Tag: Gregg Hurwitz

Orphan X – Gregg Hurwitz – Book 9 of 2016

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Gregg Hurwitz – New Evan Smoak series is off to a great start with Orphan X ****

Gregg Hurwitz is one of those authors whose books I read sporadically and when I  do read one of his books, after I finish it I usually say “Can You Tell me Edward, why you don’t read every Hurwitz book when it comes out?? To which I answer simply no – which is better than omitting I am a fool!! So when I recently saw that Hurwitz had started a new series and the first book Orphan X would be released soon, I knew I’d be a fool again not to read it!! Having just finished it the other day – I can say I am thankful I am not an old fool and bring on book 2 of the Evan Smoak series!!

In Evan Smoak Gregg Hurwitz has created a fantastic new character Evan is a…..

…. man with skills, resources, and a personal mission to help those with nowhere else to turn. He’s also a man with a dangerous past. Chosen as a child, he was raised and trained as part of the off-the-books black box Orphan program, designed to create the perfect deniable intelligence assets—i.e. assassins. He was Orphan X……

But after many assassinations and other operations Evan broke with the program and went off the radar, when he was asked to kill another Orphan, Evan became that Nowhere Man helping those who can’t help themselves. In Orphan X, soon after saving a young girl and her sister  from an evil cop Evan attempts to  help another woman Katrin, who has a mob hit team out to eliminate her. Evan soon discovers that he, and not Katrin is the hit team’s target. He is now faced with the task of beating a hit team composed of operatives who are as good as he is!!

From then on the action is fast and furious and the pages flew by. Here’s what author Tess Gerritsen writes about the book……

“Orphan X is the most gripping, high-octane thriller I’ve read in a long, long time. Hang onto your seat because Gregg Hurwitz will take you on a dizzying ride you’ll not soon forget

The first book that I read by Gregg Hurwitz was The Kill Clause, which featured  U.S. Marshals Service operative Tim Rackley. That series was composed of four books of which I read the first two. I told you I sporadically read Hurwitz books. Actually, the third book in that series Troubleshooter has been on my TBR shelves forever!! The point is that these books were great and I was disappointed when the series ended even though I hadn’t  read all the books. It also may be a reason that I didn’t read any of Hurwitz’s stand alone books until 2007! Foolish me!

 Bottom line: I will not miss the next installment of the Evan Smoak series and you shouldn’t either! In addition, I promise to read more of Gregg Hurwitz’s stand alone novels, and maybe even go back and read those last two Tim Rackley novels and you should join me!!

Links for the Further Exploration of the Novels of Gregg Hurwitz

Author’s Website
Author’s Blog
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
Amazon

In this short video Gregg Hurwitz talks about writing Orphan X

Tell No Lies – Gregg Hurwitz – “Simply Brilliant”? – It’s True!

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STell No Lieso in keeping with the thought that one should write short I will give you my review of Gregg Hurwitz’s book Tell No Lies using the words of Anne Rice……“Simply Brilliant!”

So check it out of the library, buy it on Kindle, now you can by it in paperback just get you hands on it and see if you like me yell at Daniel Brasher  – “Don’t do it – Wait for the police!! But you see Daniel is the kind of guy that will not do that – he has to go for it, never, is he half in, never does he sit back and rest, he needs to be out there doing. He could just be sitting back and living the life of luxury like his filthy rich mother, but no he gave that life up and became a counselor to violent criminals, a position that he is about to leave to move into private practice.

Until a letter appears accidentally appears  in his work mailbox, threatening the lives of two people, telling them if they don’t “admit what they have done they will bleed for it” After Daniel reads that the first victim has been brutally slain, and the clock is winding down to the deadline for the second victim, who lives only blocks away from Daniel’ to admit what she has done, Daniel takes off to save her life! And you the reader know – this is not going to end well! True to form it doesn’t and soon……  there are more threats, including one directed at Daniel. So many questions, so little time…… could it really be one of his patients??  how are these seemingly random victims  related?  what are they to admit to, and does it all connect to Daniel?? All questions Daniel has to answer before his time is up!!

So now that I’ve used too many words to tell you about the book, I may as well give you the whole Anne Rice quote….

“Simply brilliant. Tell No Lies is infinitely more than a thriller, yet thrilling to the last page. Psychologically rich and often beautiful…A true page turner in which every phrase, every character, every little incident counts. Stylish, elegant, and absolutely riveting! An unforgettable read.” –Anne Rice, author of THE WOLVES OF MIDWINTER and INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE.

Yep, it is that good, it was one of those books that I didn’t want to put down. The characters are great, the plot is terrific and the book works on several levels. The themes that the book addresses are real! I don’t really want to say what they are because they deal with the whole storyline!

I read my first Gregg Hurwitz book in 2004 The Kill Clause the first Tim Rackley book. I read the second Rackley book The Program and then three of Gregg’s stand-alones. It seems I read one about every three years. It also seems that has to change!! (Memo to self – get on the stick – take that Trust No One off of your to be read shelf, and get reading!!) So go grab a Hurwitz novel and get cracking and if you don’t like regular novels try Graphic Novels, he writes those to including Batman:The Dark Knight. Bye, I’m off to Trust No One…..

Book 15 of 2014

Weekend: Running and Reading! Book 28 They’re Watching – Greg Hurwitz

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So here is the me part of the weekend….. it started Sunday morning when I was going to go for a run. Opps! Forgot to put the running shoes in the clothes bag! I was a little frustrated but Kathy said go buy some shoes! So I headed over to Target and bought some cheap running shoes, figuring I could use the later for everyday and save running shoes for running! So on my way back I decided to check out the course that I had created through the residential neighborhood near our motel. Ah, the maps on Runners World are flat, but I forgot that we were in the rolling hills of Northern Viriginia not flat New Jersey! The course had some major climbs in it but I said let’s go for it! So I took off taking it slow. I forgot how hard it is to go up and then down several times in during a run. Anyway I modified the 4 mile run a little and it ended up being a 3.6 mile run instead completed in 35:57. But as I approached the end of the run I told myself that 3.6 miles with several hills is equal to at least 4.5 miles maybe 5!! Here’s the route. Check out the elevation part!!

The day ended at about 12:20 as I finished Book 28 for 2011 They’re Watching by Greg Hurwitz. Hurwitz is one of those authors whose books I pick up and enjoy every now and then and this one is no exception! This was a real page turner!

The story starts when Patrick Davis a high school teacher and would be screenwriter sells a script. But on the movie set he is religated to babysitting the star Keith Connor. The babysitting ends badly when Connor slams his face into a table and then tells everyone that Patrick did it! Davis was thrown off the set and sued by the movie studio. So Davis slinks home finds a new job teaching screenwriting and attempts to put his life back together and then it starts.

One day he finds a DVD in the entertainment section of the newspaper the video is of him! They’re Watching! Who are they and what do they want? Soon Davis’ life is more of a mess as he is drawn in situation after situation that only get worse and worse!! And as the reader your pulled into the mess and hope somehow he can get out!!

The book is well plotted with many a twist and turn! Writing the book in the first person, I think, makes you pull for Patrick even more! Like I said the book is really engrossing is tough to put down! (See above for the time I finished the book) As I look over at my TBR shelf I see another Hurwitz book Trust No One Maybe its time has come??…. Still to come a visit to DC and An Evening with Tom Russell!