Publisher: Michael Joseph (Trade Paperback – 20 February 2024)
Series: Orphan X – Book 9
Length: 420 pages
My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Leading thriller author Gregg Hurwitz continues his high-octane Orphan X series in a big way with the epic and compelling novel, Lone Wolf.
The Orphan X books by Gregg Hurwitz is an epic series that follows a former elite government assassin, Evan Smoak, known to the intelligence community as Orphan X. Upon leaving the program, Smoak decided to make up for his prior misdeeds by becoming an elite vigilante, The Nowhere Man, who helps those with nowhere else to turn. This series started back in 2016 with Orphan X, although I personally started reading it with the fourth book, Out of the Dark. Out of the Dark had a great plot behind it that really drew me in, as Evan went to war with a corrupt US President. This resulted in an amazing and highly entertaining read that made me a fan of Hurwitz’s writing and ensured I would grab the next book in the series, Into the Fire. Into the Fire was a particularly epic read, and the Orphan X books quickly entered my yearly must-read books list as a result. I have since had an outstanding time reading the following releases, with Prodigal Son, Dark Horse and The Last Orphan being awesome in their own way. As such, when 2024 came around, I had very little choice but to read the latest Orphan X book, Lone Wolf, which took the protagonist in another interesting direction with a deadly adventure.
Evan Smoak, better known as either as Orphan X or the Nowhere Man, is suffering a personal crisis. Having reached out to his long-lost father, Evan is in a dangerous emotional spiral, and is no longer the calm and confident secret agent he once was. Looking for an easy mission to get back into his stride, Evan finds himself with an unusual job, helping a young girl find her lost dog. Initially reluctant, Evan agrees to help, but this unlikely job will lead the infamous vigilant into all manner of trouble.
An elite female hitwoman is in Los Angeles, taking out a range of seemingly unconnected people. Known only as the Wolf, she excels in targeted strikes and apparent accidental deaths, leaving no trace behind. However, her final kill leaves behind two witnesses when Evan arrives on the scene looking for the lost dog. Forced to intervene to save the daughter of the Wolf’s last victim, Evan finds himself a target of an assassin just as deadly as himself.
With the girl he just saved still in danger from a vengeful Wolf, Evan decides to save her and stop this killer terrorising his city. But first, he needs to work out who hired her and what secrets lie behind their deaths. His investigation leads him to two rival tech billionaires, both of whom had a motive for hiring the assassin and organising the killings. To save the day, Evan needs to find out which of them is responsible and destroy them and the psychotic killer they hired. But is the emotionally compromised Nowhere Man up to the task?
Lone Wolf was another outstanding addition to the Orphan X series that really showcased Hurwitz’s distinctive writing style. Blending an intense, action-packed story, with some outstanding character development, this was an amazing book that I deeply enjoyed reading.
Hurwitz comes up with a pretty excellent story for Lone Wolf that dragged me in very quickly. Starting off with some intense and personal character work around Evan Smoak that follows through from the last few books, Hurwitz does a good job setting the scene for much of the story off the bat, especially when it comes to the protagonist’s distracted headspace and his reliance on his unconventional family. The author also spends this time introducing one of the book’s main villains, the Wolf, who serves as an effective mirror for Orphan X. This initial setup works very well, as you quickly get drawn into the plot by the Wolf callous nature, while also getting invested in the protagonist’s emotional well-being. These story aspects quickly collide, as Evan, who finds himself helping his recently discovered niece, accidently intrudes upon one of the Wolf’s kills. The resulting extended action sequence is glorious, as Evan is forced to contend with the assassin and an army of cops, while trying to keep the daughter of the Wolf’s last victim alive. This entire action scene is a major highlight of the first half of the book, and Hurwitz wrote a brilliant continuous and frenetic chase sequence that pushes Evan to the limit.
Following this chase sequence, the pace of the book slows down a little, although Evan still finds himself in trouble as he enters a game of cat-and-mouse with the Wolf over the fate of the bystander he just saved. Forced to determine who hired the Wolf, Evan begins a compelling investigation angle where he probes two rival billionaires with twisted and unique morals. At the same time, Evan also finds himself in several intriguing personal situations, including trouble with his half-brother, mentoring his adopted daughter, and even a rather entertaining side-story about a battle for control of his building’s HOA. These work to keep the unique feel of the Orphan X series intact, and I loved how emotionally rich the book got at times.
The final third of Lone Wolf is mostly awesome, starting off with a great sequence that sees Evan interrogate a gang of thugs who have details he needs about the Wolf. The very entertaining and over-the-top way he goes about getting said information is so damn good, and it was another major highlight off the book. Unfortunately, the rest of the novel seems a little rushed, and frankly Hurwitz could have benefited from including another 100 pages or so to really wrap everything up perfectly. While it is still a fun and exciting read, the reveal about who is truly behind everything isn’t too surprising, despite some attempts at misdirection. In addition, the final confrontation against the main antagonists is somewhat weak, and could have been a little more epic, especially as one character went down way too easily. Still, the deep character development aspects of the story end up being extremely strong, and I liked the intriguing final twist that is going to cause additional drama in the next book. As such, I felt this was a really good story and I got so wrapped up in it.
I really enjoyed how Lone Wolf came together, especially as Hurwitz brought his usual blend of intensity and compelling human moments to this latest book. There is a great balance here between character development and thriller action, which I deeply appreciated. Indeed, I felt this was one of the better-balanced novels that Hurwitz has written recently. While the action sequences are always the highlight of this book, I have really appreciated how Hurwitz seeks to offset them with more typical moments, and the focus on character relationships and ordinary occurrences, such as a funny HOA election, adds a certain level of fun to the book. I really do think this was a great entry in the Orphan X series, and like most of the books in this series, Lone Wolf can mostly be read as a standalone, as Hurwitz is good at revisiting the key plot points from the previous books. However, those readers going in with a greater understanding of some of the characters, especially the protagonist and his complex relationships, will get a bit more out of this book, and it was fantastic to see the further development.
As I have alluded to a few times above, a lot of Lone Wolf’s strength lies in the excellent character work that Hurwitz layers into the story. Much of this is done to attempt to humanise the usually deadly protagonists featured within, especially as many of them are trying to adjust to a more civilian focused life after years being government assassins. The most prominent of these is Evan Smoak, the infamous Orphan X who his trying to redeem himself as the Nowhere Man. While Evan is usually a calm figure, minus his OECD, in this book he finds himself completely outside of his headspace as a bad encounter with his biological father at the start throws him completely out of whack. This was a very interesting situation, and it was really moving to see this implacable figure so out of sorts and relying on his family, both adopted and newly discovered, to find himself. Watching Evan grapple with the many personal battles surrounding him is an amazing part of the book, and you really get drawn into his emotional concerns. At the same time, Evan continues to struggle with the more mundane elements of a normal existence, and the various awkward encounters he has with certain family members and the residence of his building, show you just how lost and damaged he truly is. All this results in a great portrait of a complex figure, and Evan Smoak is honestly one of the best and most unique thriller protagonists out there.
While Evan is the focus of the book, he would be nothing without the unique array of side characters that have been drawn to him over the years and who supporting him in various ways. The most prominent of these is Joey Morales, Evan’s surrogate daughter and former trainee spy who serves as his tech support. Flippant, immature and only slightly more normal than her mentor, Joey serves as the major humanising force in Evan’s life and is a key ally, despite being a teenager. Joey is always a fun highlight, especially as she can push the protagonist’s buttons while bringing out his protective side. However, I liked how Hurwitz showed in Lone Wolf that despite her advanced knowledge of the world of espionage, she is still a teenager girl, and the scenes where Evan talks her through a social crisis, is surprisingly heartwarming and really captures their close relationship. The other major character is Tommy Stojack, Evan’s armourer and one of the few constant figures in his life. While cantankerous and unusual, Tommy serves as Evan’s rock for much of the series, and it was great to see him in this role again. While Tommy isn’t too controversial in Lone Wolf, there were some interesting developments with him that are going to be cool to follow in the next book.
Of course, no thriller would be complete without its villains, and Hurwitz did a great job of this with both the Wolf and the nefarious billionaire who may be behind her. Both are threatening in their own way, although I think I preferred the Wolf, as her deadly skills, ruthlessness, and enjoyment of the kill, made her an interesting opponent for Evan. The billionaire figure was also great, and his various monologues about the state of society and how his control of personal information allows him to control people in so many ways, was nearly as menacing as the killing. Throw in some intriguing new family elements for the protagonist, as well as the eccentric residence of his apartment complex (minus his long-term love interest who has been seemingly cut from the books), and this was an excellent group of characters whose interactions deeply enhanced the narrative.
Gregg Hurwitz continues to impress with his latest addition to the very cool Orphan X series with Lone Wolf. An emotionally charged thriller with powerful character work, Lone Wolf is an outstanding read that comes highly recommended. I cannot wait to see how Hurwitz follows up Lone Wolf in the future and I remain a massive fan of this amazing series.
The Unseen Library 