I was lucky enough to win an e-ARC of ASSASSINS ANONYMOUS by Rob Hart from a Shelf Awareness giveaway. Thank you for the early look, and have a safe and happy weekend!

Mark, known in the assassin world as Pale Horse, has gone cold turkey. No more killing, one day at a time just like the other AA. His life is in shambles but he is slowly building a new life and has dreams of one day living normally. Then one day after his AA group he is attacked, left for dead, and his new calm non-violent life is no more. Now he needs to figure out who wants him dead before they get to finish the job. Fast paced, sometimes humorous. I never thought I'd be rooting for an assassin.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.

A well-written, exciting unique novel about a hitman (whose appearance is unassuming) who joins a recovery group in an attempt to leave the murders of his past firmly in his review mirror.

Due to this novel's premise, I wasn't sure what to expect (a mystery, a spy novel, or even a humourous read) and I am still not precisely sure how to classify this book, however it IS an enjoyable ride of a read!

From an author I had not read previously but one I will follow for future releases.

If you are a fan of crime or "murder for hire" intrigue, give this novel a read,

The action and surprises are frequent, and you will be holding on tight as you navigate through this fun roller coaster ride of a story (as your emotions and heart rate rises and falls with each twist and turn)!

Will the main character Mark ever be able to (permanently) escape his adrenaline-charged addictive past career as a murderer for hire?

Dear readers, you will need to pick up a copy to find out this and other "spoilers".

Mark’s rock bottom is perfectly posed to set him on the path to redemption via a 12-Step Program. But when another assassin comes after him and threatens those he cares about, his recovery and vow to never take another life is put at risk.

ASSASSINS ANONYMOUS offers great characters and a spare, think John Wick lite, world where killers can obtain whatever their twisted hearts desire. A 12-step program for assassins who no longer want to kill fits in like a custom-made gun holster.

Pet people will appreciate Mark’s orange cat, P. Kitty. While the story is beautifully tied up, the rich characters and world leave room for turning this fantastically fun high concept novel into a killer series.

As a huge fan of Hart’s Ash McKenna series, I was super excited to see a reference to a character being “a blunt instrument”—if you know, you know.

ASSASSINS ANONYMOUS provides the adrenaline rush that makes thrillers so addictive along with a generous dose of heart.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to G. P. Putnam’s Sons Publishers, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, for providing an Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley.

An interesting read that completely takes you away from your world, which is what I look for in a great book.

With a great cast of characters and a good storyline it will keep you reading and turning the page. You'll find yourself rooting for Mark and his friends even though they are killers.

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for this early digital review copy.
Assassins Anonymous shares the story of Mark, a former assassin who is trying to better himself and has almost one year in "AA" without a kill. He justifies his past with the thinking that everything comes down to math: kill one person to potentially save several = a worthy kill. Rob Hart uses an alternating timeline, so the reader goes with Mark on his journey to discover who is after him while also learning about how he became an assassin and the key moment that he knew he had to stop.
This was a very fun read filled with action, so the story moves along quickly and gives John Wick/Barry vibes (what's not to love?). Be ready for some surprises throughout the book: these characters and this story definitely keeps the reader on their toes, where the reader is not sure who can be trusted. This was my first Rob Hart book, but it won't be my last! Thoroughly enjoyable. Pick this one up if you can!

Mark is a retired assassin in the midst of a 12-step recovery program who is attacked after an Assassins Anonymous meeting by a Russian who takes his notebook. The notebook has encoded information an the people he has wronged who he needs to make amends to. Mark needs to find out who is behind the Russian while not killing anyone (remember is is a recovering assassin)! You get world travel, plenty of fight scenes, and meet interesting people before the final confrontation ends up back in New York City. A different take on the secret agent tales that Rob Hart manages nicely.

Thanks Netgalley for the chance to read this title!

This book is fast-paced and lot of fun. I loved the premise of an AA type group for former assassins but the writing and plot pacing are somewhat clunky at times. There is a lot of what feels like gratuitous violence described in excruciating detail. As a reader I felt a level of cognitive dissonance between his mental angst about being an assassin and his actions later in the book. Both sides of that coin could have been better handled. I really hated the plot twist with his girlfriend and it's aftermath.

It was a fun easy read but I would recommend sparingly because it will alienate some readers with the level of violence. and the choppy quality of the writing.. This is a Michael Bay sort of a book. if that's your flavor, you'll probably enjoy it but it's not great literature,

"And I looked, and behold, a pale horse, and his name that sat on him was Death" .

This was such a fun read. Assassins Anonymous is much like AA, in that the group that meets here - in ultimate secret - are all trying to stop killing and to stop being assassins. All of the members of this group have certain things in common (1) they are good at what they do (2) they do it in secret (3) with intent to kill (3) for a reward - maybe money, maybe revenge, but it is on contract and now they are all (4) trying to go forward in their lives without killing anyone. Until one night at a meeting...... Mark is attacked at the end of the meeting and now he needs find who is trying to get revenge across multiple countries and stay true to his '10 step' program.

At times this was funny and heartfelt and packed full of action, but at the end of the day I found myself being empathic to the plight of the assassin. How? I am laughing at myself at that sentence. 10/10 loved this and will pass this on for sure!

I expected this to be entertaining and funny, which it is. But, I did not expect it to be a well constructed mystery with a poignant message at its heart.

In this age of hyper-kinetic, revenge-drawn thrillers like the John Wick series as well as David Fincher’s The Killer, assassin stories have, momentarily, reached beyond that “One. Last. Job.” theme. They focus instead on the hunt and survival. Rob Hart’s latest book, Assassins Anonymous, can be added to that mix as he presents a unique play on the biz. Assassins Anonymous is a fun, action-filled thriller that is both silly and serious, plays with time and motion, and gives a little insight on the hip, solitary lifestyle of a killer for hire.

The gimmick presented within is that Mark, the deadly assassin with the headline-grabbing nom de guerre of the Pale Horse, is in a recovery program. And Hart sets the scene perfectly. Church basement. Folding chairs. And the whole “My name is Mark. And I’m an assassin” attestation. The Assassins Anonymous group is for killers who are sick of killing for one reason or another and seek a new way of life. They meet regularly when that murderous urge rises within and try to suppress their nature with convo, coffee, and crullers. The premise is silly but certainly no sillier than all those stories about the teen nerd who gets bitten by a radioactive spider. Right? Hart makes it work. And then shenanigans happen.

Mark, naturally, is hunted by someone – or some group – that puts the hurt on him all too easily. Are past crimes haunting with retribution? Maybe a new player looking to be top dog? To find out, Mark goes on the run and brings along with him his cat, and Astrid, a personal nurse-with-benefits. And on the lam is when the fun kicks in.

Hart breaks up the chapters switching between the present and the past. The past is a killer, too. And fatally fun with jumping off buildings and sword fights and the like. Interestingly, though, Hart does not dive into the character of Mark all that deeply. Pop culture drops aside, Mark comes across as too nice – too boring and normal – to be a maladjusted murderer. Truly, outside of guns and knives and Kevlar, there really ain’t too much going on with this leading man. He is more brooding-breakup-boy than Terminator. But the set ups and situations, like those between Kenji, his sponsor, and Ravi, his handler, make the mystery move in a similar manner to how Hart conducted his previous release, The Warehouse , which was an equally enjoyable story.

Assassins Anonymous is a macho maelstrom of shooting, shadowing, and, most impressively, self-control. Give this one a read.

Thanks to NetGalley and GP Punam’s Sons for the advance copy. Oddly, though, the awarded ARC was a PDF, which made for a weird reading experience as the

F
ormatting was off in many
instances mak-ing the whole reading event a bit ofa
S
truggl
e.
Hurm.

A funny blend of poignancy and black comedy - a fun read with some pretty wild turns. Interesting use of the 12-step program, plus some believable hints at some of the PTSD common for soldiers/agents (plus a whole bunch of other UNbelievable things, of course).

I loved everything about this book — from concept to cover. It's such a creative and fun approach to build a story around a 12 step recovery program for killers.

I was hooked right away and really enjoyed the voice and post of view for the narrator Mark. The book moves quickly and I liked how it's structured with flashback chapters filling in Mark's backstory. There's lots of action and fighting which I sometimes find uninteresting to read, but the descriptions were clear and helped you orient yourself in the physical situations Mark ended up in.

This also operated terrifically as a mystery since he needs to unravel who is after him and why. I'll say no more but this book packs a punch and is full of surprises.

Ebook received for free through NetGalley

Another incredible unique and amazing book. So glad I saw it as it was epic yet felt completely different from his other amazing ones!

I have never read something like this before! Unique take on a killer, you really start to feel for him and root for him to succeed. I was back and forth on the "action" of this book, it felt honest but there was a lot of it. It's also taken a long time to get to the meat of the book. However, I found everything interesting - I would recommend.

Mark is trying to change and has almost a year in Assasins Anonymous, a program like AA, where he’s trying to stop killing. It’s mostly going well until someone tries to kill him after the meeting and he’s forced to figure out why. Short, sometimes silly, this is a fun, fast read.

Mark, aka the Pale Horse, is the world’s most lethal assassin, but he left that world behind. He joined a twelve step program for recovering killers. He’s about to earn his one-year-without-killing chip when he barely survives a brutal attack. Now he must figure out who & why someone wants him dead. And that is a very long list.

Author Rob Hart’s latest offering is an action-packed fun read. Mark is a charming & funny, and main character. He’s working hard to squash his training & instincts. He’s determined to not kill anyone on his quest to find out who’s trying to take him out. Not an easy task.

I loved Hart’s breezy writing style and humor throughout the book. The breakneck pace, jam packed action, humor, and Mark’s sincere desire to change all combine to make this book a rollicking good time. I hope we get more of the former assassin with the heart of gold in the future.

Thank you NetGalley and G.P Putnam’s Sons for the digital review copy. Assassins Anonymous releases on June 11. Add it to your tbr list because you’ll definitely want to binge this one.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC to this book in exchange for an honest review.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this book, but it had an interesting premise as using alcoholics anonymous as a basis to cure assassin's compulsion to kill. This book is a morality play with some heartwarming moments mixed with meanings of life and death. Ultimately, though, this book is just fun, fun, fun! It is relatively short and is a quick and fun read. I thoroughly enjoyed it. 4-stars

Assassins Anonymous has so many of the elements that I love. Humor, action, and a complex and interesting story. Mark is a few day from receiving his one year chip from AA. AA stands for Assassins Anonymous in this case. Unfortunately, he has become someones target and now he has to stay alive, figure out who is after him, do it all with out killing someone. This story has a lot of heart. The assassins have to remarkably humanized from ruthless killers, to people with feelings and emotions. As Mark travels the world trying to hunt down who is out for him, the story moves from the past to the present. This gives us a unfiltered understanding of who he truly is at heart and I became quite attached to his story. He has a beloved cat named P. Kitty who he credits with saving his life. I didn't have a clue until the end how the story was going to play out and the deception was impressive, but the ending made me happy. Rob Hart is an amazing author and this is another impressive creation.

I received an advanced copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this fast paced thriller that is following retired assassin Mark. Now he has a hit out on him and he is racing the clock to find out who is behind it and not get killed. So good. I absolutely was glued to the pages til the very end!
I just reviewed Assassins Anonymous by Rob Hart. #AssassinsAnonymous #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]