HELLBENT

Evan Smoak is a highly trained assassin. Plucked from an orphanage at the age of 12, he became Orphan X, part of a secret programme organised, but not openly sanctioned, by the US Department of Defense. Orphan X was the programme’s top asset, but eight years ago Evan walked away from it to become The Nowhere Man, an anonymous saviour who uses his deadly skills to help people in desperate need. Only now, he’s a marked man himself. He knows too much, and ruthless Orphan Charles Van Sciver is hellbent on having Evan eliminated. In this, the third book in the Orphan X series, Evan receives a message from his mentor Jack Johns, the man who trained him to be a killer, while also teaching him to remain human. Jack has left Evan something he needs to pick up and look after – something that will see Evan questioning what sort of man he wants to be. As with the first two books in the series, there is a lot of violence, but this one allows Evan’s humanity to develop – he becomes a more rounded character – and it continues to tease out the chance of romance for our aloof, Superman-type hero. It also leaves the way open for a fourth book in the series.