Orphan X (2016)

Orphan X is a 2016 thriller novel written by Gregg Hurwitz. It was Hurwitz's first book in the Orphan X series, and was followed by The Nowhere Man. For a time, the film rights belonged to Warner Bros.

In the novel, Evan Smoak, a former government assassin, operates as the Nowhere Man to help those in need. The book was released on January 19, 2016, by Minotaur Books.

Plot

The novel opens with a prologue decades before the main action. Twelve-year-old Evan, bruised and handcuffed, rides with Jack Johns, who recruited him from a Baltimore group home. Jack tells Evan he may withhold facts but will never lie, earning the boy's trust.

In his 30s, Evan Smoak lives in a Los Angeles apartment tower. Neighbors believe he imports industrial cleaning supplies, but he is a former covert assassin who now helps desperate strangers under the name Nowhere Man. His hidden Vault contains weapons, computers, and monitoring equipment. He keeps watch over the building while living near Ida Rosenbaum, Hugh Walters, Mia Hall, and Mia's adopted son, Peter. Evan's first assignment helps teenager Morena Aguilar escape an abusive police detective Bill Chambers, who has targeted her younger sister. After killing the detective, Evan asks Morena to pass his phone number to one desperate person, creating an anonymous referral chain.

Soon, a woman calling herself Katrin White says gamblers have taken her father because of unpaid debts. Evan agrees to meet her, but gunmen attack. He kills one attacker and escapes with Katrin. The attackers include Danny Slatcher, known as Orphan Zero, and Candy McClure, called Orphan V. They answer to an unseen superior called Top Dog. Slatcher tells Evan that Katrin made a mistake by contacting him, and a staged gunshot convinces Evan that her father has died.

Flashbacks describe Evan's childhood in the Orphan Program, where Jack trains children as assassins. Jack later helps Evan escape the program but dies during their escape attempt, leaving Evan with Jack's bloodstained shirt.

Evan learns someone used Katrin to lure him. Another caller, Memo Vasquez, also claims Morena referred him, although only one referral should exist. Evan hides Katrin in a safe house and travels to Las Vegas, where Slatcher and Candy track him. Slatcher later locates the safe house and abducts Katrin while Evan helps Memo. During another rescue attempt, Morena confirms Memo was her real referral. Katrin admits she worked with Slatcher under pressure and stabs Evan before he escapes.

After recovering, Evan learns "Katrin" is actually Danika White, whose debts were paid before she contacted him. Evan kills Slatcher during a fight in Las Vegas. Using Slatcher's equipment, he secures legal residency for Memo and rescues Memo's daughter.

Danika later begs Evan for help, but he refuses. Charles Van Sciver kills her and identifies himself as Top Dog. He explains Jack once saved Evan by arranging a false assignment that forced him into hiding. Evan destroys the camera through which Van Sciver speaks. Danika's daughter later receives an education fund. Evan repairs Ida's door, gives Peter a DNA ancestry report, and parts from Mia. An epilogue shows Jack alive in the Allegheny Mountains, training another boy before destroying a satellite phone.

Reception

The Washington Post compared Orphan X to the beginning of a Bourne like book series, referring to it as a "smart, stylish, state-of-the-art thriller." Author Robert Crais stated that "a new thriller superstar is born" and novelist David Baldacci was quoted as saying "read this book...you will thank me." The Associated Press stated that Hurwitz "delivers a masterpiece of suspense and thrills...that invokes the best of “Batman,” ”The Bourne Identity” and “The Equalizer” films." Orphan X became an international bestseller, making lists such as the USA Today, The Boston Globe, New Zealand, and Australia.

Film and television adaptation

Prior to the release of Orphan X, Warner Bros. purchased the film rights. 22nd & Green, the production company owned by Bradley Cooper and Todd Phillips was linked to the film. Hurwitz was also said to be the writer for the movie adaptation. Warner Bros. allowed the rights to expire in 2018.

Brad Weston’s Makeready has landed the rights to the Orphan X book series with plans to adapt the thrillers into a television series along with Justin Lin’s Perfect Storm Entertainment.