It is with a heavy heart that I say I think I finished the Orphan X series. Well, at least what my library has. I’ll keep an eye on it. This book was certainly different from the others in many ways. Let me share my thoughts on The Last Orphan.
The Last Orphan Summary
So, we pick up the story a couple months after the last book, Dark Horse I believe. Our favourite hero, Evan, has been captured by the US government. Agent Templeton, who we were introduced to in Out of the Dark, has led the agents in capturing him and it’s not quite what Evan thinks. The new president of the United States has a mission for him. Completion of the mission means he can continue living as a free man. However, Evan doesn’t want to do government sanctioned ops anymore. He does agree to look into it and, after escaping with a bit of help from an old acquaintance, Evan does just that.
Not a regular mission
At first glance this is of no interest to Evan. He comes across an old girlfriend of the man he’s supposed to kill. After talking to her he decides that this is not his mission. Then she sends him a video of a girl who is talking about her murdered brother. She uses the magic words. No one will help us! Now it’s Evan’s type of mission. And to kick it off he comes face to face, in that moment, with one of the dangerous men that is involved. He works for the target, Luke Devine. When the man reveals that Evan is his target it throws him for a loop. How does Devine know about him? He continues on his mission, dodging Secret Service attention and trying not to let Devine get in his head.
What I Liked
First, I have to tip my hat at Gregg, the author, and his sense of humour. He had one chapter that was literally one sentence. I couldn’t help but laugh. Now the rest of the positives. As per usual, I loved the action scenes. And of course, Evan. He has grown so much in these books and you can’t help but love him more with each book. And I was very excited to have a character return. One of the things I thought was really sweet was when Evan put the mission on pause to do something for Joey, the teenager he has been looking after since the third book. It was a really sweet moment and a real testament to how far both of them have come.
What I Disliked
Throughout the books, there had been a buildup of something important in Evan’s life. In this one, it just kind of flopped and was done. It almost felt like Gregg was like nah, I changed my mind. He did drop it in a way that made sense, but yeah. It was a bit of a bummer. I don’t know that this next part was necessarily a dislike, but more of a “not my favourite.” The main bad guy, Luke Devine, was different. The reason that Evan was sent after him, the whole idea of him, was a bit over my head and very political. Not exactly what I enjoy. There were also a lot of people who seemed to know who Evan was and that was never explained either.
Final Rating of The Last Orphan
I gave The Last Orphan a 4 star rating. It still was a great story, and I loved all the usual or returning characters. Seeing how Evan’s relationship with everyone in his life has changed was great. Even better that he realised this himself. Maybe if I understood the politics of the story it would have been more enjoyable. This was the first Orphan X book that I found myself reading chunks and then realising I had no idea what I just read. But it did still have a lot of the great things that made this series so successful.
Maybe
Maybe I can get my hands on the books that I’m missing. There were some books that were point fives and I never saw them in the library. So, those might be books I’ll have to hunt down myself. And I believe I found out that there are two more books to the series, but I’ll double check that. Again, I’ll probably have to hunt for those myself. I do say that I’ll probably read more books from Gregg Hurwitz. He is a very talented writer and I loved this series. So, hopefully I can find the missing books.
Keep Going
So, for those keeping up with the reading challenge, this was book 26! And I honestly have a feeling the book I picked up last night is going to be a quick read. I didn’t want to put it down but figured I should probably get some sleep. It’s…..well, let’s just say my brain is going to be a bit messed up with this read. You’ll find out in the review what I mean. But the first 5 chapters were real page turners. I believe this author is one that is extremely talented in writing thrillers. From what I’ve heard. Well, until Monday, have a great weekend my friends and remember that anything can happen if we try.
