Buy a Bullet cover art

Buy a Bullet

An Orphan X Short Story

 Preview

Get 30 days of Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30-day free trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options
Buy Now for £5.99

Buy Now for £5.99

About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

He is known by some as Evan Smoak. To a few he is known as Orphan X. But generally he is not known at all.

Taken from a children's home as a young boy, Evan Smoak was a trained to become a government operative known as Orphan X. But then he broke with the programme.


Now living out of sight and out of reach of his former employers, Evan chances upon a young woman in a coffee shop in Northern California who needs his help. Brutalized and under the control of a very powerful, dangerous man, she knows her life is at risk if she doesn't escape. And Evan knows that only a man with his particular set of skills has any chance of setting her free. His next move was never in doubt.


Buy A Bullet is the story of the day Orphan X became The Nowhere Man.


© Gregg Hurwitz 2017 (P) Penguin Audio 2022

 Action & Adventure Espionage Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Spies & Politics Suspense Thriller & Suspense

Critic reviews

Outstanding in every way
Read this book. You will thank me later
The most gripping thriller I've read in a long, long time!
The page-turner of the season is Orphan X ... Wonderful
Memorable as hell
The most exciting thriller I've read since The Bourne Identity
A page-turning masterpiece
A new series character to rival Reacher
A masterpiece of suspense and thrills . . . Turn off the real world and dive into this amazing start to a new series
There is a pristine classicism to Gregg Hurwitz's Orphan X, which borrows from Robert Ludlum and superhero lore to bring us Evan Smoak . . . Orphan X is tight and tense in all the right places . . . Orphan X is weapons-grade thriller-writing from a modern master.
All stars
Most relevant
Evan Smoak before he became the man we know. Yes it’s what you like and enjoy , but it is only a short story basically a chapter. I liked it but wanted more.

Didn’t see that it was a short story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I mean, as always in this series, it’s brilliantly written and expertly narrated, but I just can’t help feel that this has diluted an opportunity for a full on prequel as to ‘how and why’ he decided to become the nowhere man and what that first mission entailed across a full story narrative. I’d like to have seen him completely refute any more violence after his Orphan X days, only to eventually accept through a prequel story arc that whilst violence isn’t the life he wants to live, it’s the only thing he knows and really the only way he can contribute any positivity back into the world. The ‘one last time’ story of internal conflict, to full on realisation by the end that this is the only skill set and purpose he’s got. Having said that, it’s clear the author has a passion for this series and his characters and that he just can’t help but ‘write’ them, and other then a couple of misfires, I’m a huge fan of this series and the author and narrator.

I’d rather have had a prequel at some point…

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I don't wish to give anything away. However I must say that I don't feel it warranted a short story,regarding his new persona. Don't get caught out by using a credit for it. As I said earlier it's a bridge and although interesting it really could have been covered as a 1st chapter or prologue would have sufficed. I did enjoy it whilst sorting out belongings for our move though 😊.
Loving the series, especially from a new author and narrator for me

Short, sweet and a good bridge

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Disappointing to say the very least. I should have looked to see how long it was, so my fault I guess.

So short it was pointless

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
My mistake completely I but didn’t realise it was only a 35 minute story, biggest rip off so far.

Ridiculous to pay for such a short story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews