Sunday, February 13, 2022

Audio Review: Dark Horse by Gregg Hurwitz

 

Dark Horse (Orphan X #7) by Gregg Hurwitz
Publication Date: February 8th 2022 by Macmillan Audio
Pages: 432
Audio Book Length: 14 hrs 30 min
Narrator: Scott Brick
Source: Publisher
Rating: 
Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads 

My Thoughts:
I have been blazing through the Orphan X series loving every minute! Evan Smoak was taken from his foster home and trained as an elite assassin for a covert government operation and then left the program when his conscience demanded it. Now Evan operates as The Nowhere Man helping the helpless when they have nowhere else to turn. In Dark Horse the case is a little different since Aragon Urrea isn’t a completely good man either. However, his eighteen-year-old daughter is kidnapped by a ruthless and violent drug cartel and he’s desperate to get her back.

Dark Horse, like the previous installments was exciting and action-packed! Evan gets himself through seemingly impossible situations, always coming out on top, but I wondered how he’d pull off this mission since the drug cartel was a scary bunch of crazies!

Through all the books we’ve seen Evan help the helpless, champion the underdog, all while he navigates life out of the Orphan program. Despite trying to remain separate he’s established connections and I’ve loved seeing them evolve and grow through the series. Tommy his weapons/gun supplier, Joey the young cast-off from the Orphan program, and of course Mia and Peter from 12B. Evan’s relationship with Mia is at times confusing to Evan, her life is so full and messy with her nine-year-old son, Peter, but Evan can’t help but be drawn in by her. I have to laugh at Evan’s “exchanges” with Vera II and III, his aloe vera plants! Yes, there are bits of dry humor here and there that have me cracking up.

Each of the Orphan books has a mission/problem that solved, but the repercussions of Evan’s decision to leave the Orphan program and his relationships are ongoing and progressive, so I think it’s best to start the series from the beginning.

From the first book I’ve been “reading” by audio. Scott Brick is a fantastic narrator, bringing Evan to life. He IS Evan Smoak to me even now. His female voices and accents are spot on, and his comedic timing is wonderful! I listen at my normal 1.5x-1.75x normal speed.

5 Stars


Book Description:

Gregg Hurwitz's New York Times bestselling series returns when Orphan X faces his most challenging mission ever in Dark Horse.

Evan Smoak is a man with many identities and a challenging past. As Orphan X, he was a government assassin for the off-the-books Orphan Program. After he broke with the Program, he adopted a new name and a new mission—The Nowhere Man, helping the most desperate in their times of trouble. Having just survived an attack on his life and the complete devastation of his base of operations, as well as his complicated (and deepening) relationship with his neighbor Mia Hall, Evan isn't interested in taking on a new mission. But one finds him anyway.

Aragon Urrea is a kingpin of a major drug-dealing operation in South Texas. He's also the patron of the local area—supplying employment in legitimate operations, providing help to the helpless, rough justice to the downtrodden, and a future to a people normally with little hope. He's complicated—a not completely good man, who does bad things for often good reasons. However, for all his money and power, he is helpless when one of the most vicious cartels kidnaps his innocent eighteen year old daughter, spiriting her away into the armored complex that is their headquarters in Mexico. With no other way to rescue his daughter, he turns to The Nowhere Man.

Now not only must Evan figure out how to get into the impregnable fortress of a heavily armed, deeply paranoid cartel leader, but he must decide if he should help a very bad man—no matter how just the cause.


10 comments:

  1. This series has such an interesting premise. And I love how the same narrator is used each time. I've read some series like that and like you said, the voice just *is* that character for you. Glad the series continues to be so strong!

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  2. Yes, all of that. Excellent review! I now need the next one. I'm worried about Evan.

    Anne - Books of My Heart

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  3. I love Evan Smoak! I hope I get my copy of this book from the library soon. :D

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  4. This series sounds perfect for me. Great review, Rachel.

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  5. oh this series sounds like so much fun Rachel!! I love those series that you just love breezing through.

    Such a lovely review!

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  6. Sounds like a great narrator. I am curious

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  7. great review. the cover and title made me curious. glad you are enjoying the series
    sherry @ fundinmental

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  8. Sure sounds good. I need to give it a go.

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  9. I really do need to try this series. It sounds exactly like something I would like.

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