Hellbent: An Orphan X Novel

Gregg Hurwitz’s third entry in the Evan Smoak (Orphan X) series, Hellbent, continues the story of Evan Smoak, a member of an off-the-books government program called the Orphan Program, which took in children with no parents and turned them into government assassins. In the latest novel, the protagonist, Evan Smoak, now called “The Nowhere Man,” gets a call from Jack Johns, his former mentor and handler. Evan Smoak learns from Jack Johns that the Van Sciver, the founder and head of the Orphan program, is shutting the program down and tying off loose ends. That means all the surviving members of the program are to be killed. Johns pleads with Smoak to save him, but it is too late. Van Sciver’s assassins have gotten to Johns first and killed him by throwing him off of a flying helicopter. However, before Johns died, he left a coded message for Smoak. Now Smoak is thirsty for revenge and will do anything to find and kill Van Sciver.

Over the course of the first two books in the series, Hurwitz has proved himself to be a masterful storyteller. He continues in that vein in Hellbent. Just like his previous books, this one is just as thrilling and suspenseful, with lots of twists and turns. The plot is very unpredictable and keeps you gasping throughout the pages. Hurwitz likewise goes to great lengths to develop his main character, Evan Smoak. Evan is a very complex character with a dark past. He is a killer, yes, but he is also a killer with a conscience. It is evident that Smoak has a moral compass and tries to do everything right. Smoak became a killer against his will. Now, his primary motivation is revenge as he desperately tries to find and bring down Van Sciver, the man responsible for what Evan Smoak has become.

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