Orphan X Books in Order
Part ofGregg Hurwitz Books in OrderThe Orphan X series by Gregg Hurwitz follows Evan Smoak, a government assassin turned vigilante who uses his lethal skills to help those with nowhere to turn.
Last updated: December 15, 2025
As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases (at no extra cost to you).
Publication Order
16 books
Antihero
by Gregg Hurwitz
2026
A short story diving into the moral complexities of Evan Smoak's world, where the line between hero and villain is often defined by who is holding the gun.
The Code
by Gregg Hurwitz
2025
A short story exploring the rigid ethical commandments that guide Evan Smoak's life as an assassin and vigilante, shedding light on the training that made him Orphan X.
Nemesis
by Gregg Hurwitz
2025
Evan Smoak faces his deadliest challenge yet when he is pitted against a mysterious operative who matches his own skill set. The Nowhere Man may have finally met his equal.
Lone Wolf
by Gregg Hurwitz
2024
A sniper kills Evan's family members, but the target is Evan himself. Betrayed by his own inner circle, the Nowhere Man must hunt down a shooter who knows his every move.
The Recital
by Gregg Hurwitz
2023
An Orphan X short story. Evan Smoak deals with the lighter side of life—and a bit of danger—as he supports Joey Morales, proving that even assassins have family obligations.
The Last Orphan
by Gregg Hurwitz
2023
The President offers Evan a pardon, but only if he kills a wealthy energy tycoon. Evan refuses to be a hitman again, forcing a showdown between the Nowhere Man and the full power of the US government.
Dark Horse
by Gregg Hurwitz
2022
A drug kingpin asks Evan to rescue his kidnapped daughter from a rival cartel. Evan must decide if he can work for a bad man to do a good thing, infiltrating a fortress where money is no object.
Prodigal Son
by Gregg Hurwitz
2021
Evan receives a call from a woman claiming to be his mother. She needs help protecting a stranger, drawing Evan into a complex plot involving experimental weapons and a past he thought he had left behind.
The List
by Gregg Hurwitz
2020
An Orphan X short story. Evan Smoak returns to handle a mission that tests his skills and his code, proving once again why he is the only hope for those who have none.
Into the Fire
by Gregg Hurwitz
2020
Max Merriweather's cousin is murdered, leaving him with a mysterious envelope and a target on his back. Evan Smoak steps in to uncover a conspiracy that reaches into the darkest corners of Los Angeles.
Out of the Dark
by Gregg Hurwitz
2019
The President of the United States, Jonathan Bennett, decides to eliminate the last surviving Orphans. Evan Smoak is the primary target, and he must take the fight directly to the White House to survive.
The Intern
by Gregg Hurwitz
2018
A short story in which Evan Smoak helps a young tabloid intern who has stumbled into a dangerous crime zone. To get her out alive, he has to deploy the skills of the Nowhere Man.
Hellbent
by Gregg Hurwitz
2018
Jack Johns, the man who trained Evan, calls with a desperate request: protect his last recruit. Evan must go against his own government to save the teenager, risking everything to honor the man who was like a father to him.
The Nowhere Man
by Gregg Hurwitz
2017
Evan Smoak is ambushed, drugged, and locked in a secure room in a remote chalet. Cut off from his resources and surrounded by guards, he must use his wits to escape before his captors auction him off.
Orphan X
by Gregg Hurwitz
2016
Evan Smoak is the Nowhere Man, a former government assassin who now uses his skills to help the desperate. But when a job goes wrong, he finds himself trapped in a trap set by someone who knows his classified past.
Buy a Bullet
by Gregg Hurwitz
2016
In this short story, Evan Smoak steps out as the Nowhere Man for the first time. After spotting a young woman in trouble at a coffee shop, he intervenes to save her from a powerful abuser.
Series background & context
Imagine being plucked from a foster home at twelve years old, not to be adopted by a loving family, but to be erased from existence. That is exactly what happened to Evan Smoak. He was recruited into the Orphan Program, a completely off-the-books government black ops initiative designed to turn expendable children into the world's most lethal—and deniable—assassins. Under the harsh tutelage of his handler, he learned everything from high-speed evasion to hand-to-hand combat, eventually earning the designation "Orphan X."
But Evan wasn't just a weapon; he had a conscience.
After years of carrying out dirty work for his superiors, he did the impossible: he broke with the program, utilized his specialized training to vanish, and reinvented himself. Now living deep off the grid in a fortified Los Angeles penthouse, he uses his unlimited resources and military-grade skills to help those who have absolutely nowhere else to turn.
He operates under a new name: The Nowhere Man.
The setup is simple but effective. Evan helps desperate people solve impossible problems, often involving corrupt powerful figures or violent criminals who the law can't touch. He doesn't charge money for his services. Instead, he asks for a different kind of payment. Once the job is done, the client must pass his encrypted phone number along to the next person they meet who is in dire trouble and out of options. It is a pay-it-forward system built on high-stakes justice.
What makes Orphan X stand out isn't just the explosions or the fight choreography, though there is plenty of both. It is the strange, compelling duality of Evan’s daily life. On one hand, he is a highly disciplined operator who lives by a strict set of "Commandments," obsessing over the purity of his rare vodka and the specific temperature of his refrigerator. On the other, he is a socially awkward guy trying to figure out how to have a normal conversation with his neighbors without assessing them as potential threats.
This friction creates a unique atmosphere that feels like a collision between a high-tech spy thriller and a gritty vigilante drama.
Of course, retirement from a top-secret assassination squad is never really permanent. While Evan tries to balance his pro bono work with his clumsy attempts at humanity, the powers that created him are constantly hunting him down. The Orphan Program wants their asset back—or buried—and they keep sending new threats his way. Watching Evan navigate these two worlds, protecting the innocent while dodging the government ghosts of his past, is what makes this series so addictive.
Edited by
Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.
Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.
Comments
Did we miss something? Have feedback?
Help us improve this page by sharing your thoughts