The Last Orphan has it all... a story that has more unexpected twists and turns than a Disney World rollercoaster." — Midwest Book Review This is about when Joey and Tommy join the timeline. And Dog the dog. And V generously lets a souffle turn to mush just to save X's hide. Twice. But who cares about delicate dining when blowing away bad guys is so much fun? The bar here in the middle of the desolate nowhere was little more than a sparse wooden structure composed of beams and walls. Well-loved chessboards on tables. A foursome of burly Icelanders in football jerseys. Picture windows overlooking miles of blindingly white tundra. Decorative puffins peeked out from the shelves of bottles. I did have a couple of minor issues with the story. First, I'm starting to like Joey less and less. I find her to be grating. She is getting older, but acts less mature and more whiny. I'm hoping that she has a breakthrough soon because otherwise I feel like her emotions are going to cause her to have a breakdown soon. Second, I don't want to hear any more women say things like, "As a liberated woman, I should (or I think..., etc)." Liberated (or progressive, etc) women don't generally refer to themselves as such and more than one woman did this in the story. It gives the feeling of a man trying to write a strong woman from a woman's perspective, which it is, but it shouldn't read that way. The Last Orphan is the eighth book in the Orphan X series by best-selling American author, Gregg Hurwitz. Two months after his neighbour and sometime lover, Mia Hall is left in a coma, Evan Smoak is on a glacier in Iceland, tasting his favourite tipple, and dealing with some obnoxious locals.

The Last Orphan, Book 8 in The Orphan X series, finds Evan out of his comfort zone as he is forced to take on a case in exchange for his freedom. With a new kind of villain to contend with, Evan is taken out of his element, putting his morals and skills to the test. When Mia regains consciousness, a visit to the hospital turns out to be a lot more complicated than it should be and, observing one of his ironclad Orphan Commandments, Evan ends up in the custody of Special Agent Naomi Templeton. She connects him with President Victoria Donahue-Carr, who presents him with an ultimatum. In this installment, Even starts to view himself as growing older and perhaps not the killing machine he once was. We also see his growing attachment for Joey and hers for him. They try to hide it but they are starting to feel hope that a loving relationship is developing. I want to see where Mr Hurwitz takes us next on this perilous journey with Evan Smoek. Before he can make any decisions he must first go see Mia (his maybe girlfriend) who has just come out of a two month coma. He sneaks a cellphone to her hospital room so he can at least call. He knows he can’t let the gov’t know they have a relationship of any kind or she could/would be used as leverage. Evan must decide whether to accept. He's spent years trying to atone for his former life. But if by taking on the mission he must betray the very principles he now lives by, what is left?

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The most richly accomplished of the brothers’ pairings to date—and given Connelly’s high standards, that’s saying a lot. Of course! The natural springs. We just came from the Blue Lagoon. Omigod, the color! And the mist.” Encounters with two of Devine’s ex-marines have ended fatally (for the marines), but when he enters Devine’s home, he is eventually chatting with a man who rationalises his every move and casts serious doubt on Donahue-Carr’s motives. Does Evan begin to second-guess his own convictions about the man? As always the adventure is over-the-top, hair-raising and lively. X has a close call in this one and I found myself saying, "Nooooo, no, no..........." but his skills are worthy. He cats and mouses around with the baddie as he tries to assess his character. Is he truly evil or is he motivated by something else? What has noticeably started to creep into the series is a greater level of introspection and reflection from both Evan and his closest ally Joey. It’s almost as if he’s beginning to realise he’s human. This tends to make him a little more fallible and perhaps a little more likeable. It certainly means he’s more prone to making mistakes and this side of him makes things just a little more unpredictable and that’s a good thing.

For me, the plot here felt a bit worn, but the scenes with the main villain were fascinating. It's been a long time since X sat with someone face to face like this, where X wasn't extraordinarily secured, and rightfully so. I also felt that in this volume, the relationship between Joey Morales and Evan went to a deep familial connection heretofore unreached and I AM HERE FOR IT. It's odd to me that it was this very relationship that I was annoyed by in my first, (but what was really the 7th), Orphan X book, that I now love the most. Yes, X has had a few relationships where he was accessible and even maybe vulnerable, but there's a scene here, well...if you don't at least tear up I don't want to know you. Joey, Dog, and Orphan V were the highlights for me. Mia’s fate is revealed, but there is not enough of Peter and some of the other regular characters. This installment felt a little tired. I feel like the series needs a reboot, which maybe is what Hurwitz is hinting at with Evan’s unexpected challenges. I have no idea where this series will go next, but I look forward to finding out. Taken from an orphanage at twelve, Evan entered a government's covert "Orphan" program trained to kill America's enemies. Evan's fortunate to have a handler who is like a father figure who trained him into a lethal killing machine but also taught him moral codes.Though he managed to stay under the radar for a while, the government has found him and given him an ultimatum: Kill a powerful man of face the consequences. Evan has a code to only kill if the person really deserves such a fate, so he investigates this man and finds a great deal of corruption that requires him to use his fighting skills. Hurwitz goes into a lot of detail about these hand-to-hand combat sequences. Now that Evan is a little older, he feels he’s just a little less sharp than he used to be. Maybe because of his age, his knowledge of technology isn’t the greatest, so he relies on his 16-year-old ally Joey, who we met in book three. She’s such a great character and foil to Evan. Other members with unique skills also reappear in this book to help out. This novel has Evan face-to-face with his old agency and they intend to use him again for one last campaign. The idea that he has remained for years under their radar is, of course, absurd, but go with it. This campaign, of course, coalesces with a call for help that he gets on his special phone which has Evan delving into the lifestyles of the rich and debauched where the rich think all others are toys to play with, to break, to humiliate, and to throw away. It is not clear why the plot had to include Evan having to bargain with his old agency rather than just following the call for help. The President has him in a little situation. She wants something from him and knows that he, and only he, can deliver, but Evan has a moral compass. He doesn't stray from his commandments and his standards are high. One of the things that I love about this series is the way that Evan’s emotional growth has evolved over time. Evan is a VERY complicated and deeply flawed man. However, throughout the series, Evan has allowed people into his life and over time, he has allowed them to get to know him and it has irrevocably changed him and his life – and he’s ok with that (I think). As I progressed through the series I became more and more invested in these characters, and this installment plays upon those feelings. X is finally caught, and now, instead of the promised retaliation from his captors, he is given an impossible task. Will X's commitment to his personal moral code be sorely tested? Yes. Will he emerge triumphant? You'll have to read this to find out!

The author has developed Evan's character in every book and now it seems he is fearful of losing his edge. There is quite a lot of self doubt and more reaching out to others to help him. I enjoyed the strong parts played by Joey and Orphan V. In the past Evan has been mostly on his own, but gradually he’s collected a sort of family, people he cares about and who he can count on. Joey, Tommy, Mia and even (gasp!) Candy! Going from a mostly lonely existence to inadvertently and reluctantly adding these people to his life has been heartwarming! the writing is crisp, the action scenes are both clever and cinematic, the dialogue is pitch perfect, and the villains are deliciously detestable. First-class." — Booklist Smashed between the two groups, Evan hunkered further into himself and took another sip. He loved drinking. I want to thank NetGalley and St Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.The cop cupped his hands and blew into them. “They say he’s walked straight into the headquarters of some of the most fearsome men alive. Outnumbered twenty to one. And when they sneer at him, he doesn’t bat an eye. He just stares at them and says…” The theatrical pause overstayed its welcome. “‘Do I look like I’m someone who you can frighten?’” It is this dichotomy, the deadly assassin who has no fear and the man who fears living in normal society , is what makes Orphan X so relatable. Maybe not the world-class assassin part but we have all felt the same fears and trepidation Orphan X is experiencing. Sure, the action and gadgets are cool but the personal and emotional growth of X is the real star of the show. If you've never read an Orphan X book, you are missing out on one helluva show. The Orphan can re-instate his “fake truce” with the President and all he has to do is kill Devine. He is captured by one of the only two honorable characters in the book, the true-blue FBI Agent Naomi Templeton who willingly tosses out her convictions and loyalty to the law to help him kill the lobbyist. The After escaping from her custody his embarks on a completely nonsensible quest to determine if the lobbyist deserves to die or not, The audiobook features a bonus conversation between Gregg Hurwitz and #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Gardner, author of the award-winning Detective D. D. Warren novels.