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In the first nine books in author Gregg Hurwitz’s Orphan X series, the former black ops assassin known as the Nowhere Man has faced a series of missions that have made him start to reconsider his training and his once black-and-white beliefs. But in the 10th installment, Nemesis, he finds himself in an extremely complicated situation.
The story finds Evan Smoak facing his greatest challenge yet. Since he began his Orphan training at the age of 12, he’s lived his life in the light of his mentor’s Ten Commandments. But now he finds himself stuck on a very important one: Never make it personal. After his last mission led him to information that his oldest friend, weapons manufacturer Tommy Stojack, supplied weapons to the wrong kind of people, Evan sets out to confront Tommy—only to end up in the middle of a new mission, too.
Throughout his missions as the Nowhere Man, Evan has taken on so many deadly challenges while battling a variety of unsavory characters—but none of them have been as difficult as this one. While Evan has been careful to remain in the shadows, resisting personal relationships to keep himself and the innocent people around him safe, he’s built a kind of friendship with Tommy, the well-connected veteran who supplies Evan with his weapons—and just about anything else that he needs to complete his missions. Tommy has been a part of the Nowhere Man’s operations almost from the beginning—and that’s what makes his betrayal so difficult for Evan to stomach.
There’s a lot going on in this action-packed and thought-provoking thriller. While Evan’s relationship with Tommy could have made for an entire novel on its own, the story also finds Evan and Tommy on different sides of an additional mission, Evan’s “niece” Joey getting caught up in a social justice group, and Tommy’s life threatened by a group of hired killers. There’s so much at play that not every storyline gets the attention it deserves—and some fizzle out a little too quickly. But this latest installment makes for another strong and powerful story that continues to challenge Evan’s belief system while taking the character in a new direction.
Though the number of interconnected stories makes it feel somewhat overstuffed, Nemesis is yet another smart and captivating installment in the Orphan X series. Each book in the series brings a fascinating new challenge for the Nowhere Man—and this one seems to be an all-important turning point in his journey.
Listen to the review on Shelf Discovery:
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