Assassins Anonymous by Rob Hart – Review

Published: June 11, 2024

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons

Series: N/A

Genre: Thriller

Pages: 320 (Kindle)

My Rating: 5 Stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:
In this thriller full of action, humor, and charm, the world’s most lethal assassin has left the violent life behind and joined a 12-step group for recovering killers. But when he’s attacked and barely survives, he must figure out who’s after him and why—without breaking his pledge never to kill again.

Mark is the most dangerous killer-for-hire in the world. His nickname—the Pale Horse—breathes fear into the cold heart of every rival who hears it. But after learning the hard way that this life has made him more monster than man, Mark has left all of that behind. With the help of his sponsor, Kenji, he has joined a group of former assassins who meet in secret for support in recovery.

Then he’s viciously attacked by an unknown assailant. Thrust back into the shadowy world of betrayal and assassination, injured and on the run from New York to Singapore to London, Mark must solve the mystery of who’s coming for him and why. Has the Agency decided he knows too much and must be taken out? Has a rival decided to attack now that he’s laid his weapons down? Has one of the thousands of people who might want revenge finally come for it? And how will he survive the onslaught without killing anyone? For an assassin, Mark learns, non-violence is a real hassle.

A perfectly paced, globe-trotting, and action-filled thriller, Assassins Anonymous is also full of both hilarity and heart, witty and surprisingly affecting, and will delight fans of John Wick and Barry .

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Have you ever thought to yourself, “I wonder what hired killers do when they get tired of killing”? Well, Assassins Anonymous is here to give you that very answer. And yes, it’s modeled after Alcoholics Anonymous, with the twelve step program and everything. 

Assassins Anonymous follows Mark, a retired assassin known for sowing chaos and death around the world. His handler, fond of biblical references, bestowed upon him the moniker Pale Horse after seeing him in action the first time. Mark has been out of the game for almost a year when a big Russian man comes calling and makes it clear that Mark isn’t as retired as he thought he was. Someone is gunning for him (literally) and his associates in the AA group, so Mark sets off with some cash and a cat carrier to find out who. I respect the guy for taking care of his cat, P Kitty, in the midst of all the chaos. 

At first I wasn’t sure how well this book would work for me, though I do love a good assassin in any media form. There’s action aplenty and some humorous references to famous characters like John Wick and the numerous hit men type characters played by Jason Statham. There’s plenty of cool stuff going on, but what surprised me the most is how much emotion was packed into Assassins Anonymous. This is ultimately about a man trying to do better and break the addiction he has to killing and the powerful, god-like feeling it produces to be feared and to be in control. There are flashback chapters that give the reader insight to what Mark was like in the height of his career and to the events that lead him to seek out Kenji with Assassins Anonymous. It was honestly heartbreaking at times and I loved every page of it.

I would highly recommend Assassins Anonymous, especially to those folks looking for that action packed story that has more depth than the usual action thriller. Rob Hart does a fantastic job of exploring addiction and demonstrating just how it destroys lives.