To some he is Orphan X. Others know him as the Nowhere Man. But to veteran spymaster Jack Johns he will always be a boy named Evan Smoak.

Taken from an orphanage, Evan was raised inside a top secret programme designed to turn him into a deadly weapon. Jack became his instructor, mentor, teacher and guardian. Because for all the dangerous skills he instilled in his young charge, he also cared for Evan like a son. And now Jack needs Evan’s help.

The Orphan programme hid dark secrets. Now those with blood on their hands want every trace of it gone. And they will stop at nothing to make sure that Jack and Evan go with it.

With little time remaining, Jack gives Evan his last assignment: to find and protect the programme’s last recruit. And to stay alive long enough to uncover the shocking truth …

My thanks to the publishers for a review copy which I received through Netgalley

Last year I was tearing through audiobooks and I happened upon a brilliant action adventure thriller called The Nowhere Man. It was the second book by Gregg Hurwitz which featured Evan Smoak – a former Government operative codenamed Orphan X.

Smoak had been taken into Government service as a child. Recruited from an orphanage and raised by a mentor who turned the child into a deadly assassin who could live and work deep under cover and (most importantly) was totally expendable to the US Government who could deny the existence of Orphan X should he fail in his mission.

There were other Orphan’s recruited other than Smoak and through the three books  in the series (Orphan X, The Nowhere Man and now Hellbent) Evan will cross paths with some deadly former colleagues. This is not a good thing for Evan – Orphan Y now heads up the Orphan programme and his primary focus is to end Evan’s life. With almost unlimited resources at his disposal Orphan Y is gunning for Evan Smoak and in Hellbent he shall gain new leverage…a showdown may be inevitable.

Hellbent sees Evan going directly up against the Orphan programme but his mentor, Jack Johns, asks Evan to protect the last Orphan who had been recruited. She is a young girl, alone and unsure where to turn – she has had training which makes her dangerous but lacks the survival skills of more experienced agents. Nor has she the benefit of a healthy bank account which the Orphans accrue through successful completion of missions.

Seeing Evan trying to keep one step ahead of his foes, whilst juggling the care of a teenager and trying to maintain a semblance of a “normal” life was hugely entertaining. Gregg Hurwitz writes gripping thrillers and I have thoroughly enjoyed all the books in the Orphan X series.  There is a wonderful balance of action, tension, humour and adventure in Hellbent.  Evan Smoak is a dangerous character but he is a wonderful creation and if you have not yet discovered the Orphan X books you are missing out on some brilliant reads.

Hellbent is published by Michael Joseph and is available now in Hardback, audiobook and Digital format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hellbent-Orphan-Thriller-Gregg-Hurwitz/dp/0718185463/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1520374051&sr=8-1