Following a career in which he was always the most dangerous man in the room, ex-government assassin Evan Smoak is the last person his friends should ever have to worry about. But when Evan, formerly codenamed Orphan X, drops out of sight they’re concerned. They were right to be. A personal crisis has left him on his knees.

If anyone remembered his first name they never cared to use it. But Allman’s lack of empathy hasn’t proven any barrier to building a tech empire whose tentacles reach into every aspect of people’s lives. And in the rush to praise his genius, no one’s asking what it could mean for humanity. Nor what Allman’s got coming next.

Someone is leaving a trail of dead in their wake. Apparently chosen at random, their deaths dressed up as accidents or suicides. The woman responsible is known only as the Wolf and looks to be every bit Evan’s equal. She now has him in her sights.

How does it all connect? What is at stake? And will Evan rediscover the instinct and skill he needs to prevail? Or die trying.

Forced into retirement, Evan Smoak gets an urgent request for help from someone he didn't even suspect existed...

As a boy, Evan Smoak was pulled out of a foster home and trained in an off-the-books operation known as the Orphan Program. He was a government assassin, perhaps the best, known to a few insiders as Orphan X. He eventually broke with the Program and adopted a new name - The Nowhere Man - and a new mission, helping the most desperate in their times of trouble. But the highest power in the country has made him a tempting offer - in exchange for an unofficial pardon, he must stop his clandestine activities as The Nowhere Man. Now Evan has to do the one thing he's least equipped to do - live a normal life. But then he gets a call for help from the one person he never expected. A woman claiming to have given him up for adoption, a woman he never knew - his mother.

Her unlikely request: help Andrew Duran - a man whose life has gone off the rails, who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, bringing him to the deadly attention of very powerful figures. Now a brutal brother & sister assassination team are after him and with no one to turn to, and no safe place to hide, Evan is Duran's only option. But when the hidden cabal catches on to what Evan is doing, everything he's fought for is on the line - including his own life.

The world needs a new hero, and Evan Smoak - aka Orphan X - is here to help in his electrifying 8th adventure perfect for fans of Lee Child's Jack Reacher.

When Evan Smoak broke with the Orphan program, he carried secrets that the government would do anything to hide. Dedicating his skills to helping the desperate, Evan slowly found himself back on the government's radar. Having eliminated most Orphans, the government will stop at nothing to do likewise to Evan. But Orphan X has always stayed ahead of his pursuers.

Until he makes one little mistake...

Now the President is in control, offering a final deal: eliminate a rich, powerful man, and she'll let Evan survive. Now Evan has to decide what's more important- his principles or his life.

The Sunday Times bestselling series returns - and Orphan X faces his most challenging mission ever...

Evan Smoak is a man with many identities and a challenging past. As Orphan X, he was a government assassin for the off-the-books Orphan Program. After he broke with the Program, he adopted a new name and a new mission - The Nowhere Man, helping the most desperate in their times of trouble.

Having just survived an attack on his life, and the complete devastation of his base of operations, as well as his complicated (and deepening) relationship with his neighbour Mia Hall, Evan isn't interested in taking on a new mission. But one finds him anyway. Aragon Urrea is a kingpin of a major drug-dealing operation in South Texas. He's also the patron of the local area - suppling employment in legitimate operations, providing help to the helpless, a rough justice to the downtrodden, and a future to a people normally with little hope. He's complicated - a not completely good man, who does bad things for often good reasons. However, for all his money and power, he is helpless when one of the most vicious cartels kidnaps his innocent eighteen-year-old daughter, spiriting her away into the armoured complex that is their headquarters in Mexico. With no other way to rescue his daughter, he turns to The Nowhere Man.

Now not only must Evan figure out how to get into the impregnable fortress of a heavily armed, deeply paranoid cartel leader, but he must decide if he should help a very bad man - no matter how just the cause.

Orphan X has spent years atoning for his former life. Now he faces an impossible choice: kill, or be killed . . .

HE FACES AN IMPOSSIBLE CHOICE:
KILL, OR BE KILLED . . .
 
Trained as a government assassin codenamed Orphan X, Evan Smoak left that life behind to protect the helpless. Saving lives beats taking them. Until a call from the President forces him back into his old world.
 
Her instruction is clear: kill a man who is a danger to the government, or Evan himself will face execution himself. But the President should know better. To force Orphan X's hand will only make him more dangerous. Especially when he has reason to doubt the integrity of her motives ...

Pre-order the electrifying new adventure in the Sunday Times bestselling series - in which Orphan X faces his most challenging mission ever . . . THE HERO Evan Smoak: former off-the-books assassin - code name Orphan X. His world is divided into those who deserve his help and those who've brought his singular brand of justice upon themselves. THE VICTIM A desperate father reaches out. His teenage daughter Anjelina has been kidnapped by a brutal criminal cartel and spirited over the border into Mexico. And while money is no object, Evan soon realises that his prospective client's past is as clouded and compromised as his own. THE MISSION If Evan is going to put his life on the line to rescue Anjelina, he must first decide whether he can act on behalf of a bad man. And even then, up against the men who are holding his daughter, there will be no guarantee of success... Packed with edge-of-your-seat suspense, memorable characters, explosive action and razor-sharp plotting, Dark Horse confirms Gregg Hurwitz's place alongside Lee Child, David Baldacci, James Patterson and Harlan Coben as a master of the modern thriller. 'Gregg Hurwitz has outdone himself with Dark Horse. Readers will get whiplash . . . The action strikes like lightning.' - Luis Urrea, Pulitzer finalist for The Devil's Highway Praise for the Orphan X series 'Feels like a missile launch' DAVID BALDACCI 'A stellar series, and the stories get better with each instalment' DAILY MAIL 'Outstanding in every way' LEE CHILD 'Weapons-grade thriller writing' GUARDIAN 'A stellar series, and the stories get better with each instalment' DAILY MAIL 'An immensely entertaining adventure' THE TIMES

Pre-order Evan Smoak's thrilling return in The Last Orphan, when everything changes and everything is at risk. As a child, Evan Smoak was plucked out of a group home, raised and trained as an off-the-books assassin for the government as part of the Orphan program. When he broke with the program and went deep underground, he left with a lot of secrets in his head that the government would do anything to make sure never got out. When he remade himself as The Nowhere Man, dedicated to helping the most desperate in their times of trouble, Evan found himself slowly back on the government's radar. Having eliminated most of the Orphans in the program, the government will stop at nothing to eliminate the threat they see in Evan. But Orphan X has always been several steps ahead of his pursuers. Until he makes one little mistake... Now the President has him in her control and offers Evan a deal - eliminate a rich, powerful man she says is too dangerous to live and, in turn, she'll let Evan survive. But when Evan left the Program he swore to only use his skills against those who really deserve it. Now he has to decide what's more important - his principles or his life. Praise for the Orphan X series 'Feels like a missile launch' DAVID BALDACCI 'Outstanding in every way' LEE CHILD 'Weapons-grade thriller writing' GUARDIAN 'An immensely entertaining adventure' THE TIMES

The electrifying new adventure in the Sunday Times bestselling series - in which Orphan X faces his most challenging mission ever . . . 'A series character to rival Reacher' INDEPENDENT 'Gregg Hurwitz has outdone himself. Readers will get whiplash . . . The action strikes like lightning' LUIS URREA, Pulitzer finalist for The Devil's Highway _______ Can you remain a good man when you help a bad one? . . . Former government assassin Orphan X, Evan Smoak broke free to use his skills to help the good but powerless. But what if the person asking for help is neither? When the daughter of a Texan crime boss is kidnapped by a ruthless drugs cartel, he asks Evan to rescue her. The girl is innocent of her father's crimes. But in taking the case is Evan crossing a line? To find out he must break into an impregnable Mexican fortress. Then somehow get her out alive . . . _______ Praise for the Orphan X series 'Feels like a missile launch' DAVID BALDACCI 'A stellar series, and the stories get better with each instalment' DAILY MAIL 'Outstanding in every way' LEE CHILD 'Weapons-grade thriller writing' GUARDIAN 'A stellar series, and the stories get better with each instalment' DAILY MAIL 'An immensely entertaining adventure' THE TIMES

The explosive Orphan X thriller from bestselling author Gregg Hurwitz. 'HURWITZ FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS' GUARDIAN TO THOSE WHO TRAINED HIM, HE'S ORPHAN-X. TO THOSE WHO NEED HIM, HE'S THE NOWHERE MAN. Once a secret government assassin, Evan Smoak walked away to help others. But when his old handler calls with a warning - the Orphans are being killed off - he also receives a final mission. A young girl - the last Orphan recruit - is in danger. First, Evan must find her. Then he must protect her. But those tasked with her elimination will not stop. And leading them is one of Evan's fellow Orphans - who'll do anything to see him dead . . . _______________ 'WONDERFUL' THE TIMES 'MEMORABLE AS HELL' JAMES PATTERSON

The No. 1 Bestselling The Nowhere Man is a thrilling, pulse-pounding ride for readers and the hero of Orphan X . . . 'THE PACE NEVER LETS UP' DAILY MAIL THEY TRAINED HIM TO HUNT. NOW HE'S THE HUNTED . . . A former government military asset code-named Orphan-X, Evan Smoak works as the Nowhere Man out to protect the helpless. Until the night it all goes wrong. Ambushed, drugged and kidnapped, Evan wakes in a locked room. He's outnumbered and outgunned. His captors are sure they've outsmarted him. But they've got it all wrong. He's not locked up with them. They're locked up with him . . . ___________ 'MEMORABLE AS ALL HELL' JAMES PATTERSON 'A DIZZYING RIDE' TESS GERRITSEN

THE GRIPPING NEW SUNDAY TIMES TOP 5 BESTSELLER FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF OUT OF THE DARK AND ORPHAN X 'STELLAR. GETS BETTER WITH EACH INSTALLMENT' DAILY MAIL HE WANTED TO END IT. BUT IT CAN NEVER BE OVER. Evan Smoak - former government assassin, 'Orphan-X', turned white knight of last resort - is hanging up his gun. When he gets one last call. A man, left a package by a murdered cousin, has an assassin on his trail. Easy work for Evan. Except behind the assassin is someone worse. And behind them something darker still. How long can Evan keep standing? How many times can a man step into the fire? 'Memorable as hell' James Patterson 'A new series character to rival Reacher' Independent

As a boy, Evan Smoak was taken from the orphanage he called home and inducted into a top secret Cold War programme. Trained as a lethal weapon, he and his fellow recruits were sent round the world to do the government's dirty work. But the programme was rotten to the core. And now the man responsible needs things to be nice and clean. All evidence must be destroyed. That includes Evan. To survive, Evan's going to have to take the fight to his nemesis. There's just one problem with that. Jonathan Bennett is President of the United States and Evan isn't his only victim. To save himself - and the country - Evan is going to have to figure out how to kill the most well-protected man on the planet... 'Pure nail-biting suspense' Harlan Coben 'Memorable as hell' James Patterson 'Outstanding in every way' Lee Child 'Brilliantly conceived and plotted...blows the doors off most thrillers I've read' David Baldacci

A breakneck thriller from the bestselling author of Richard & Judy Book Club selections ORPHAN X and YOU'RE NEXT. A good job, a decent flat in Los Angeles, a quiet life - Nick Horrigan has finally put his traumatic past behind him. Or so it seems, until a SWAT team smashes into his place in the middle of the night. Still in pajamas, he's dragged outside to a waiting helicopter. He's told that a terrorist has seized control of a nuclear power plant and is threatening to blow it up...unless he can talk to Nick. Flown into a deadly intrigue, Nick is charged with a dangerous secret, one that will take him from the dark alleys of the city to behind the scenes of a Presidential race. As he rockets toward the truth, peeling back layer after layer of lies and deception, only one thing is certain: The long-buried secret, tied to the traumas of his own past, threatens his life at every turn.

The thrilling new Orphan X book and SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER from bestselling author Gregg Hurwitz 'Feels like a missile launch' DAVID BALDACCI _______ As Orphan-X, Evan Smoak was trained to be a secret government assassin - until he quit. As the Nowhere Man, he's the guy to call if no one else can help. He'll save you. But when a woman gets in touch claiming to be his mother, he can't know if his true family needs help or this is a trap. Has Evan's past reached out to claim him? Or is someone out to ensure he has no future? _______ 'A stellar series, and the stories get better with each instalment' DAILY MAIL Praise for Orphan X 'Outstanding in every way' LEE CHILD 'Weapons-grade thriller writing' GUARDIAN 'A stellar series, and the stories get better with each instalment' DAILY MAIL 'An immensely entertaining adventure' THE TIMES