Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  For this week’s Waiting on Wednesday, I highlight one of the most intriguing upcoming thrillers of early 2023 with The Last Orphan by Gregg Hurwitz.

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Over the last several years, one of the most compelling and memorable thriller series out there has been the fantastic Orphan X series.  Starting off with Orphan X in 2016, this series follows Evan Smoak, a former elite government assassin who operated under the codename of Orphan X.  Eventually retiring from this role and seeking redemption, Evan took on a new persona as the Nowhere Man, a vigilante who would help those most in need.

I started reading this series a few years ago with the fourth book, Out of the Dark, mainly because it had a fantastic story around Evan attempting to kill the President.  This was a pretty fun book to start the series on and it made me a big fan of Hurwitz’s work.  Since then, I have made sure to check out each successive Orphan X novel, all of which have been pretty awesome. This includes Into the Fire, Prodigal Son, and Dark Horse, all of which had intriguing narratives that blended great story elements with impressive character work.  Throughout these books, Hurwitz made sure to dive into the complicated relationships that surrounded the former spy, and this resulted in a very intense and impressive series of distinctive novels.

As such, I am always extremely eager for the next Orphan X book and luckily I don’t have to wait that much longer.  The next Orphan X book will be The Last Orphan which is currently set for release in February 2023.  The Last Orphan will follow on from the fantastic conclusion of Dark Horse and will see Evan once again forced into government service after they finally manage to track him down.

Plot Synopsis:

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.

This sounds like it will be another intriguing and intense Orphan X read.  From the summary it seems that Evan will be forced into another unwinnable situation where he must balance his principles against the survival of himself and those he cares about.  Seeing Evan once again forced to work for the government against his will is going to be very intriguing, especially as this will set him on a new assassination mission against a mysterious and powerful foe.  Throw in the intense relationship elements that were featured in the last book, especially the medical emergency concerning his love interesting, and The Last Orphan (which is a slightly concerning title) should prove to be quite an awesome and addictive read.

Based on how strong the rest of the Orphan X series has turned out, I have no doubt whatsoever that I am going to deeply enjoy The Last Orphan.  Gregg Hurwitz has an outstanding writing style and I can’t wait to see how this powerful and action-packed read will turn out.  The Orphan X novels really are some of the most unique and impressive thrillers out there now and I have no doubt that The Last Orphan will be an exceptional 2023 release.