ARC Review: Antihero by Gregg Hurwitz

Antihero
Author: Gregg Hurwitz
Series: Orphan X (Book 11)
Publication: Minotaur Books (February 10, 2026)

Description: In the next book in this New York Times best-selling series, Evan Smoak takes on his most complex mission yet―one where he not only has to protect but also avenge, and find a way to balance vengeance with mercy.

Once a black ops assassin for the government known as Orphan X, Evan Smoak broke with the program and went deep underground, using his operational rules and skills to help the truly desperate with nowhere else to turn.

When Luke Devine, one of the most powerful men in the world, has a psychological crisis, Evan flies to the East Coast to help him. While there, he learns of a young woman who was kidnapped off the New York City subway, clearly in danger and in need of aid. With no name and few clues, Evan and his team track down the missing woman, who was assaulted and abandoned. Evan offers his help―and sets out finding the young men responsible. But the woman insists that Evan abandon his usual methods―no vengeance and, in particular, no killing. Which will prove no easy feat given the mounting incoming threats from all sides. In a mission that takes Evan from coast to coast, from the poorest corners of society to the richest, Orphan X must figure out a way to protect the innocent, avenge the victimized, and balance justice with a measure of mercy.

My Thoughts: This is the eleventh book in the Orphan X series. Evan finds himself involved in the case of a young woman grabbed from the subway, raped and taped for international consumption. After he locates her, he offers his help. But the young woman has some demands. She demands that he not kill the perpetrators of her abuse. This is counter to Evan's usual way of dealing with problems. 

However, he and his colleagues begin the hunt for the perpetrators using all of his resources and many of the people he has met on earlier adventures. Along the way he deals with his own attitudes and relationships. 

I enjoyed this story despite the fact that I haven't read any of the earlier adventures except the first. The writing style took a little time for me to get into the rhythm of the story. I would imagine that people who were caught up on the series would see lots of nuances that I missed and would recognize characters as they appeared. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.