Every year in late February, early March I look forward to Hurwitz’s latest release in the Orphan X series. I have been following Evan Smoak, otherwise known as Orphan X, since the beginning and have loved to see the development of this character who as a former government assassin now uses his lethal skills to help people who are in serious trouble.

Evan is basically a very uncomplicated person. He follows the “Ten Commandments” which he learned from his former government trainer and he limits his circle of friends and acquaintances to a minimum. One of his best friends is Tommy Stojack, a gifted gunsmith and armourer who has created much of the equipment that Evan uses. They have built a relationship of trust over the years, but now Evan suspects that Tommy is selling arms to some dangerous criminals, some of whom Evan has been trying to eliminate on behalf of his clients. For Evan this is a betrayal that cannot go unanswered and soon their conflict explodes into outright warfare.

The reality, however is much more complicated than Evan knows, and when he finally tracks Tommy down, they both realize that there is a a much more sinister danger that is lurking and they are going to need to set aside their differences in order to survive.

Hurwitz has created an explosive plot line. Tommy is one the continuing characters in this series and the relationship between Evan and Tommy was like a father and son relationship- something that Evan’s character really needed. So to have them at odds was really disconcerting and disorienting. The sense of betrayal was palpable, because of the reader’s affinity for Tommy’s character which had been built up over the previous nine books. Evans character has really developed from being a cold blooded assassin to slowly becoming a more complete human being  and think that is why I have enjoyed this series so much.  I hope you do too!

Brenda’s Rating: ***** (5 out of 5 Stars)

Recommend this book to: Marian, Sharon, Ken and Keith

Book Study Worthy? Sure

Read in ebook format.