Assassins Anonymous

By: Rob Hart

Narrated by: Neill Thorne

“The best kind of thriller. . . . Suspenseful, sentimental, and ultimately redemptive, Assassins Anonymous is a can’t-miss novel.”—S. A. Cosby, author of All the Sinners Bleed

In this clever, surprising, thriller, the world’s most lethal assassin gives up the violent life only to find himself under siege by mysterious assailants. It’s a kill-or-be-killed situation, but the first option is off the table. What’s a reformed hit man to do?

Mark was the most dangerous killer-for-hire in the world. But after learning the hard way that his life’s work made him more monster than man, he left all of that behind, and joined a twelve-step group for reformed killers.

When Mark is viciously attacked by an unknown assailant, he is forced on the run. From New York to Singapore to London, he chases after clues while dodging attacks and trying to solve the puzzle of who’s after him. All without killing anyone. Or getting killed himself. For an assassin, Mark learns, nonviolence is a real hassle.

©2024 Rob Hart (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

A firstCLUE Book of the Week

“Absolutely wonderful! From concept to execution (so to speak!) Assassins Anonymous sets the standard for smart, compelling, nonstop crime fiction—all told in the resonant voice of a natural born storyteller. I read Hart’s book in one sitting and I am positive you will too. Bravo!”—Jeffery Deaver, author of Hunting Time

“Rob Hart’s Assassins Anonymous isn’t just a great, brutal, action-packed hitman story—it’s a simmering character study that digs deep into what it’s like to struggle with addiction. Few books can balance being a thrilling page-turner and heartfelt personal saga, but Hart makes it look easy.”—Alex Segura, author of Secret Identity

“Hart’s latest wears its myriad cinematic influences on its sleeve. Escalating stakes and precisely choreographed action sequences keep the pages turning… Bombastic whiz-bang fun.”—Kirkus Reviews

Fun and memorable characters

Liked the concept, good balance of inner demons and fun dialogue. Faithful and irreverent at the same time.

Unexpectedly delightful

I would call this a thriller with a healthy dose of wry humor.

I knew virtually nothing about this book when I started it and immediately was captivated. I couldn’t stop listening.

That people actually make a living with these bizarre assignations.

Started not to purchase as killing for killings sake just isn’t my normal cup of tea! But it was an ok plot in the end.

the readers voice

it was a good book. maybe a sequel would be ok. I'd listen to it

There is humanity in all of us.

Jason Statham? lol And olives really do belong on pizza! Seriously, I found this book really engaging and quite a fun read.

Awful narration

The narrator was overly dramatic. Sounded like a bad radio dj. Story was moderately fun.

Good idea, bad writing

Great premise with a sloppy execution. His idea is dragged down by a few things: one of which is his lack of research. It's obvious that the author has just taken a standard AA approach and pasted action movie stereotypes over them. If he had researched or spoke to real Navy Seals, he could have gotten valuable insights into their personalities that would have helped this novel.

Most of the twists are predictable. The main characters constant moaning gets old and many of the characters actions will have you wondering if he's actually as smart as he claims to be.

As it stands "Assassins Anonymous" is just another good idea dragged down with bad writing.

The audio performance of this Novel is a saving grace. There is good action scenes, though the ending was a bit of a let down.

One of the worst books ever

Idea sounds good - AA for assassins. But this is about it. It’s a woke assassin who hates police and bi. Book is full of anti- cliches, too painful to repeat. It’s also full of inaccuracies. And the worst of all is the narrator. Pretty much every word ends with lots of huffs and puffs, even those words that seem to be good candidates for it. Like water becomes wateruh. Either huh or uuh or ooh. And he does it for the whole book, from start to finish. I highly recommend NOT reading this book unless you are literary masochist (I guess I am once a year)

Not a good read

An interesting story idea that was very poorly developed - disjointed - technically stilted. Narrator's breathy delivery was hard to listen to.

I rolled my eyes so much they hurt

I have never heard a narrator mispronounce more words in my life. Maybe that wouldn't have been so noticeable if the story itself didn't read like self-insert fanfiction.