Orphan X

Gregg Hurwitz is a prolific author who has not previously been reviewed in this blog, and I was hounded by one of his most devoted fans, Matt Gage, to do so. Matt suggested I start with Orphan X, a book release in 2016, the first in a five-book series about Evan Smoak, who at the age of 11, was snatched from and orphanage and taught to become an assassin. This was black contract stuff, government-funded activities. Evan was ready for his first assignment by the time he turned 19. However, by the time this story unfolds, Evan had about 15 years in this service. Jack Johns was his handler, the only one who provided him with training and assignments, the only one who knew his history. Other orphans were similarly trained, but they were not supposed to interact with one another. In the process of his murderous acts, Evan became a wealthy man. He lived in a 7,000 square foot Wilshire Boulevard penthouse. But, he was on the run. He had finally grown tired of his assignments and no longer trusted that he was only being directed to take out bad guys. With a new identity, he was hiding in plain sight. He decided to keep life interesting by using his talents against people who he could identify as bad people, and he had a system designed to do just that.

-->

But, what happens when other orphans are hired to take him down? Therein lies Hurwitz’s plot. On the one hand Evan was a rather two-dimensional stereotypic character, the solo male hero who can walk into just about any situation and deal with it, whether that means punching, stabbing, or shooting. He was a sort of modern day, West Coast version of Batman or even Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt. Remember the television shows The Equalizer and The Fixer, then you get the idea. On the other hand, this was one awesome plot which kept me from putting the book down. So, I’m not as smitten with Hurwitz as my buddy, but I could find my way back to another Hurwitz book in the future.