Staying in #5 with The Nowhere Man, Orange is the New Black and izombie.

The Nowhere Man

For those of you in the dark about who Evan Smoak aka The Nowhere Man is, he is the lead character in the Orphan X series of books by Gregg Hurwitz.

As a child he was raised and trained as a killer for a secretive black ops organization, but after becoming disillusioned with his role as killer for hire with apparently no moral compass being applied, he broke from the programme and lives a life off the grid while offering his unique and deadly skills to those in dire need.

That’s it in a nutshell.

An Equalizer character if you will, and while this premise is nothing new the success of the debut, and now The Nowhere Man has shown that no matter how formulaic a book is that if it has pace and an engaging leading character then there is always room for one more.

In most promo blurb surrounding these books it has been mentioned that it’s time for Jack Reacher to step aside as this is the new anti-hero on the block, and while that sort of hyperbolic claim appears to adorn plenty of thrillers it does rings true here.

Evan Smoak is Orphan X and he has his eye on becoming the next big deal in the world of thrillers.

On this outing it is a more claustrophobic tale that the debut with Evan being the victim of a kidnapping and having to use his wits and experience to extract himself from the situation he finds himself in before he can resolve a case of young women being sold as sex slaves.

Meanwhile as a backdrop those behind the Orphan programme are cleaning up shop and removing all their operatives from the game, permanently, and Evan is at the top of the list they are working from.

So the race is on over three plot lines, and while that may seem like a lot for the character to have on his plate the writing allows it all to flow at a fast pace without a hint of confusion being allowed to slip in.

The outcome is as formula driven as the premise of the character, but who cares when it is so well done.

In a world where we are often told that a book is hard to put down this is actually one of them.

Orange is the New Black – Season 5.

It’s been a long wait, or maybe it just felt like it.

I was late to the party with Orange and I will admit to only starting season 1 when season four had already finished.

All the seasons were then binge watched right up until the cliff hanger finale was delivered and I rabidly joined the ranks of fans who were pulling their hair out and screaming for a quick resolution.  

Thankfully from the opening episode of the new season, picking off where we left off with the riot in season 4, the show is as fresh as expected and ably delivering what we have all been waiting for.

Two episodes in and it feels like meeting an old friend and pleasantly becoming reacquainted with them.

There’s no shock change of actors playing a much loved character, no real big surprises, and do you know what?

That suits just fine.

The prison is in turmoil, the ladies have control, and there are more worms that viewers were aware of being sprung from cans than you could shake a stick at.

All is well in the world of Litchfield Prison, or as dysfunctional well as we have grown to expect.

Brilliant television, and as the contacts have been signed for another two seasons there is plenty more to look forward to.

izombie – Season 3

Hand on heart.

Initially I was of the opinion that izombie was far too lightweight, but for some reason that I can't quite get a grip on I hung on in there.

One episode slipped into another and slowly but surely it dug its blood stained fingers deeper in.

By the end of season one I was bracing myself to hear about its cancellation as I hardly know anyone who watches it, and I was getting ready to rage about how this happens to too many shows leaving an audience hanging, but then it was renewed and I breathed a sigh of relief.

By the close of the second season it had taken a huge leap forward and again due to there still being few people here in the UK mentioning it, let alone raving about it, I was back to wondering if the hammer was going to fall on it.

And then again it didn't.

It just seems to keep coming back from the dead.

(See what I did there?)

Part police procedural, part horror, part comedy, part soup opera, it is what some would call a guilty pleasure, but we don't do guilt so right now we are wallowing in this show.

So more brains please!

Liquidate them and shove them in a smoothie, fry them, grill them, serve them up with a salad, just keep them coming.

If you haven’t checked this one out then sort it out now.