Publishers Weekly
03/11/2024
Hurwitz’s creaky latest mission for former black ops assassin Evan Smoak (after The Last Orphan) finds the mercenary getting more than he bargained for when he agrees to track down a missing dog. In the years since Smoak left the shadowy U.S. Orphan Program, he’s spent his days dodging government assassins while making a living as a private gun-for-hire. His latest assignment is more low-stakes than usual: Sofia, his half brother’s 11-year-old daughter, hires him to track down her pinscher/Chihuahua mix. The search for the AWOL pooch takes on bigger stakes when, while casing the neighborhood where the dog was last seen, Smoak encounters the bloody handiwork of Karissa Lopatina, an assassin known as the Wolf. With the help of his allies—including teen protégé Joey and expert forger Melinda Truong—Smoak learns the Wolf is involved in a war between deranged billionaires over a dangerous technology, and enters into a bone-crunching cage match to bring her down. Hurwitz brings more humor to the table than usual this time, and fleshes out Smoak’s family ties in an attempt to add dimension to the character. Still, it’s not enough to enliven the dusty plot. This series appears to be running out of steam. (Feb.)
From the Publisher
"Gregg Hurwitz seems to have found a new gear as he kicks things up a notch, ramping up the action and tension to deliver the most fascinating and compelling Orphan X novel to date. Think Jason Bourne on steroids... Lone Wolf is one of the year’s first must-read thrillers." —The Real Book Spy
"The series has always been a blend of Batman, the Equalizer, and Vince Flynn's Mitch Rapp, and Lone Wolf reinforces why it continues to be great nine novels in. Newcomers to Evan's adventures should feel fine starting here before diving into the others." —First Clue
"Lone Wolf is a crushingly brilliant piece of fiction." —Best Thriller Books
"There is simply no one writing thrillers like Gregg Hurwitz...Evan Smoak, the fascinating, richly imagined protagonist at the heart of the Orphan X series, leaps off the page. If you haven’t read Gregg Hurwitz, you’re missing out.” —Lisa Unger
"You can never go wrong with an Orphan X book. No, scratch that. An Orphan X book will never fail to blow your fucking mind." —Best Thriller Books
"Hurwitz continues to dazzle." —Booklist
"Another crackling caper for the solitary Orphan X." —Kirkus Reviews
"Reading an Orphan X tale is truly a guilty pleasure, akin to eating dessert before dinner." —Mystery and Suspense Magazine
"The suspense that builds surrounding the final battle...keeps driving LONE WOLF forward with the velocity of a speeding bullet...This might be his best Orphan X thriller yet." —Bookreporter
MARCH 2024 - AudioFile
Narrator Scott Brick dons a trench coat and breathes life into a former black-ops government assassin code named Orphan X. When Evan Smoak left the Program, he reinvented himself into a righter of wrongs for victims needing a savior. Brick employs perfect timing and emphasis to portray Evan and plays him with heart. Initially asked to find a little girl's dog, he soon finds himself pursuing a case that involves international intrigue, AI, and evil technocrat billionaires. Eventually, Evan faces an assassin named Wolf in a deadly showdown. Brick shines in long passages of exposition, setting up the stakes with deft talent, and quickly shifts into periodic high action. Series fans will be eager to tee up this new Hurwitz blockbuster. R.O. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2023-12-06
A maverick assassin squares off against a ruthless AI magnate and a mercenary doppelgänger.
Franchise fans will be pleased to learn that The Last Orphan (2023) wasn’t. “Nowhere Man” Evan Smoak, aka Orphan X, is back for his ninth taut thriller. He comes to consciousness, bloody and broken and barely alive, in a remote part of Texas outside the range of the RoamZone tracker that monitors him. While Evan reestablishes contact with teenage sidekick/protégé Joey and undertakes the goofy but heart-tugging challenge of finding his niece Sofia’s missing dog, Loco, efficient assassin Karissa Lopatina is hard at work, drowning software engineering manager Anwuli Okonkwo in her bathtub, then killing AI expert Dr. Benjamin Hill, whose path happens to have crossed Loco’s. She’s still on the scene when Evan arrives (what are the odds?). Their showdown takes a tragic turn when Hill’s teenage daughter tries to intervene, allowing Karissa to get away and leaving Evan to deal with the police. His narrow escape, combining guile and muscle, is vintage Hurwitz, set forth with gritty edge and puckish humor in short, punchy chapters that include several similar nail-biting scenes. Loco remains at large as Evan’s twisty path takes him to a creepy megalomaniac ironically named Allman and eventually to a face-to-face with Karissa, who, gender aside, could be his identical twin. A handful of characters from previous Orphan X capers return, including Tanner and Devine, who make cameo appearances. Crisp character delineation and a propulsive, forward-moving plot should keep new readers engaged.
Another crackling caper for the solitary Orphan X.
