The Last Orphan by Gregg Hurwitz (2023)
I couldn't plunge fast enough into this new adventure of Evan Smoak, a clandestine, rogue knight errant who defends helpless people outnumbered by vile villains.
And purveyors of evil never came up against a more formidable adversary than Smoak He's a survivor of a brutal childhood, and and a survivor, graduate and defector from a secret government school for assassins. And these "orphans" were more then expertly trained for those infamously "disavowed" missions that everyone can deny ever happened.
But the government's Powers-That-Be have run out of patience with 'Orphan X's self chosen, independent career as a righter of wrongs and freelance slayer of those who need some serious slaying. In a stunning reversal of fortune for this series, Smoak finds himself, for the first time, at the mercy of U.S. President Victoria Donahue-Carr. And the Prez has a prime target she wants permanently.....uh.... Smoak'd.
In her sights is multi-billionaire Luke Devine, who's either bought or blackmailed so many top power brokers, he's become a world-shaking influential power all to himself.......not to mention a possible murderer of innocent people who crossed his path at one of the huge parties he throws at his fortress-like mansion.
Smoak's not sure Devine qualifies as a target worthy of his interest........but he most certainly has a major problem with Devine's cadre of scary, ex-Marine bodyguard-commandos. When these goons threaten the family of one of the mansion murder victims, the inevitable Smoak-Devine clash is on.......but in very unexpected ways which I wouldn't dream of spoiling here.
Everything readers love about this series is well in place here......the overpowering weaponry, the unleashing of Evan Smoak's incredibly lethal skills, the excruciating hand-to-hand combat battles........and best of all (for me, anyway), the byplay, both funny and heart-tugging, between Smoak and his teen girl MVP Joey, a world-class hacker and broken dropout of the 'Orphan' program. It's no end of fun watching this very odd couple humanizing each other while inching ever closer to a sort of father-daughter dynamic - with the anti-social OCD afflicted Smoak exasperated and protective of the guarded, smart-ass adolescent.
Once again, Gregg Hurwitz delivered a thriller I practically inhaled in one sitting, just like the other books in the series......and that makes 'The Last Orphan' yet another can't-put-it-down 5 star read(*****), not to be missed.
