Gregg Hurwitz. Any diehard fan of thrillers knows that he has penned probably the most kickass assassin in the business; Evan Smoak AKA Orphan X. Taken from an all-boys group home in East Baltimore at the age of 12 by an ultra-secretive government entity to train the ultimate deniable assassins, Evan has a skill set none in the program possesses; the ability to be deadly yet still maintain his humanity.
Hurwitz has created a character that not only can kill in the most lethal fashion, but also must navigate the monthly HOA meeting in his building: a scenario where he has not the slightest idea of how to navigate! Evan Smoak is such a unique character because he is an individual looking in through the window; trying to do good with this odd skill set without the slightest idea of how to be “normal”. Hurwitz has made a name for himself for creating a character we have yet to come across as an assassin, and the plots he weaves for his characters are second to none!
In Gregg Hurwitz seventh Orphan X novel, Dark Horse, we pick up several months after the explosive cliffhanger of the previous novel Prodigal Son. Evans’ “fortress of solitude” has been decimated, and he is slowly picking up the pieces. Evan is semi-back to being The Nowhere Man, but he is not looking for the next mission. When an unlikely caller contacts Evan for help, it causes Evan to question what he does.
On paper, Aragon Urrea is not a good man. He is the leader of a major drug dealing operation in South Texas. However, he acts as the patron of the area: offering legitimate employment, and protecting the residents of his town. Urrea also has a beautiful daughter that is beloved by him and the community. However, when she is kidnapped by a brutal cartel, and held in their armored compound in Mexico, he is helpless to save his daughter. Urrea turns to the only person with the skill set to get this done: The Nowhere Man.
Before Evan accepts a Nowhere Man mission, he always checks that the mission is worthy. Is this person deserving of his help? At first glance, Urrea is not an upright man. However, something in Urrea’s plea to find his daughter reaches Evan. Evan starts to look into Urrea, and finds a common thread to himself that Evan never knew existed. In working with someone with as violent of a past as himself, Evan gets the opportunity to ponder his future. If someone with as questionable a past as Urrea can have a new beginning, can Evan?
In every new Orphan X novel, Hurwitz seems to throw Evan into a new and impossible situation. In Dark Horse the question for Evan is, is he worthy enough to have a future with hopes and dreams? Can an individual with his training and past have various aspirations beyond what he does now? This is a heartbreaking read with killer action, and crazy plot twists that I didn't see coming. Basically, a typical Gregg Hurwitz read!
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