"To say the least, his childhood had been rough-and-tumble. Pinballed through a series of foster homes, he'd been ripped out of any semblance of ordinary life at the age of twelve to be trained covertly as an assassin. ... Orphans were trained for solo operations--no peers, no support, no back-up. Were it not for Jack Johns, Evan's handler and father figure, the Program would likely have been successful in extinguishing his humanity. The hard part wasn't turning him into a killer; the hard part was keeping him human. Integrating those two opposing drives had been the great challenge of Evan's life.
"After a decade spent committing unsanctioned hits around the globe, Evan had gone AWOL from the Program. Since then he'd committed himself to staying off the radar while using his skills to help others who were just as powerless as he'd been as a young boy--pro bono missions he conducted as the Nowhere Man."
In The Last Orphan, the eighth book in this series, Evan has finally been tracked down and captured by government agents. The president promises his release IF he kills someone. But as much as Evan wants his freedom, he won't compromise his principles by killing on someone else's orders. Not ever again. He'll only do it if he determines that the killing is warranted. Which puts his life in danger. Luckily, Evan is no longer a lone assassin. He has friends. Like Tommy, his weapons expert; and Candy, an ex-Orphan who's almost as dangerous as Evan; and Joey, a sixteen-year-old computer hacker who was being trained as another Orphan when Evan's old handler helped her escape the Program. With their help, Evan can tackle anything.
Why I love this series:
I love Evan Smoak, and how he struggles to connect...not just with other people, but with his own emotions. I love his set of rules--the 10 commandments he lives by. I love his interactions with his neighbor, Mia, and her young son, Peter; and also his relationship with feisty, sarcastic Joey. And I love how he can take down the bad guys to protect the innocent! He's like Jason Bourne, Jack Reacher and Gabriel Allon all in one. These thrillers are very action-packed and suspenseful. Once I start one, I can't put it down. And The Last Orphan is no exception. This is one propulsive and amazing thrill ride. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Happy Reading!
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Thank you for sharing. Thank you for your encouragement. Regine
ReplyDeleteHi, Regine!
DeleteI like the sound of Evan's team. And I'm a huge Bourne fan. :) I should read these.
ReplyDeleteI think you'd like them. They're very fun action/thrillers.
DeleteThis sounds exactly like the kind of book I've been in the mood for lately. I definitely need to start this series. :)
ReplyDeleteThere's a lot of language in them, but the characters are amazing, especially Evan!
DeleteI like the blurb, and your review! It sounds great.
ReplyDeleteI love this series.
DeleteI like action thrillers like Jason Bourne stuff so Smoak sounds pretty enticing. Will he come to the screen too?
ReplyDeleteI would love it if he did!
DeleteThis is so very 'Jason Bourne', which is my favorite movie franchise (and have watched several times :P). Might want to read it when I'm on the mood of a book packed with actions.
ReplyDeleteIf you like Jason Bourne, then I think you would also really like Evan Smoak. :D
DeleteThis sounds very intriguing after reading your great post. I'm going to have to look it up.
ReplyDeleteIf you're in the mood for a fast-paced action/thriller, this series is great.
DeleteEvan sounds like a complicated an interesting character! I see so many raves for this series but have yet to pick it up.
ReplyDeleteEvan is so great! I love these books not because of all the action and suspense, but because of him.
DeleteI may have to give this series another try. After meeting Hurwitz, I bought the first Orphan X book and read it. It seemed as though the choreography of each of the many fight scenes was described down to the last muscle flex. Since I'm of the Indiana Jones School of Fighting (Gotta guy showing off with his sword instead of getting down to the business of trying to kill you? Just whip out your gun and shoot him!) I found it tiresome and lost the desire to read further.
ReplyDeleteAnd there is a lot of fighting in these books. I just love Evan so much, and that's why I love these books. For his character.
DeleteYay! This was so good, right? I love that Evan is no longer a lone figure and has collected (albeit, reluctantly) friends and is sort of like a little misfit family.
ReplyDeleteI love that, too! That alone makes this one of my favs in the series. But I hope Mia and Peter aren't out of his life now.
DeleteI hope not either, but it's hard to see a way they could make it work without putting them in danger.
DeleteI know. It's a sad truth. But I love Evan and Mia, and Evan and Peter together. Maybe when Hurwitz writes the very last Orphan X book he'll find a way to get them back together. Or I'll just imagine them together in my head. ;D
DeleteI should try the first book in the series. I like the sound of Ethan as a main character and that is quite a combination! I've heard good things about the series so it's great to see a review of it!
ReplyDeleteEvan Smoak is such a great character...he's the reason I keep reading these books. :D
DeleteOh that really sounds good.
ReplyDeleteI really love this series!
DeleteHi Lark, At first I was thinking can I bond with Evan who before he turned his life around was a hit man. But then I thought Evan had no choice in the matter. He was held against his will from the time he was a child and brainwashed. And the more important fact about Evan is that e did change and we all have things we wish we could do over and we all deserve a second chance and I am glad Evan got his second chance.
ReplyDeleteYou get glimpses of him as a kid in the first book and that's all it took to win over my heart and earn my sympathy. Plus, he's just so good at everything he does!
DeleteI have seen so many great reviews for this series. I really need to give it a try sometime soon.
ReplyDeleteI hope you get a chance. It's so good.
DeleteI tried the first one in this series, but didn't get far into it. I like your Jason Bourne comparison and now I'm wondering if I need to try an audio maybe to get into it. This series genuinely sounds like my kind of read.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you weren't in the mood for it?? I love these books, so of course I'd say try it again, but everyone's book tastes are so different, maybe it just didn't work for you.
DeleteSigh. There are just too many series I've to check out but of course it's always a good thing. :D
ReplyDeleteI hear you! There are dozens of series I'd love to try, but I just don't have the reading time.
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