It’s February 7th and I’ve finally finished a book this month! Thank you so much to Minotaur Books for the early copy of The Last Orphan. I needed new X in my life! This is another solid installment in the Orphan X series, a fast paced read that presents a little less action with a more human side to Evan and the crew.
Bookish quick facts:
- Title: The Last Orphan
- Series: Orphan X, #8
- Author: Gregg Hurwitz
- Publisher & Release: Minotaur Books, 02/14/23
- Length: 352 pages
- Rate & Recommend: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ for fans of high tech assassins, thrillers, suspense, snark
Here’s the synopsis from GoodReads:
Evan Smoak returns in The Last Orphan, the latest New York Times bestselling Orphan X thriller–when everything changes and everything is at risk.
As a child, Evan Smoak was plucked out of a group home, raised and trained as an off-the-books assassin for the government as part of the Orphan program. When he broke with the program and went deep underground, he left with a lot of secrets in his head that the government would do anything to make sure never got out.
When he remade himself as The Nowhere Man, dedicated to helping the most desperate in their times of trouble, Evan found himself slowly back on the government’s radar. Having eliminated most of the Orphans in the program, the government will stop at nothing to eliminate the threat they see in Evan. But Orphan X has always been several steps ahead of his pursuers.
Until he makes one little mistake…
Now the President has him in her control and offers Evan a deal – eliminate a rich, powerful man she says is too dangerous to live and, in turn, she’ll let Evan survive. But when Evan left the Program he swore to only use his skills against those who really deserve it. Now he has to decide what’s more important – his principles or his life.
My thoughts:
I’ve really enjoyed the Orphan X books so far. Like most series of this type, the author has to find ways to keep the books fresh and moving forward or they face the chance of repetitive material becoming stale.
Thankfully I don’t think X is stale yet. If you’ve never read the series, each book does stand alone just fine but I think you’ll appreciate the characters more if you know the whole story.
Here the Mia storyline comes to a close, Evan is rattled enough to make a mistake, and an encounter with a brilliantly powerful man makes him more introspective than usual. Has he finally found his match? Aragon (from the last book) makes an appearance, Tommy is back, and Joey & Dog are here as well. Even Orphan V has a small role. Do y’all think Vera III is still alive?
There’s plenty of action too. I missed the hi tech stuff and major operations that feature more prominently in other books but like I said, sometimes doing things differently is the best way to keep it fresh. The Last Orphan is a fast read and I love the mostly funny chapter titles.
I docked a star because it’s bogged down a bit with long talks and philosophy (from Devine), but don’t worry, there’s a reminder or three that Evan is still actually a deadly assassin. Seeing the bad guys get what’s coming to them is great. That said, I also liked the glints from his pre-orphan life too, hinting that we might get more “human Evan” in the next book.
Can’t wait to see where this series goes next!
Thanks for checking out my book review of The Last Orphan by Gregg Andrew Hurwitz. I received my e-copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review, and as always, all opinions are my own ♥️
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