I've been a fan of this series since the very start. This one, the 8th, is a bit different. Evan Smoak is beginning to show his age, for one thing. And for another, the tone is different here. Evan is coerced to take on a job not to his liking. Will he follow through for his own self-preservation, or will he adhere to his own personal moral code?

I received an arc of this new thriller from the author and publisher via NetGalley. Many thanks, as always! My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

This was another great, page-turning entry in the Orphan X series! I love Evan Smoak and the pace at which the author is making him open up a little, develop human relationships, re-evaluate the Commandments he lives by, etc. This series requires a lot of belief suspension as many action novels do, but I just find him so charming and I love the other characters as well. Can’t wait for the next one!

HOLY SMOAK!

Our lovable assassin is backkk! Evan Smoak is most likely the only assassin who makes me feel warm and fuzzy. 🐻🥰

Taken from an orphanage at twelve, Evan entered a government's covert "Orphan" program trained to kill America's enemies. Evan's fortunate to have a handler who is like a father figure who trained him into a lethal killing machine but also taught him moral codes.

I feel that Orphan X must be one of the coolest assassins out there. (Someone, please make a TV series!!) X is doing his thing once again, helping those who need help through his 1-855-2-NOWHERE helpline. But not before he himself was in a hairy situation after being cornered to do yet another work for the POTUS. A complex situation. Would Evan break his ten commandments in exchange for freedom?

<i>The Last Orphan</i> is another well-crafted book. The story in Southampton was good but didn't stand out compared to some previous ones. I enjoy Evan's interaction with his inner circle more in this book. As a badass assassin, you can feel how nervous he is being around ordinary people like his 10-year-old neighbor, Peter. I love how Joey's attitude and personality drive him crazy and vice versa. Dog, the dog. It's nice to see old friends again, Tommy and Candy!

I'm telling you if you enjoy thrillers/action thrillers with superb and complex characters and haven't tried Gregg Hurwitz's Orphan X series, YOU. ARE. MISSING. OUT.

Orphan X is fun to read or listen to. The audio is narrated by Scott Brick and is top-notch including an exclusive author's interview with Lisa Gardner giving a fascinating insight into the making and background of the series.

The latest Orphan X book is here! This was a pretty standard next installment, so if you've been reading this series, you should pretty much know what to expect. (If you haven't been reading the series, I'd recommend starting from the beginning...this does summarize the key points/characters, but the first book really was the best. )
*
The President has rescinded the truce with Evan, but offers him one assignment to make up for it, but Evan isn't sure if the target truly deserves his type of justice. 
*
This was good, but overall pretty standard. With the exception of the prologue, the first several chapters should really just be skipped. And the side characters bring up the typical lessons to help Evan understand himself better. 
*
There are parts of this that make Evan a bit more human, dealing with the impact of aging, which was interesting to see. The absolute best part was that Candy comes back! The scenes with her were my favorites by far. *
This sets up for a next one really well, and I'm excited for what it teases!

Enormous thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this latest chapter of one of my favorite series.
I couldn't plunge fast enough into this new adventure of Evan Smoak, a clandestine, rogue knight errant who defends helpless people outnumbered by vile villains.
And purveyors of evil never came up against a more formidable adversary than Smoak He's a survivor of a brutal childhood, and and a survivor, graduate and defector from a secret government school for assassins. And these "orphans" were more then expertly trained for those infamously "disavowed" missions that everyone can deny ever happened.
But the government's Powers-That-Be have run out of patience with 'Orphan X's self chosen, independent career as a righter of wrongs and freelance slayer of those who need some serious slaying. In a stunning reversal of fortune for this series, Smoak finds himself, for the first time, at the mercy of U.S. President Victoria Donahue-Carr. And the Prez has a prime target she wants permanently.....uh.... Smoak'd.
In her sights is multi-billionaire Luke Devine, who's either bought or blackmailed so many top power brokers, he's become a world-shaking influential power all to himself.......not to mention a possible murderer of innocent people who crossed his path at one of the huge parties he throws at his fortress-like mansion.
Smoak's not sure Devine qualifies as a target worthy of his interest........but he most certainly has a major problem with Devine's cadre of scary, ex-Marine bodyguard-commandos. When these goons threaten the family of one of the mansion murder victims, the inevitable Smoak-Devine clash is on.......but in very unexpected ways which I wouldn't dream of spoiling here.
Everything readers love about this series is well in place here......the overpowering weaponry, the unleashing of Evan Smoak's incredibly lethal skills, the excruciating hand-t0-hand combat battles........and best of all (for me, anyway), the byplay, both funny and heart-tugging, between Smoak and his teen girl MVP Joey, a world-class hacker and broken dropout of the 'Orphan' program. It's no end of fun watching this very odd couple humanizing each other while inching ever closer to a sort of father-daughter dynamic - with the anti-social OCD afflicted Smoak exasperated and protective of the guarded, smart-ass adolescent.
Once again, Gregg Hurwitz delivered a thriller I practically inhaled in one sitting, just like the other books in the series......and that makes 'The Last Orphan' yet another can't-put-it-down 5 star read, not to be missed.

Gregg Hurwitz sure knows how to liven things up! This is a book filled with action, cunning, and extreme violence. Definitely not for the weak hearted!

For those of you unfamiliar with the story, the U.S. Government created and ran the Orphan program which took orphaned children out of foster homes, raised them, and trained to become assassins. Of course, if any of them were captured or killed, it was deniability all the way.

Evan Smoak, Orphan X, left the program and went deeply underground, taking a lot of information and secrets with him. He became the Nowhere Man, using his skills only to help someone in need.

Now the President of the United States has him and will make a deal with him if he does a job for her. If not, well, I'm sure you can guess.

If you like fast-paced action and violence, you will love this book!! It is scheduled for publication 2/14/23. My thanks to St. Martin's Press/Minotaur for allowing me to read an ARC of this book. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and are freely given.

I received this from Netgalley.com.

Book 8 in series, this is another great installment in the life of Orphan X. Go get 'em X, I know the world is safer with you out there.

4☆

Fast paced and action packed. At times a bit over the top but a thoroughly entertaining read with some very amusing passages. I liked seeing character growth with Evan questioning himself and showing more emotion towards others. It was great seeing some characters return.
I'm definitely looking forward to the next book.
Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for this ARC.

Evan Smoak, Orphan X, and then having left the government program that trained him, the Nowhere Man, is tracked down and captured by government officials sent by the sitting President and re-offered a full pardon if he can erase an extremely powerful man who threatens her success and hopeful reelection. He agrees to look into it, but on his terms - which brings his training and his conscience into play. At the same time, he receives a call on his RoamZone phone from the sister of a young man who dies after attending a party at the one of the same person the president has Evan targeting. From there evolves a complex story that will have Evan questioning himself.

This is the 8th book in Hurwitz’ Evan Smock series. When I first saw the title, my thoughts were that this will be the last book in the series. It could be, but somehow I doubt it. Evan is certainly more vulnerable in this edition, and some of the other characters from the past - especially Joey - play a much bigger role. Along with the reappearance of Candy, Orphan V, are spinoffs in the offing? This book, while I have rated slightly lower than many of the earlier ones in the series, is still filled with action, intrigue, and, of course, the invincibility of the lead character. My thanks to St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

I was gifted a copy of this book from Net Galley and St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review. This book is available on Feb. 14, 2023. ⭐⭐⭐ 1/2 I've read all the books in the Orphan X series. This one was not bad, but felt like it was lacking something, went a little off script compared to the other books in the series. It was still an enjoyable book and I will continue to read any more that come out in this series.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Net Galley for the ARC for the Last Orphan. Every year, I really look forward to the next adventure for the Nowhere Man, and this one did not disappoint. As always, the action is non-stop, but what makes this series so interesting is the more human elements of Evan Smoak being peeled back layer by layer. I am interested to see where the series goes from here as there is another new element introduced at the end of this book further tying him to his more "human" past. Definitely 5-stars!!!

As always, with this series, Gregg Hurwitz hits it out of the park! He’s created a series that we live to get the next installment! Evan is a great character and he’s evolved so much from book one and it’s nice to sink back into his world. Many thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this copy for review

Evan is captured and the President wanted Evan to go after a millionaire. He debates with himself if he should do it or not. He has his buddies to check things out.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC and to the publisher Minotaur Books.

Gregg Hurwitz is back at it with "The Last Orphan," the eighth installment in the story of Evan Smoak, an elusive guy trained to be a killer since his early days in an orphanage. This time, however, he's trying to get out of the killer business and only do good for those who can't defend themselves.

Just when he thought he could make a break, the U.S. president draws into a situation that clearly has no room for refusal. He would prefer to help others as the Nowhere Man, a mystery man who rescues others. He's killer, but he's one with a moral compass!

The government isn't happy about losing its best operative. To save himself and those he cares for, he has to step back into the role of assassin and kill a man. However, it's a man that some see as the greatest gift to earth since sliced bread. Who is more corrupt? It's hard to say!

As usual, Hurwitz surrounds Evan with violence and mayhem. The character is evolving in his personal emotions, though, as he tries to make room in his life for Joey, his teenage partner in crime and cybertechnology. (She was introduced in the third novel.) Along for the ride are a motley crew of characters that you can't help but enjoy.

The "Orphan" novels aren't for everyone. There's murder, dismemberment and rape. As over the top as they seem, somehow they fit into the story, and you can't help but cheer for the good guys no matter how bad they might be. Hurwitz ends the book with a teaser/cliffhanger that maybe there's more to come for Evan. Let's hope so; I'm not ready for his retirement!

<i>The Last Orphan</i> is an action-packed thriller and murder mystery. Evan Smoak, “The Orphan”, is a trained assassin who wants out, but he is pursued by a government that will not let him go. <i>The Last Orphan</i> is part of the Orphan X series written by internationally acclaimed author Gregg Hurwitz.

The story begins with a gullible young man who is invited to a party at a rich estate. He is really excited about it, but finds himself trying too many drugs, and he ends up dead at the party. Meanwhile, The Orphan X finds himself in a situation, where the president gets a hold on him, and wants control him. When the president commissions the Orphan to assassinate a terrible menace who is linked to the young man’s death, the Orphan hesitates. He has recently taken on a philosophy that he will only assassinate those who truly deserve to die. For this reason, he tries to verify that the president’s request is valid. The Orphan becomes confused when he looks into his target’s history and finds that things are not as they seem. The whole mission becomes even more complicated when he finds out what his target is actually doing.

The character development in this is really quite interesting because this particular target is quite a complicated person who appears to be above board. However, what he is doing seems to be a threat to politicians who know him. The Orphan himself has a set of principals he must live by and he is really struggling with whether or not this mission fulfills his requirements for completing his contract.

The story is interesting because it actually starts to deviate from what you think the original purpose is and you learn a lot about things that actually have nothing to do with the young man who is killed at the party, nor the person who organizes the party.

I recommend this book to anyone that likes a good murder mystery especially one that is convoluted and takes twists and turns as it goes along. I’ll give it a four on five. I want to thank, NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a digital copy of the novel. I give this review voluntarily

While this book is part of a series I read it as a solo book. It's book 8 in the series.

X is forced to take on a case in exchange for his freedom. There's a new villain in town and x is put to the test.

I liked this books because it showed the main character with a bit of weakness. Can x pull this one off ? Only time can tell

I enjoyed this story but I would like to have read the other books in the series so I may go back and do that. Considering I haven't read the other ones I still enjoyed this novel!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this arc

Exactly what you expect from The Nowhere Man Series.

Plenty of action and a fast moving plot. Not as good as some of the past entries but still a decent read

The Last Orphan was exactly the high-octane thriller I needed.

This story gives us moral dilemmas with all the shades of gray, wrapped up in a complex plot and tons of action!

Evan Smoak, our hero, takes a slightly different turn here. I love that his character has been evolving throughout the series, and here he hits what might be a life-altering point in his path.

I have to mention Joey. I love her character, and she shines here. I’m hoping she gets her own series in the future. Also, bonus points for Dog the dog!

This is the eighth book in the Orphan X Series. While I recommend reading them all in order, I thought Hurwitz did a fantastic job of weaving in enough backstory for this to work as a stand-alone.

This is the latest book in the Orphan X series, although there's enough background that you don't need to have read the previous titles. The story mostly tales place in Iceland, NYC, and Boston. There was more humor than I remembered from previous titles in the series. Highly recommended.

HE”S BAAACCCKKK!!!!! Yep, Evan Smoak is back on the hunt! I was so excited to get this eARC for the newest installment of Orphan X. The gangs all back too, Joey, Dog, Tommy, Mia, Peter, Orphan V as well as Agent Templeton, who is STILL trying to capture Evan. This time she does capture her man, briefly😊

The book summary pretty much lays out the first part of the story, that picks up shortly after the last one. Mia is in Cedar Sinai and has just come out of her coma, and Agent Templeton had several military commando teams waiting for Evan at the hospital as he tries to go and visit Mia. In a moment rarely ever seen by X fans, Evan makes a mistake, a mistake that he is dumbfounded that he made, one that led him to be captured. However, in typical Evan manner, the containment, at the Beverly Hills Hotel, is brief, and Evan is rescued by none other than Orphan V, a woman that Evan once tried to kill, but now they’re allies (a whole other story).

During his brief containment, Templeton and the President pretty much order Evan to get rid of a problem of theirs. While Evan agreed to help them, he told them he would do it in his own way without their interference. Shortly, thereafter he escapes and proceeds to do what he promised he would do. The rest of the story revolves around Evan and his crew proceeding with the new assignment, in their typical covert, quasi black ops manner: Joey, hacking any site they need info from, Tommy, supplying anything and everything that requires any kind of weaponization for the job, and Aragón Urrea (a whole other story), taking care of all the air travel. None of this is a spoiler since it’s all revealed pretty early in the story.

However, there is a secondary storyline that comes up in the second half of the story that allows Evan to step back into his Nowhere Man role: Evan helping someone who needs his brand of help. This is something that Evan agreed to stop doing in the last book when the President gave him a conditional pardon (a whole other story). So, while Evan is working his assignment for the President, he is also working on a new Nowhere Man assignment. These two assignments provide all kinds of trouble for the “bad guys” and for them to come after Evan and for Evan to utilize his bad@$$ Orphan X training and skills to put them down. For anyone who hasn’t read the previous series installments, when Evan is in Orphan X/Nowhere Man mode, he’s like Dirty Harry/Die Hard/Superman dangerous.

Eventually, the two storylines begin to merge, which puts Evan in a position that he wasn’t trained to do, something that he has only learned recently to do, and it troubles him. I loved the very end, made my eyes feel a little watery😊

One of the things that I love about this series is the way that Evan’s emotional growth has evolved over time. Evan is a VERY complicated and deeply flawed man. However, throughout the series, Evan has allowed people into his life and over time, he has allowed them to get to know him and it has irrevocably changed him and his life – and he’s ok with that (I think).

Personally, I don’t think any of the series books should be read as a standalone. In just this one review, there are so many things that a reader, who had not read the previous books, would not know, or understand about Evan, his crew or any of the previous events in his life to make him the character that he is. At this point in the series, it's not even about the action-packed, fast-paced missions anymore (at least for me). Don't get me wrong, I still love all the crazy $#!^ that Hurwitz puts Evan through in every mission/book - LOVE THAT STUFF!!! However, I also love all the personal and emotional stuff that Hurwitz has put Evan through. I look forward to hopefully more of that. Hurwitz is an incredible writer and an amazing storyteller, and while he does provide some additional background in every book, it simply isn’t enough to understand “who” Evan is and why he does what he does. JMHO😊

I want to thank NetGalley and St Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

@NetGalley @St Martin’sPress @MacmillanAudio @TheLastOrphan