Out of the Dark by Gregg Hurwitz

 ABOUT THE BOOK 

"A shocking stunner in every way. The perfect thriller." —Robert Crais

When darkness closes in—he's your last, best hope. Evan Smoak returns in Gregg Hurwitz’s #1 international bestselling Orphan X series.

Taken from a group home at age twelve, Evan Smoak was raised and trained as part of the Orphan Program, an off-the-books operation designed to create deniable intelligence assets—i.e. assassins. Evan was Orphan X. He broke with the Program, using everything he learned to disappear and reinvent himself as the Nowhere Man, a man who helps the truly desperate when no one else can. But now Evan's past is catching up to him.

Someone at the very highest level of government has been trying to eliminate every trace of the Orphan Program by killing all the remaining Orphans and their trainers. After Evan's mentor and the only father he ever knew was killed, he decided to strike back. His target is the man who started the Program and who is now the most heavily guarded person in the world: the President of the United States.

But President Bennett knows that Orphan X is after him and, using weapons of his own, he's decided to counter-attack. Bennett activates the one man who has the skills and experience to track down and take out Orphan X—the first recruit of the Program, Orphan A.

With Evan devoting all his skills, resources, and intelligence to find a way through the layers of security that surround the President, suddenly he also has to protect himself against the deadliest of opponents. It's Orphan vs. Orphan with the future of the country—even the world—on the line.

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 REVIEW 

Out of the Dark is the latest in the Orphan X series, one that I have come to enjoy considerably. The Orphan series is not exactly a fresh idea: a boy is taken from foster care and trained to become a covert assassin for the government. What keeps me coming back is Evan's personal development as the stories continue. Evan craves emotional bonds with those around him he just doesn't know how to accomplish it. I have grown attached while watching Evan struggle to find meaning in his life. 

As the Nowhere Man, a mantle he takes up after going rogue, Evan has become a type of avenging angel. Whether he is protecting a young man from those who murdered his family, saving an abuse victim and her child from their abuser or going after those who threaten the remaining Orphans, Evan thinks well on his feet and excels at planning. He is formidable when adversarial, using both his brain and his physical training to master any situation. Although some circumstances require a suspension of disbelief, Evan's journey is worth the experience.

Random spoilery thoughts: I appreciated when Evan explained to his foes how he would defeat them, and then did exactly what he described. The boldness of the act was fun to witness.

Mia needs to find a way to deal with the sense Evan works outside of the law, or she needs to stay away from him. It does neither of them any good doing their back and forth.

I am most pleased that in the end, Evan prevailed with his smarts rather than his brute force.

I was granted a copy of this book by St. Martin's Press, through NetGalley, for my honest opinion.  I suggest all readers come to their own conclusions.