Richard's Review:
This the latest in Gregg Hurwitz’s string of Orphan X novels. It’s as good as any he’s written so far, and if you haven’t come across his Orphan (alias Evan Smoak) yet, don’t worry – like all the books in the series, it’s a stand-alone thriller.
The Last Orphan is so titled because Smoak is the last man standing in a top-secret, off-the-books US programme that raised and trained youngsters and turned them into one-man killing machines. Then they were sent anywhere in the world where ‘executive action’ was seen as the only way to serve Washington’s interests.
Smoak got out – eventually – and went freelance, living off the grid and only accepting assignments that squared with his conscience. A kind of atonement. But now his government wants him back for one last job. Will he agree?