Marilyn's Mystery Reads

One of the issues that the author of a series must face is how to keep the books fresh and vibrant while not changing the basic characteristics of the protagonist.  They must grow over the course of the novels but not so much that their essential personality is altered or that they do something so out of character that the reader can barely recognize them.

Gregg Hurwitz is a master storyteller, and in Orphan X’s latest adventure, Antihero, we can see the hero facing major possible transformations in his behavior and ethics.  This evolution does not come easily to him; indeed, he questions the need for change.  But if he is to continue to be a realistic, evolving character, he needs to take stock of himself and his beliefs as portrayed by Hurwitz.

Antihero opens with a frightening scene.  A young man is brutally beaten by five men, losing part of his left arm in the process, in a case of mistaken identity.  As the gang members get ready to kill him, a truck door opens and X, also known as The Nowhere Man or Evan Smoak, steps into the street.  First he calls 911 and requests an ambulance be sent to the scene, saying that there are six wounded men needing assistance.  Before the gangsters can really understand what is happening, X has incapacitated all of them so that not one of them is left standing.

The scene shifts to a New York City subway car where a young woman is having a seizure.  She has a card with her to tell anyone who is helping her what her condition is and what to do, but the only person to notice her says some encouraging words and then leaves, and no one else either notices her condition or wants to get involved.  The seizure takes over.

The woman who had wanted to help is now having guilt pangs.  She’s at the home at Luke Devine, an extremely powerful and wealthy man with major psychological issues, but when the woman tries to tell him about the subway incident, it comes out as a meaningless jumble.

Devine, whose mental state is compromised by alcohol and pills, would like to ignore what’s happening, but somehow he can’t.  He manages to dial a phone number, and when it stops ringing a voice says, “Do you need my help?”  Enter The Nowhere Man.

All these things connect to each other and to Orphan X.  He is being pulled into several situations that are outside of his usual sphere.  What happens when you save someone’s life or get them out of a dangerous situation?  Does your obligation end there, or are you bound to them forever?  Can this shift in his thoughts lead to a different behavior model?  Can Evan Smoak find a new morality and still be the man people turn to in extremis?  And, how do his relations with the few people who are close to him, including his “foster” teenage daughter Joey, change in response to his changes?

Antihero is a thought-provoking thriller with questions about responsibility and morality at its center.  Gregg Hurwitz has crafted another fascinating novel in the Orphan X series.

You can read more about the author at this website.

Check out the complete Marilyn’s Mystery Reads at her website.  In addition to book review posts, there are sections featuring Golden Oldies, Past Masters and Mistresses, and an About Marilyn column that features her opinions about everything to do with mystery novels.