In Nemesis (Minotaur Books, Feb. 2025), book 10 of Gregg Hurwitz's bestselling Orphan X series, hero Evan Smoak finds himself at dangerous loggerheads with a close friend. With the title releasing this winter, PW spoke with the author about his hero's latest predicament, how the series has developed over time, and what he's learned from spending time in rural America.
Nemesis finds Evan in conflict with one of his best friends, Tommy. What is the path of their relationship that brings them to this point?
They have a gruff reliance on each other. After all, Tommy supplies Evan with all his weaponry and ordnance, even his armored Ford F-150. It takes a lot for Evan to trust someone, and Tommy is the first person he’s trusted since Jack Johns, his father figure and handler in the Orphan Program.
The fact that Evan and Tommy have wound up on a collision course with each other is devastating to them both.
And yet it can’t be stopped.
You’ve thrown a lot of twists and turns at Evan over the course of 10 books—what made you want to tell this particular story about him?
Ever since Jack took Evan out of a foster home at the age of 12 to train him to be an assassin, the most important piece of advice he’s given him is, “The hard part isn’t making you a killer. The hard part is keeping you human.”
In a lot of ways, the Orphan X series is about Evan’s process of becoming more human. Despite all the skills he is trained in, he was never taught to speak the strange language of intimacy. And yet he has found his way to human connection—through Jack, and then through Tommy, Mia, Peter, and Joey.
This story is about what happens when his humanity comes into conflict with his code. In that regard, Nemesis represents Evan’s ultimate test.
The Orphan X books are known for being action-packed thrillers, but you’ve been getting more into the characters facing interior challenges as the series goes on. What made you want to add this element to the books?
One of my favorite quotations about writing is from Joan Didion: “I write so I know what I think.”
As I, ostensibly, grow up, so too does Evan. As he grows and learns about himself, so do I.
The stories about him deal with the conflicts, challenges, and vulnerabilities that I feel, except they are writ large in fiction.
You’re known for doing a ton of research—including investigating cults and going under cover with Navy SEALs. Did you do any special research for Nemesis?
I spent a lot of time in rural America to see firsthand the kinds of problems people are contending with there. As part of my Do You Need My Help? charity, I met with local leaders to see where we could help with funds and resources. I was struck by how much those areas have been left behind. Based on our personal backgrounds and experiences, we tend to think about either rural or urban communities that have been hit hard by unjust economic policies, but the fact of the matter is, working people across the divide have been struggling for years. I wanted to bring the perspectives of those two worlds together in Evan, a broke foster kid from East Baltimore, and Tommy, who is trying to help a crew of young men in a rural town that has little hope or promise. The clash between the two of them is a clash between different perspectives—and the only way to stop the killing is if they can remember each other’s humanity. But man, are they far gone when this novel opens.
Along those lines, how hard or easy is it to come up with new stories to tell in a long-running series like this?
I wouldn’t say it’s easy, but Orphan X stories keep laying themselves out to me as part of a larger creative pattern. I don’t always know precisely where the series is heading, but I know the shape of things, and just when I feel like I’ve completed one part of Evan’s story, the next presents itself to me. I try to stay open to what comes in, and it has been a pretty glorious process so far.
