NEMESIS: Gregg Hurwitz’s 10th Orphan X Novel Announced

On February 11th, 2025, Evan Smoak returns to action in Nemesis, the latest novel from New York Times bestselling author Gregg Hurwitz.

Smoak, also known as Orphan X (a once government-trained assassin) and the Nowhere Man (a tough-as-nails vigilante), first appeared in Hurwitz’s 2016 thriller, Orphan X. Since then, he’s gone on to star in nine books to date, including this year’s Lone Wolf, which saw the beloved hero battered between twisted AI technocrat billionaires and a mysterious female assassin. Now, Smoak is set to return, and this time, things turn personal when Evan’s closest friend, gunsmith Tommy Stojack, crosses a line that puts the two men at odds.

Release Date: February 11th, 2025

Minotaur Books

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In the latest explosive novel in this New York Times bestselling series, Evan Smoak, having shaped his life with a rigid set of rules, finds himself at odds with his oldest friend in the world, where principles are in conflict with honor―and everyone is the loser.

At one time, Evan Smoak was a highly successful black ops assassin known as Orphan X, dedicated to a rigid set of operational rules. Now, even after breaking with the government program, going deep underground, and remaking his life, Smoak is dedicated to his assassin’s Ten Commandments. But for the first time, those principles have put him on a collision course with the man who might be his best friend in the world, Tommy Stojack.

Stojack, a gifted gunsmith who has created much of Evan’s own weapons and combat gear, has apparently crossed one of Evan’s sharply delineated lines. When Evan decides to go to his workshop and have it out with Tommy, Evan finds himself under attack by a group attempting to ambush and kill him. But, with all his training and skills, Evan is extremely hard to kill―and the dispute explodes into open warfare between him and Tommy. Now Evan has no choice, in his mind, than to track down and face down his only friend.

In the meantime, Tommy is honoring an old promise to an Army friend and goes to help his dead friend’s son. In a depressed rural area, with conflicts flaring up, that son is partially responsible for the death of an innocent. And while Tommy is trying to keep him, and his friends, alive, Evan arrives, with vengeance in mind.

The scary thing? Evan isn’t even the most dangerous threat to arrive on the scene.

Gregg Hurwitz is the author of the New York Times bestselling Orphan X novels. Critically acclaimed, his novels have been international bestsellers, graced top ten lists, and have been published in thirty-two languages. Additionally, he’s sold scripts to many of the major studios and written, developed, and produced television for various networks. Hurwitz lives in Los Angeles.

Readers excited to pre-order Hurwitzth 10th Orphan X novel can now do so here or anywhere else books are sold.

Praised as “One of the hardest working, most thoughtful, and fairest reviewers out there” by New York Times bestselling author Lisa Scottoline, Ryan Steck has “quickly established himself as the authority on mysteries and thrillers” (Author A.J. Tata). Steck also works full-time as a freelance editor and is building a growing community on Twitch. His debut thriller, FIELDS OF FIRE, which #1 New York Times bestselling author Jack Carr says “will leave you speechless and begging for more,” is now available. His second novel, LETHAL RANGE, is also in bookstores, and his third book, OUT FOR BLOOD, was released on June 4th. For more information, be sure to follow him on Twitter and Facebook. To interact with other readers and talk about your favorite books and authors, join The Real Book Spy’s Discord server.