BOOKS Edge-of-yourseat action

Dark Horse by Gregg Hurwitz, Penguin Random House, $37

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.. .. .. .. .. Gregg Hurwitz introduced us to Evan Smoak’s alter ego Orphan X in 2016 and with Dark Horse we get to experience his seventh adventure. Evan was uplifted from an orphanage into a special training programme, graduating into an off-the-books assassin. Now he has retired from that role, a result that doesn’t sit well with his bosses. His new endeavour, as the Nowhere Man, takes advantage of his training and experiences to help those not capable of getting themselves out of extreme situations.

A desperate father reaches out to Evan when his daughter Anjelina is kidnapped by a brutal criminal cartel and smuggled over the border into Mexico. While money is no object from Anjelina’s family Evan quickly realises that the cartel provides heavy duty mega challenging opposition. The Nowhere Man’s arsenal of cutting edge tools are fully tested as he launches himself right inside their heavily fortified fort. There’s certainly no guarantee of success but the edge-ofyour-seat action keeps him one step ahead of disaster. Once he is inside and has the opportunity to talk to Anjelina another curve ball complicates his mission.

The truth is that Dark Horse pulls no punches, and if you have a problem with violence you’d better give it a miss.

If, on the other hand, you thrive on a character who out-Bournes Jason this is definitely one you will revel in.

— Tony Nielsen