Antihero by Gregg Hurwitz

 

Evan Smoak is summoned to the home of tech billionaire Luke Devine, one of the most brilliant and dangerous men in the world. Devine, who is capable of toppling regimes or crashing stock markets, is spinning out. Only Evan holds enough respect in the man's eye to help him. While there, Evan learns of a young woman who was abducted from a subway in New York City. This begins Evan's most difficult mission yet.

Evan eventually finds Anca, who has been brutally assaulted. When he informs her that he will track down and bring to justice the men who did this to her, she forbids him to kill them. In the face of her unshaking conviction, he agrees, even though it violates the operational rules that have governed his life as Orphan X, The Nowhere Man.

With the help of Joey, his surrogate niece and hacker extraordinaire, and Candy McClure, another survivor of the Orphan program, Evan hunts down the perpetrators. Bringing them to justice without killing them or getting killed himself stretches Evan to his limits, both physically and emotionally.

This book hits with a visceral punch I haven't felt outside of a Karin Slaughter book. That's about the highest compliment I can pay. The strength of Anca Dumitrescu is remarkable. You feel in your bones the horrors that she endured. The Nowhere Man is as feared in this world as John Wick is in his. On mission, he is relentless, implacable, and unemotional. It gives him his operational sharpness. This mission sees emotion creep in, from his paternal, protective feelings for Joey, and especially his empathy for Anca. The cap on his emotions is the only thing keeping the caged beast inside him from coming out, and it is in danger of cracking. He has pledged justice for Anca, but every fiber of his being desires vengeance. 

Antihero is nonstop action with a cinematic feel. One of the hallmarks of this series is the character growth. We see it in Joey and especially in Evan. Strong supporting characters and villains that are as believable as they are appalling add to the impact of this story.

Antihero is one of the best books in the series and is destined to be one of the best thrillers of the year. It's also a great entry point if you are new to the series. If you like high-stakes action and thrills with complicated, grounded heroes, this book is for you. Thriller fans will love this one!

I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher.