Gregg HurwitzThe Nowhere Man: An Orphan X Novel (Evan Smoak, Book 2)

“ Do you need my help?” is the question asked by the Nowhere man when he answers the Roam Zone with the number 1-800-nowhere. Evan Smoake, a.k.a. the Nowhere Man takes the call from a frightened young girl who can feel danger closing in on her and on her family. The signs of her terror are written all over her, but her family is exhausted from working to keep a roof over their heads and doesn’t notice, but an old man in the neighborhood does. The old man gives the young girl the phone number and tells her to call it, and she does. He tells Anna that she is safe, and she asks about the guy behind it all and the pictures of her they had. He tells her that they are all gone and that her family will never know. When Evan is through and relaxed he runs over the operation in his head and realized there was no place to hold the girls where he destroyed the traffickers and their lair. He jumps into action and goes back, realizing there would likely still be trapped girls there alive.That’s where Evan gets ambushed, only to awaken in a cell awash in the luxury of classical artwork and silky sheets. His captor’s name is Rene and his fetish is staying young and living in luxury and that’s very expensive. Having tracked Evan’s purchase of an ancient, katana sword, Rene realizes that Evan has disposable income that is not obvious to the casual observer and sets out to track Evan’s account, then force him to hand it over.Evan doesn’t care about the money, he has accounts everywhere. However, if he were to transfer the account to Rene’s, it would immediately put X on the radar of the Orphan program that has been tracking Evan, along with several baddies with an axe to grind. Oh what tangled webs we weave. You know X is going to get out of his satin prison, but this is certainly not going to be easy. Oh, and all those baddies and the Orphan program? Yea, they’re coming.I thought this ran a little slow in the middle, but X isn’t the kind of guy to let you down when you’re counting on some action. So pull up a glass of some really good vodka, (it’s his thing) and watch the show. You won’t be disappointed.

As always it was well written book, but what was distracting was how often Evan was captured then escaped then captured then escaped then captured. I think you get the point. Cramping That was just my perception. However I still recommend the book as it answered lot of questions. Looking forward to reading the next book

That was a wild and gruesome story that kept me on the edge of my seat. I was shocked each time the story deviated from the projection I thought it would go. Surprise after surprise with so much torture and brutality. This isn't my usual genre and it had my heart pounding. Being a hero in the midst of such evil is horrible. I'm definitely stuck in the story line an must go on to the next book bravely.

This series is just astonishing. It’s hard to fathom how Hurwitz can come up with the endless plot twists and extenders that keep Evan going. That keep him alive. A series definitely worth reading.

The Nowhere Man is the follow-up installment in Gregg Hurwitz' Orphan X series. The main character, Evan Smoak is a former blackest of the black special ops assassin trained for that purpose from childhood. With an emphasis on total deniability, his identity was supposedly known to only his handler. Evan has since "retired" and with his unending wealth, lives a double life as a below the radar vague businessman, while occasionally assisting a few individuals in need of his special skills. This time out, Evan runs into an equally shadowy figure who specializes in kidnapping people possessing illegal wealth, believing Evan to be some sort of arms dealer. While there's a bit of dues ex machina near the end, a cat and mouse theme pervades the story that is both creative and engaging.Evan's tradecraft are on full display as he battles wits with a worthy opponent who appears to be able to respond more than effectively to everything Evan can initiate. This time out, Evan must use less obvious means and comes up with some pretty creative solutions and sometimes satisfying means for retribution. At the same time, Evan is still within the bulls-eye of the remnant of the original orphan program as he slowly depletes their ranks. The reintroduction of a former lost comrade suggests some future possibilities. Perhaps the only ding to the tale was the telegraphed resolution of the persistent roamzone calls throughout his captivity.Hurwitz has fashioned a compelling and engaging character with plenty of fodder for future adventures. Hopefully he can avoid simply reverting to a formulaic rehashing of the same plot over and over again and running the alphabet on his old orphan buddies.

The reaction of Evan to getting caught up in the situation that forms the plot of the whole book is completely unrealistic to his character. He's super careful in assessing and planning every situation but this time his first reaction to trouble is to try to immediately kill his way out of it with little to no knowledge of the opposition or even where he is. Also vodka is disgusting and it seems like it's the authors favorite thing to write about, it's distracting. This will be my last try of this series.

Excellent book!!! Kept me on edge the whole time. Great attention to details. I plan on buying every Orphan X book.

What a ride

This is a great series to read on vacation. Although you may not get the rest you hoped for as you cannot stop reading until you have finished the book.

Superb read as all the X books are.Keep guessing what's coming next from the first min ........go for it!

Eerste boek in een keer uitgelezen. Dit tweede boek ook in een keer uitgelezen. Heel erg spannend, wat gaat er nu weer gebeuren, hoe red Evan, orphanX zich uit de situaties waar hij zich in bevind. En net als je denkt, hier houd het op voor hem.. gaat het de andere kant op. Pageturner.

Excellent "épisode" de notre nouveau super assassin, Evan Smoak.Cette fois ci c'est lui la victime d'une espèce de fou millionnaire super méchant à la James Bond.On y retrouve beaucoup de codes du genre, un chalet/château au milieu d'une forêt enneigée, une bande de gardes narcos armés jusqu'aux dents, un géant muet aux tatouages étranges...Dans ce genre c'est ce qu'il se fait de mieux et de plus moderne, c'est vraiment bien foutu.

Really cool book, can't put it down, groups you from the 1st page itself. A must read!!! Too good a book