The Recital

A Joey Morales (and Orphan X and Tommy Stojack and Candy McClure and Aragón Urrea) Short Story

By: Gregg Hurwitz

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 1 hr and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

Joey Morales was the last recruit of the government's full black operation, the Orphan Program. Trained to be an assassin until she washed out, she was rescued by Evan Smoak, the former agent known as Orphan X. Now Joey, a world-class hacker, starts training for one of her biggest challenges yet: having a normal life.

Still a teenager, she discovers she loves music as much as hacking, if not more so. But as she carves out a space for herself, the one thing missing is a family to support her endeavors. When a major recital comes up, she asks her rescuer turned adopted uncle, Evan, to recruit his various friends into another operation—attending her performance. And while Evan doesn’t understand why she wants them there, he won’t let her be disappointed—no matter what.

A Macmillan Audio production from Minotaur Books.

©2023 Gregg Hurwitz (P)2024 Macmillan Audio

Absolute fun!

Charming and funny in the way only X can be! A great reminder of why I love these characters as I eagerly await release of the next book in the series.

Rogues and recitals

“I thought you said you lost your stomach for violence?”
“It was just the pinky finger.”

Heartwarming and bloodthirsty, a perfect combo for a little ditty featuring Joey and her “uncle person.” This nugget gets right to the popcorn fun of a family of sorts, made up of assassins, a weapons dealer, and a mostly reformed drug dealer from across the border.
I think this could be fun for the uninitiated, but it’s best for series fans.

Joey + Evan Smoak = Perfect Holiday Gift from Hurwitz

What an unexpected delight!

Joey and Evan are such fully-developed characters that I thought nothing terrifically new could be added to their “personalities”. I was definitely wrong.

This is an incredibly heart-warming departure from the norm. Adding in a cast of memorable characters from prior books was delightful!

Does anyone else see great things in the future for the new “actor”?

I didn’t want it to end

Getting to know these characters over the years and watch their stories evolve has been amazing. This story really hits you, especially when you think back to Jack’s advice to Evan: “The hard part isn’t killing. The hard part is staying human”.

Most of these characters have killed people, and the rest are very capable of the same. But in this story we get to see their humanity and all of those connections formed through non-conventional means.

I hope we get to see more of this side in “Lone Wolf”.

My only critique, if you can even call it that, is that Mia and Peter would have certainly been included in her list of “people”, and it would have been great to see those two sides merge a bit.

There very well could be a valid reason for this that we will see in “Lone Wolf”, so I can’t fault the story for them not being included.

Overall, an amazing story start to finish, and definitely something to listen to again when I need “my people”.

Orphan X Never Disapoints

Outstanding series with excellent narration! Action packed, keeps you on the edge of your seat start to finish. Highly recommend 5 well deserved stars!

Joey coming of age.

A very different look at X and the gang. Didn’t cry but could have. Loved it.

A great short story about the important things.

Perhaps my favorite of all the X books, even if it is a short story.

This novella was so, so entertaining, giggle and smile provoking.

I liked being able to get a glimpse of of the characters when not on an assignment.

A great feeling book and exactly what I needed right now.

The writing by Gregg is great as always. I haven’t laughed this hard in ages and it reminds me how good the writing is. I have to hand it to Scott as well, the narration isn’t just about repeating words, it was a performance. Giving emotion and changing between characters is just plain smooth. Lastly is comedic timing, on point is all I can say. I laughed harder than I’ve done in most books, I also wept in joy at the end. This book is now in the top books I’ve listened to, maybe even top 5. My only sadness is that it was so short.

Best short story EVER!!!

I am a huge fan of the orphan X series… Having read all of the books, leading up to this short story, now that I am invested in the characters, I found this story delightful. Like many have said already in their reviews, I laughed, I cried, I laughed again, and then I wished it would not end.
This book would not be the same to me if it was not for Scott brick. His interpretation of the characters informed my mental rolling video.
I seriously cannot wait for the next book!!!