THE LAST ORPHAN

Has the invincible Nowhere Man finally met his match?

A dark prologue follows horny young lamb Johnny Seabrook to a tryst that turns into a bloody slaughter. Readers will need to put a pin in this, for the narrative drifts to Iceland, where Evan Smoak, the former government assassin known as Orphan X, seeks serenity, or at least escape, in a desolate bar in the middle of nowhere. Evan’s backstory is lengthy and complex; Hurwitz shrewdly paints in primary colors and keeps the action moving. Orphan X has been a freelance avenger for a long time, and the feds would love to eliminate him. Thus the reappearance of his nemesis, Special Agent in Charge Naomi Templeton, and her tense meeting with President Victoria Donahue-Carr, who has sometimes targeted, sometimes allied with Evan in the past, depending on the circumstances. Capture and escape form a recurrent pattern in this eighth Orphan X caper, long on gritty action and crackerjack dialogue, as it ricochets from Europe to Beverly Hills to various points in the New York metropolitan area. Evan reconnects briefly with ladylove Mia, enlists the help of Orphan V after a particularly brutal killing, and eventually gets around to avenging Johnny. The short, punchy chapters’ piquant titles add another tongue-in-cheek layer to the proceedings. With its shoot-the-works plot and cameos by characters from previous Orphan capers, this thriller feels like a finale. But who knows if, like Michael Myers, the unstoppable Evan Smoak will delight fervent fans by coming back?

A popular series ends, or not, with a bang and a healthy dose of wry humor.