still struggling with his demons as he wrestles with trying to go straight and stay retired or continue being “the Nowhere Man.”

From the first Orphan X book you wonder about how 12-year-old Evan Smoak ended up in the Orphan program turning seemingly unwanted children into highly trained killing machines. That backstory is explored here brilliantly by Gregg Hurwitz.

A book that is set in the present and past can be tricky with flashbacks and flash forward, but in Hurwitz’s capable hands it's a delight to what is basically Evan’s origin story in much more depth than we have in the other Orphan X books.

I really like this series and the Evan Smoak character. Hurwitz does an outstanding job of not giving us a typical super hero type black ops specialist trope. He puts Evan in an L.A. condo with his OCD issues and his struggles to navigate his blossoming relationship with neighbor and love interest, Mia–who’s an assistant district attorney–and her son Peter.

I also like the Joey character. A brilliant teenage hacker whom Evan reluctantly mentors.

In Prodigal Son we have a mystery woman claiming to be his mother–whom he never met. She needs help, which forces him out of retirement. There is a military technology component to the plot that is riveting, but I won’t get into that to avoid spoilers.

As usual, the action and location descriptions are fantastic to read. Hurwitz is known for his in-depth research, like swimming with sharks and going through shooting drills with Navy SEALs.

This book has great action, intrigue, twist and turns, and cool gadgets in thrilling locations. Highly recommend you give this a read.

Wow, wow, wow!! Another high-octane rollercoaster ride of a book in this series. I loved it and I have read them all :)

Evan Smoak is retired from being the Nowhere Man - yeah right! Of course, things don't go to plan there but the reason for it are very unexpected. The shocks keep on coming for Evan and inbetween trying to get his brain around some major revelations from his early life, naturally enough there are some baddies who want to kill him.

I enjoyed the inclusion of others from the Orphan program in this book, very much, and seeing parts of Evan which he has kept hidden over the years was rather poignant.

As much as I loved this book - and I loved every heart-stopping, techy word of it - the ending though, what's with that?? I am thinking there is going to be another book in the series after this one..... :)

5 stars from me, of course.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for allowing me to read this book. All opinions are, as always, entirely my own.

Andre Duran is a man who can’t catch a break. He is barely surviving, working the midnight shift at an auto impound lot on the east side of Los Angeles, trying to earn enough money to pay child support and keep a roof over his head. A couple of “agents” approach him with an offer that will pay him enough cash to get him through another next month, but all is not what it seems to be. All he has to do is call the agents when a certain person comes to the lot. Which he does, but barely escapes when the man arrives, he sees him killed with a weapon he has never seen before. Evan Smoak, aka Orphan X and the Nowhere Man, has been forced into retirement and granted an informal presidential pardon. The phone number, 1-855-2-NOWHERE, used by those who needed his help has been ringing, but he is ignoring it to protect the pardon. But curiosity finally wins out, and he is off to Buenos Aires to meet the caller - who says she is Evan’s mother (thus the title?). She then tells Evan that a man needs help (a bit of a spoiler here) - Andre Duran. Why has Andre become the target? Who is behind the plan to get rid of him? No simple answer here - a complex story requiring all of Evan’s talents. I have read all of the books in this series, and this is the first to be rated less than 5 stars. While trying to humanize Smoak, it got bogged down in introspection too often. The technology descriptions might be a little difficult to comprehend. Yet there is still plenty of action and tension to keep you reading. Hurwitz’ series is right up there with Alex Berenson’s John Wells, Vince Flynn/Kyle Mills’ Mitch Rapp, Ben Coes’ Dewey Andreas and other similar protagonists. Another book in the series has clearly been set up by the ending of this volume. Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review the ARC of this book.

Evan was a foster child, a bit small for his age, who ends up being selected for training as an assassin. A job he does well. Now, he has retired from that life and is doing his best to live a normal life.

He received a call from a strange woman who says she is his mother. She asks him for help. Helping her will ruin what he has achieved, but he decides to help, anyway. What happens next leads him to learn a lot of things about himself.

This was one of those gems you run into when not expecting too much! I came in close to the end of the series but now I will find and read the rest of the series. This should be a tv show or movie!

The Prodigal Son is the latest installment of the Orphan X series by Gregg Hurwitz, and is a stand alone story. Mr Hurwitz does an excellent job of incorporating everything from the past that the reader needs to know. Evan, our hero, manages to do the impossible effortlessly. In the Prodigal Son we learn some about Evan's early life. I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an early copy to review.