As a young orphan in E. Baltimore, Evan Smoak was snatched from the street and meticulously trained in the Orphan program to be a human weapon. Known only as Orphan X, he executed lone, offline undercover jobs. After the Orphan program was dismantled, Evan went out on his own as a solo covert operator. Known as The Nowhere Man, his legend grows over the years. Because of his previous Orphan experiences and now as a freelancer, Evan has acquired his share of lethal enemies. As a wanted man, Evan is not surprised when someone stalks him. Their expertise points to a fellow Orphan, but why is he being hunted—and by whom? Finding the answer could prove fatal.

ORPHAN X by Gregg Hurwitz is an exceptional start to a new thriller series starring Evan Smoak, once known as Orphan X, now The Nowhere Man. Deftly inserting flashbacks of Evan's training years with the man who "adopted" him, I was mesmerized by this uncommon man and his unique and obsessive skills. I appreciated all the intricate details of an assassin's life as Hurwitz precisely sets up the intense world Evan has to inhabit along with the anonymity he has to achieve. Be advised there are numerous fight scenes that are explicitly, and excessively, brutal, but no more than expected from the type of life Evan has to maintain to survive. Captivated by ORPHAN X, I anxiously await his upcoming exploits.