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danubooks's review
5.0
Sometimes even the smallest ask can lead to great danger.
Evan Smoak, known formerly as Orphan X when he was an off-the-books government assassin, now masquerades as a bland businessman while actually being the Nowhere Man. He keeps a satellite phone with him at all times; anyone who is in terrible trouble of some sort and have nowhere else to turn can call his number and enlist his aid. Each time he helps someone, the only payment he requires is that they be alert to seeing others who are in need of his services, and when they do they are to pass his number along. Over the course of the series, the barriers that X has kept up to keep other people away have slowly eroded in spots…he now finds himself with Joey, a computer wizard teenage girl with whom he has a mentor:mentee/big brother:little sister relationship (along with her messy dog, Dog); a half-brother with an alcohol problem, an ex-wife and a daughter; fellow residents of his condo building who keep trying to drag him into their activities and their lives; and several other business contacts who have developed into friends, at least of a sort.
As this installment, ninth in the series, opens X seems to have disappeared. He isn’t answering his sat phone, which has never happened, and Joey and others are worried. When it turns out that he had summoned the courage to meet the man who fathered him, it didn’t turn out well, and he got well and truly drunk in response to the encounter, Joey is more than a little upset. X is off-balance, not operating at his usual high level. When the sat phone rings, and it is his niece (who doesn’t actually know she’s his niece) wanting him to find her lost dog, it is easier for X to just do it than explain that it is really not a Nowhere Man-caliber case. Such a small request….but things explode when he starts looking. He comes upon a murdered man with the murderer still in the building, and just when X is about to capture the assassin the murdered man’s teenage daughter arrives and is used as a human shield. The murderer, a woman whom X will come to identify as a professional known as The Wolf, escapes. X is able to save the teenager, but not before she is badly injured. That partial failure fuels X’s desire to find out why the murder was committed. Soon he finds himself in the frightening world of next-level AI, competing billionaires weaponizing the use of personal data of their online customers to manipulate life choices and create markets, and an assassin who is as well-trained as he is and is now not only looking to finish the job of killing the teenager who survived, but adding X to her kill list as well. It’s not all dark….there are plenty of humorous moments between X and Joey, amongst the HOA political shenanigans at his condo, and the maddeningly elusive Loco the missing chihuahua mix. Learning to let people in to your life comes with emotional risk, and that is one arena in which X does not excel (but he’s trying).. Ever-developing characters, frighteningly real scenarios to which our online activities have exposed us, and the rewards and risks of claiming people as friends and family are all woven around a briskly paced search for the reasons behind a slain man and the person or persons behind the kill. For readers who enjoy a good thriller, particularly authors like Lee Child and Mark Greaney, I highly recommend you give the Orphan X series a try….if you’re already a fan of the series, this latest installment won’t disappoint. Many thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books for allowing me access to an advanced reader’s copy of Lone Wolf, it was a fantastic read!
Evan Smoak, known formerly as Orphan X when he was an off-the-books government assassin, now masquerades as a bland businessman while actually being the Nowhere Man. He keeps a satellite phone with him at all times; anyone who is in terrible trouble of some sort and have nowhere else to turn can call his number and enlist his aid. Each time he helps someone, the only payment he requires is that they be alert to seeing others who are in need of his services, and when they do they are to pass his number along. Over the course of the series, the barriers that X has kept up to keep other people away have slowly eroded in spots…he now finds himself with Joey, a computer wizard teenage girl with whom he has a mentor:mentee/big brother:little sister relationship (along with her messy dog, Dog); a half-brother with an alcohol problem, an ex-wife and a daughter; fellow residents of his condo building who keep trying to drag him into their activities and their lives; and several other business contacts who have developed into friends, at least of a sort.
As this installment, ninth in the series, opens X seems to have disappeared. He isn’t answering his sat phone, which has never happened, and Joey and others are worried. When it turns out that he had summoned the courage to meet the man who fathered him, it didn’t turn out well, and he got well and truly drunk in response to the encounter, Joey is more than a little upset. X is off-balance, not operating at his usual high level. When the sat phone rings, and it is his niece (who doesn’t actually know she’s his niece) wanting him to find her lost dog, it is easier for X to just do it than explain that it is really not a Nowhere Man-caliber case. Such a small request….but things explode when he starts looking. He comes upon a murdered man with the murderer still in the building, and just when X is about to capture the assassin the murdered man’s teenage daughter arrives and is used as a human shield. The murderer, a woman whom X will come to identify as a professional known as The Wolf, escapes. X is able to save the teenager, but not before she is badly injured. That partial failure fuels X’s desire to find out why the murder was committed. Soon he finds himself in the frightening world of next-level AI, competing billionaires weaponizing the use of personal data of their online customers to manipulate life choices and create markets, and an assassin who is as well-trained as he is and is now not only looking to finish the job of killing the teenager who survived, but adding X to her kill list as well. It’s not all dark….there are plenty of humorous moments between X and Joey, amongst the HOA political shenanigans at his condo, and the maddeningly elusive Loco the missing chihuahua mix. Learning to let people in to your life comes with emotional risk, and that is one arena in which X does not excel (but he’s trying).. Ever-developing characters, frighteningly real scenarios to which our online activities have exposed us, and the rewards and risks of claiming people as friends and family are all woven around a briskly paced search for the reasons behind a slain man and the person or persons behind the kill. For readers who enjoy a good thriller, particularly authors like Lee Child and Mark Greaney, I highly recommend you give the Orphan X series a try….if you’re already a fan of the series, this latest installment won’t disappoint. Many thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books for allowing me access to an advanced reader’s copy of Lone Wolf, it was a fantastic read!
readinggrrl's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
tessa_talks_books's review against another edition
5.0
One-word review: Incredible
Emojis: 🫣🫢🤫
Rating: 5🌟s
My thoughts:
Lone Wolf by Gregg Hurwitz develops Evan Smoak more than I could have hoped for or imagined. I’ve loved watching Evan get in touch with his humanity book after book, and Lone Wolf showed sides of him I never dared to hope to see. The story had a poignant edge that brought an intriguing layer and a tear to my eye.
There’s also plenty of action and a breakneck pace that keeps the pages flipping. The pacing for this whole series has been phenomenal, and it’s one of the many things I love about it. The action started only a few chapters in and intensified as Evan repeatedly outwitted a female version of himself.
I also loved Joey’s role in the story with all her frustrating typical teen issues that were so far out of Evan’s comfort zone that he didn’t even know how to begin addressing them and helping her. It provides comic relief to the story, as did her constant wit.
I love how this series develops and can’t wait for what will come!
caszriel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
5.0
————————————————————
I’ve been following this series for over five years now, ever since I picked up the audiobook of Orphan X on a whim, and let me tell you, it never gets old. The character growth book to book is insane, Gregg Hurwitz somehow manages to maintain consistency and authenticity while making sure it’s never a boring ride.
Lone Wolf feels like the most ambitious book out of the recent installments, a real deep-dive into the human side of Evan. The mission in this book is everything he’s shied away from in the past, and very much personal; in spite of it appearing quite domestic on the surface level, the subplots add depth and intrigue to the story.
Something else that’s been getting better and better throughout the course of this series is the cast of characters Evan comes to rely on, even if he insists he’s a lone wolf (pun intended). If Joey wasn’t already one of my favorite characters, she’s definitely become one. Luke Devine’s involvement in this book was a funny and well-received addition.
Reading the latest Orphan X novel has been a highlight for many years now, and I hope it’s something I can look forward to for several more at least. I can’t wait to see where Gregg Hurwitz takes Evan next, especially with that ending.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a review copy.
donnek's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
HE’S BACK!!! I. LOVE. THIS. SERIES!!! Evan Smoak is back in another, fast-paced, action-packed, intense, absolutely hilarious, @$$kicking Orphan X installment! Based on the ending of the last installment (the series installments do NOT make good standalones. Enough said), Joey tracked down Evan’s bio dad and after a lot of waffling back and forth with himself (Hurwitz spends a lot of time in Evan’s head), Evan finally meets him and underwhelming and disappointing don’t begin to describe Evan’s reaction to his bio dad. Evan ends up going on a bender that has Joey and Tommy (Evan’s weapons supplier) worried about him. This is not a spoiler since it happened in the second (maybe third) chapter.
With too much time on his hands because he isn’t on some job or assignment, Joey convinces Evan to take the job of finding his niece’s (Evan’s half-brother, Andre’s, daughter, also from the last installment) dog, Loco, who has gone missing. In the process of locating Loco, Evan comes across a murder scene and an assassin that Evan ends up referring to as the Wolf. This Lone Wolf appears to be just as good as an assassin as Evan, but Evan does seem to thwart her efforts time and time again. NOBOBY is as good as Orphan X!!! This is also not a spoiler since it also happened pretty early in the story.
Most of the story revolves around trying to get to bottom of who the Wolf is working for and why as well as Evan dodging her assassination attempts. There is also the storyline of retrieving Loco from the murder scene and protecting Jayla, the 17yr old daughter of the Wolf’s latest victim, who can identify the Wolf. There is also another storyline of Joey rushing a sorority (she’s a UCLA student), and it’s not going well.
Once again, I am thoroughly enamored with the way that the quasi-sibling relationship between Evan and Joey has developed. Most of the time, it is such a typical sibling thing the way that they tease, harass, and annoy each other (think Millennial big brother and Zoomer little sister) with their interactions being absolutely hilarious and amusing. Then there are those times where the love and affection for each other is so touching, it makes my eyes a little watery. LOVE JOEY!!!
Over the course of the series, Joey has been one of the driving forces that keeps Evan human and keeps Evan from descending to a life on the dark side (drowning in his over-the-top OCD) along with Evan’s mentor, Jack, which at this point in the series are just Jack’s life lessons now (Jack was killed in a previous installment). With every installment, Evan becomes more philosophical and more concerned about the few people in has managed to let into his life and that he has come to care about very much.
Once again, Hurwitz provides a jaw dropping, OMG, out in left field cliffhanger that I should have seen coming. But hey, if Evan can miss it, then so can I. I flipped back and forth between the ebook and the audiobook and the narrator Scott Brick was really good and is the perfect voice for Evan, plus his delivery of the humorous parts was spot on. He often had that intense tone to his narration too that so much of the Orphan X story warranted. I want to thank St Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.
#StMartin’sPress #MacmillanAudio #LoneWolf
With too much time on his hands because he isn’t on some job or assignment, Joey convinces Evan to take the job of finding his niece’s (Evan’s half-brother, Andre’s, daughter, also from the last installment) dog, Loco, who has gone missing. In the process of locating Loco, Evan comes across a murder scene and an assassin that Evan ends up referring to as the Wolf. This Lone Wolf appears to be just as good as an assassin as Evan, but Evan does seem to thwart her efforts time and time again. NOBOBY is as good as Orphan X!!! This is also not a spoiler since it also happened pretty early in the story.
Most of the story revolves around trying to get to bottom of who the Wolf is working for and why as well as Evan dodging her assassination attempts. There is also the storyline of retrieving Loco from the murder scene and protecting Jayla, the 17yr old daughter of the Wolf’s latest victim, who can identify the Wolf. There is also another storyline of Joey rushing a sorority (she’s a UCLA student), and it’s not going well.
Once again, I am thoroughly enamored with the way that the quasi-sibling relationship between Evan and Joey has developed. Most of the time, it is such a typical sibling thing the way that they tease, harass, and annoy each other (think Millennial big brother and Zoomer little sister) with their interactions being absolutely hilarious and amusing. Then there are those times where the love and affection for each other is so touching, it makes my eyes a little watery. LOVE JOEY!!!
Over the course of the series, Joey has been one of the driving forces that keeps Evan human and keeps Evan from descending to a life on the dark side (drowning in his over-the-top OCD) along with Evan’s mentor, Jack, which at this point in the series are just Jack’s life lessons now (Jack was killed in a previous installment). With every installment, Evan becomes more philosophical and more concerned about the few people in has managed to let into his life and that he has come to care about very much.
Once again, Hurwitz provides a jaw dropping, OMG, out in left field cliffhanger that I should have seen coming. But hey, if Evan can miss it, then so can I. I flipped back and forth between the ebook and the audiobook and the narrator Scott Brick was really good and is the perfect voice for Evan, plus his delivery of the humorous parts was spot on. He often had that intense tone to his narration too that so much of the Orphan X story warranted. I want to thank St Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.
#StMartin’sPress #MacmillanAudio #LoneWolf
lonelysatellite's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The Orphan X series is truly what got me back into fiction after years of strictly reading non-fiction. It went from a recommendation from family to a series I never want to see end and recommend to everyone.
I loved this book because it was different and strayed from the typical Orphan X mission novel format. The oft repeated mantra of the series is that the hardest part is to keep Evan human. This book more than any other pushes Evan into embracing humanity both good and bad whether he wants to or not.
I had an inkling of what happened in the last chapter earlier on in the book but I didn’t want to admit it to myself until I saw it on the page. Thank goodness this means the Orphan X series can and MUST continue.
Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur for an ARC of this book. This is the first Orphan X book I’ve been picked to get an ARC for (after trying for years) and I was thrilled to read it early!
I loved this book because it was different and strayed from the typical Orphan X mission novel format. The oft repeated mantra of the series is that the hardest part is to keep Evan human. This book more than any other pushes Evan into embracing humanity both good and bad whether he wants to or not.
I had an inkling of what happened in the last chapter earlier on in the book but I didn’t want to admit it to myself until I saw it on the page. Thank goodness this means the Orphan X series can and MUST continue.
Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur for an ARC of this book. This is the first Orphan X book I’ve been picked to get an ARC for (after trying for years) and I was thrilled to read it early!
amandat's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Won an ARC through Goodreads Giveaway. Not a great entry in the series.
gretel7's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
I received this from Netgalley.com.
Another great installment of Orphan X. Go get 'em X, we are all safer because you are fighting for us.
Another great installment of Orphan X. Go get 'em X, we are all safer because you are fighting for us.
leftyjonesq's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
5.0
I stumbled upon the nowhere man series after reading all the classic novels that are similar. I have always enjoyed them. But this newest one is great because i finally feel as though I get the human element out of Evan. I can understand more of his personal self as much as one can out of an assassin character. This installment of the Orphan X series is maybe my favorite one, as I get that human element. Plus i love Joey and her relationship with X. Last thing, Loco is my hero.
I received a free advanced copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.