Out of the Dark by Gregg Hurwitz

This was a fascinating book written on the premise that the US had a "orphan" program in which young orphans were trained from the time they were young children to be covert operatives, living weapons.  I thought the book was very interesting and well-written.  I highly recommend it.

Evan Smoak is 'Orphan X', a deadly covert operative who has gone rogue on the US government.  He decides that he must kill the President of the United States who was a former boss at the defense department in charge of the Orphan Program.  In a side project, Evan is also helping a young man whose family was murdered by a drug kingpin.  Evan moves through his projects like an expert, gradually turning up the pressure on the President and culminating in a well-planned hit.

Orphan X is portrayed as an ultimate weapon, an expert at weapons and covert operations, and he kills almost without effort.  I found him believable despite the long odds he often faced in his operations.  He is a compelling character, as are his secret-service adversaries and the operatives of the drug underworld he challenges.  Highly recommended. 5/5 stars.  Read this and other upcoming reviews at bookgeist.blogspot.com. 

Publication date: January 29, 2019