"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 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. Now Evan has to do the one thing he's least equipped to do--live a normal life. Evan 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-and-sister assassin 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."--Back cover.
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Orphan X
17 books in catalog
High-stakes thriller fiction gained a major hallmark with the introduction of Evan Smoak, a secret operative turned vigilante hero known to the world as The Nowhere Man. Author Gregg Hurwitz built an expansive literary body of work surrounding this operative, beginning with the novel Orphan X, which established a blend of covert action, technical precision, and moral dilemma.
Born on August 12, 1973, in San Francisco County, California, Hurwitz has authored dozens of bestselling thrillers published in 33 languages. His output spans standalone suspense novels, long-running action series, young adult thrillers, comic book storylines, and feature film scripts.
Hurwitz earned his Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University and completed a Master of Philosophy at Trinity College, Oxford. His academic training in English literature provided a foundation for a versatile writing career that quickly expanded beyond traditional prose publishing. Over his career, he has served as Co-President of International Thriller Writers (ITW) and written scripts for major Hollywood studios and television networks, including the screenplay for the 2017 film The Book of Henry and the feature film Sweet Girl, along with a movie adaptation of Orphan X.
In addition to prose thrillers, Hurwitz has established himself in the comic book industry. He has written storylines for DC Comics and Marvel Comics featuring characters such as Batman, Punisher, and Wolverine, as well as original anthologies like NewThink and Knighted for AWA. He has also produced award-winning documentaries and written op-eds aimed at addressing political and cultural polarization.
Hurwitz's writing is characterized by meticulous research, fast-paced narrative pacing, and deep character psychology. His thrillers frequently center on highly trained individuals operating under strict personal codes while navigating moral ambiguity, government corruption, and personal redemption. By combining tactical realism with emotional stakes, his stories explore the psychological toll placed on heroes fighting against formidable forces.
