Review of "Into the Fire: An Orphan X Novel" by Gregg Hurwitz

In this 5th book in the 'Orphan X' series, the death of a forensic accountant enmeshes Evan Smoak in a fight against formidable opponents. The book provides enough background information to be read as a standalone.

*****

When Evan Smoak was a spindly twelve-year-old living in an orphanage - where he slept on the floor between bunks - he was 'rescued' and placed in a black ops program that trained orphans to be highly skilled assassins. Evan was dubbed Orphan X.



After doing his assassin job for many years, Orphan X left the black ops program and set himself up as 'The Nowhere Man', a badass who helps people in trouble. When a person in dire straits is given Evan's number by a former client, the call goes to Evan's uber-encrypted RoamZone phone, which he answers with the phrase "Do you need my help?"



Max Merriweather badly needs Evan's help. A few months ago, Max was entrusted with a yellow envelope by his cousin, forensic accountant Grant Merriweather.



Max was instructed to give the envelope to Los Angeles Times reporter Lorraine Lennox in the event of Grant's death. Now Grant has been brutally tortured and killed.....and when Max tries to give Lennox the envelope, he finds her dead. Max is now REALLY scared.



Max is a sad sack who's a failure in a family of overachievers and whose ex- wife - whom he still pines for - can't bear to look at him. Wanting to do at least one good thing in his life, Max is determined to take care of the envelope business before it blows back on Grant's wife and pregnant daughter.



Terribly frightened and not knowing what to do, Max stumbles into a coffee shop and collapses onto a stool. As it happens Evan's previous client, an autistic savant named Trevon Gaines, sits down beside Max.....and the RoamZone number is passed on.

Max calls the RoamZone, and Evan agrees to help the beleaguered man.....which turns out to be a Herculean task.

The envelope Max was given contains a thumb drive that details an Armenian gang's multi-million dollar money-laundering scheme. The Armenians are determined to kill Max and get the drive, so they search Max's house, ransack Grant's office, and eliminate anyone who gets in their way.



Evan manages to hide Max in a dilapidated house in the poorest part of Los Angeles, where the downtrodden man is supposed to remain until the coast is clear.

Evan uses his superb skills to neutralize the Armenian gang, and thinks job well done. Max is now safe.





But nooooo. It turns out there's someone more powerful than the Armenian gang leader calling the shots, and that person continues to send killers after Max and the thumb drive.

As things shake out, every time Evan defeats a nemesis, there's someone even higher up - and better connected - going after Max and the drive. (In my own mind, I was thinking, 'How far up does this go. The mayor? the governor? the President? Putin?' 😏)

The book isn't quite non-stop action, but it's pretty close, and Evan has to grapple with innumerable human killers as well as vicious fighting dogs. This gives Evan the opportunity to show his softer side, since he rescues a 'bait dog' and brings it to his protégé, a 16-year- old girl called Joey.



Joey is a gifted computer hacker who has an apartment chock full of computers, monitors, and high-tech gadgets....and a healthy supply of orange juice, Red Bull, and Twizzlers.



For a bit of light relief, Evan interacts with the other tenants in his apartment building, who think he's an importer of industrial cleaning supplies. When Evan is charged with bringing 'nibbles' to an HOA meeting, he's REALLY out of his depth. 😊 Still, Evan is compassionate when a mugger snatches a necklace from his neighbor - octogenarian Ida Rosenbaum - and that thief is in for a bad time.



As usual in this series, Evan gets into trouble with Mia, the district attorney who lives a few floors below him. Mia is attracted to Evan, but knows there's something 'off' about him.



For his part, Evan likes Mia and her 9-year-old son Peter. In VERY different circumstances, Evan and Mia might be a couple, but killers like Evan can't form romantic bonds.

As Evan deals with one threat to Max after another, he keeps saying he's going to quit being 'The Nowhere Man' after this mission, so he can lead a normal life. That would be a shame.

I like the novel, which is fast-moving, exciting, and a good primer about various weapons and explosives. If you enjoy action stories, this is the book for you.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author (Gregg Hurwitz) and the publisher (Minotaur Books) for a copy of the book.

Rating: 4 stars