Part of Orphan X
First published 2017
Evan Smoak opens his eyes in a locked room with no memory of how he got there. Once known as Orphan X, he was recruited from a children's home as a boy and trained in a classified government program so secret it barely exists on paper. He broke away from that life, going off the grid to use his lethal skills helping people who have nowhere else to turn. Now someone has drugged him, captured him, and locked him away. As Evan tests his prison and studies his guards for weaknesses, a desperate call for help reaches him. Someone needs him, but first he must escape. His captor represents a new kind of threat, unlike any opponent he has faced before. Evan must outthink and outfight this enemy to break free. Lives hang in the balance, and failure means death for both himself and those counting on him.
Genres: fiction, suspense, adult-fiction, thriller, action, mystery-thriller
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, gripping, high-stakes, intense, suspenseful
Tropes: high-stakes-survival, man-on-the-run, mysterious-past, rescue-mission
Period: 21st-century
358 pages · Paperback · Penguin Books
Content warnings: kidnapping, torture, violence