The Last Orphan: The Thrilling Orphan X Sunday Times Bestseller (An Orphan X Novel)

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Her ten-year-old son, Peter, another of the select few Evan felt a human attachment to, was now in the capable hands of Mia’s brother and sister-in-law. Nor did the leadership of the Church at that time, when they eventually found out the truth of what happened. Since then he’d committed himself to staying off the radar while using his skills to help others who were just as powerless as he’d been as a young boy—pro bono missions he conducted as the Nowhere Man. Years later, Evan split from the program, deciding instead to use his lethal set of skills as a vigilante fighting for justice, and the Nowhere Man was born. Evan reconnects briefly with ladylove Mia, enlists the help of Orphan V after a particularly brutal killing, and eventually gets around to avenging Johnny.

Over the last seven books, Evan Smoak has helped those in need while, for the most part, staying off the government’s radar. I wasn't aware that this book was somewhat loosely based on actual events, until I googled events from the book. It takes place in the 1860's just at the cusp of the Civil War, so it is a time close to the genesis of the Mormon religion and communities in Utah. 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 she notices one particularly quiet girl, who has isolated herself from the other children, Rosie senses a wealth of sadness inside Frieda similar to her own and becomes determined to help her. I cannot say that I liked everything in this book - at times there were too many characters with too many woven in story lines. Yes, they many have practiced polygamy at that time, but it wasn't as common a practice as this book represents. The characters are mostly one-dimensional and the series of events often too convenient to be believable.

Orphan X blows the doors off most thrillers I've read and catapults the readers on a cat-and-mouse that feels like a missile launch. What made her grief so strong that it kept her from trying again, from learning to live, to really live, and to love once more? That would be my only thing I would say to other readers is the story isn't all about this last orphan, Thomas, and yet it is. Thankfully, Evan had a different handler than the rest of the Orphan operators, one who instilled a set of principles in him, along with ten unique rules to live by. Additionally, though a story such as this one may well have included a fair bit of drama, I daresay this book is a soap opera.A volcanic eruption is quite another, for, as the journalist who does a framing voice-over narration for Brooks’ latest puts it, when Mount Rainier popped its cork, “it was the psychological aspect, the hyperbole-fueled hysteria that had ended up killing the most people. Big Island, LA connects the dots between a heist gone wrong at a police shooting range and corporate greed and political corruption, leaving a former combat marine and an agoraphobic crime reporter to sort out the mystery. But, it did give me a glimpse of life in 19th century Mormon Utah, of which I wasn't particularly familiar. We honour Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' continuous connection to Country, waters, skies and communities. The bar here in the middle of the desolate nowhere was little more than a sparse wooden structure composed of beams and walls.

the writing is crisp, the action scenes are both clever and cinematic, the dialogue is pitch perfect, and the villains are deliciously detestable. Steck also works full-time as a freelance editor and co-hosts the ThrillerTalk podcast when he’s not streaming and hanging out with his growing community on Twitch. What makes this series so unique, among other things, is how far Evan has come over the course of these now eight books. I was not at all familiar with this part of history – I’m sure it’s something we touched on in my history classes, but I didn’t remember any of the details. Sunday Times bestselling author of the Evan Smoak thrillers Orphan X, The Nowhere Man, Hellbent, Out of the Dark, Into the Fire, Prodigal Son, Dark Horse and The Last Orphan.I could see where his blood relatives should keep him, but his adoptive mother took care of him and loved him too. The lone wolf aspect of Evan wears thin too, and you end up feeling that he can do and get away with anything. Brooks is a pro at building suspense even if it plays out in some rather spectacularly yucky episodes, one involving a short spear that takes its name from “the sucking sound of pulling it out of the dead man’s heart and lungs. No spoilers from me, but if you're ok with a bit of gratuitous drama it's not a bad read, and the ending is satisfactory.