Orphan X Series

Orphan X, aka The Nowhere Man, is a relatively new series by the popular thriller author Gregg Hurwitz, who has also written the Tim Rackley and the Rains series, and several standalone thrillers.

We are introduced to Evan Smoak in the first book titled Orphan X. This is the name given to him in the underground organization called the Orphan Program. Each “orphan” had a letter next to him. He was X.

Orphan X Series

1. Orphan X, 2016
2. Buy a Bullet, 2016 (novella)
3. The Nowhere Man, 2017
4. Hellbent, 2018

Book series with assassins, hitmen, and rogue agents are plenty these days, and they are very popular too. There are entire book circles devoted to such books. Jack Reacher, The Gray Man, Jason Bourne, Victor the Assassin, are just some of the most sought-for characters that people who are new to this genre pick up right away.

And then we have Evan Smoak, a dangerous man who, as a child, was taken from an orphanage and raised to be one of the deadliest assassins in the world. Right until he say NO MORE and went left the trade.

Except, once you’re in, you can’t leave unless in a body bag. But Evan has managed it somehow, and now he spends his time trying to help those who can’t help themselves, maybe to exorcise his demons, as an atonement for past evils he performed in the name of patriotism. For whatever reason, you can count on The Nowhere Man to come and help you if you call.

After he left the organization, he became The Nowhere Man (which is what some people call the series as well). As The Nowhere Man, he is a nobody, one who only comes to help people in need, only to disappear in smoke again once his job is done.

The second book in the Orphan X series is called The Nowhere Man. Evan is now a prisoner in a locked room with seemingly no way to escape.

In book three, Hellbent, published in 2018, it seems that Orphan X is in serious danger. Someone wants to erase the Orphan Program from existence and kill every last one of the members to leave no evidence behind. Now, Evan Smoak has not only to somehow stay alive but also protect probably the very last Orphan, a teen who flunked the program and now is set to disappear as well.