Dark Horse by Gregg Hurwitz

Published by Minotaur Books on February 8, 2022

The 7th Orphan X novel offers what fans of the series expect: action; spats between Evan Smoak and his teenage ward Joey; more action; introspective moments as Smoak tries to understand himself; more action; philosophical moments as Smoak tries to help others understand themselves; and, of course, a whole lot of action.

The plot is far-fetched. That isn’t unusual for Orphan X novels. In Dark Horse, Evan returns to his Nowhere Man gig, helping people who can’t help themselves.

A cartel leader in southern Texas named Aragón Urrea wants Evan to retrieve his daughter Anjelina, who was kidnapped by a rival cartel leader in Mexico. One might think that Urrea would be more than capable of helping himself and wouldn’t qualify for Evan’s services. Urrea has funding and manpower to attack his rival, although a frontal assault would probably not work out well for Anjelina. He decides he’d rather send one guy, apparently having heard through the grapevine that Evan is a superhero.

Evan agrees to take the job if, at least to some degree, Urrea will change his evil ways. Urrea reluctantly agrees because nothing is more important to him than his daughter, at least until later developments cause him to question his parental loyalty. At that point, Evan helps the cartel boss get back in touch with his root love of his daughter. Those scenes a bit hokey but they advance the plot so the hokeyness is forgivable. Because Urrea is only “sort of” a cartel leader, not like the evil cartel leader in Mexico who traffics in young women and feeds his enemies to a lion, the reader can “sort of” get behind Urrea, or at least not despise him.

The portrayal of Urrea as a gangster with a heart (at least when it comes to family) is forced, but it leads to an interesting discussion of the relative morality of drug dealing. Urrea profits from feeding addiction, but so do the Sacklers. Urrea’s mother points out that Urrea, as a good crime boss, at least uses some of his profits to support needy families who are loyal to him. I appreciate that point of view. Evan isn’t into moral relativism but he listens. In fact, he spends a good bit of the novel learning to listen, particularly when the petulant Joey demands that he respect her ability to make mature decisions. The continuing effort to develop Evan’s character helps the reader maintain an interst in Evan.

Evan’s ability to infiltrate the Mexican cartel and his immediate bonding with (and ability to manipulate) the cartel boss strained my willingness to suspend disbelief. I did so only because the novel works so well as an action story. Evan’s ability to wipe out a couple of dozen bad guys also strains credibility, but that’s the nature of the modern thriller. The story is entertaining and, in the end, that’s all that counts.

There is a Romeo and Juliet feel to the story (more than that I won’t say for fear of spoiling it). Apart from the main plot, the story advances Evan’s “sort of” relationship with his neighbor Mia and her son Peter while adding a bit of drama regarding Mia’s uncertain future. The story also advances Joey’s desire to be independent, a desire that clashes with Evan’s protective nature. All of that gives the book (and the series) enough substance to elevate it to the upper tier of thrillers that feature action heroes.

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