Book Review: Assassins Anonymous by Rob Hart

Mark has almost always seemed like your average white dude, a trait that’s very much helped him in his career as a professional killer. Working for the shadowy Agency under the codename Pale Horse, he swiftly rose to become their number one assassin, leaving a trail of death and fear behind him.

But something happened a little over a year ago that made him decide he wanted out of the game for good. With the help of another assassin he’d met in the field, he cut ties with the Agency and went underground. Having amassed a substantial nest egg, he’s got the logistics of leading a new life covered. What surprises him now is how difficult his new life is for him emotionally.

Assassins Anonymous, a group very much modeled after similar 12-step recovery programs, helps. As his sponsor explains at their meetings:

“We do not bring weapons into Assassins Anonymous, nor prior political affiliations. If any of us were known by any particular handle or nickname, we do not use it here. We share our stories, but we obscure details as best we can. If any of us seek to bring in new fellows, we agree to have them properly vetted. This is to protect us, not just from prying ears, but from each other.”

 

He’s not kidding. The story goes, there was a meeting in Los Angeles a few years ago where two professional hit men revealed their stage names and inadvertently discovered they’d spent decades locked in a game of cat and mouse. By the time the meeting was over, four people were dead.

 

Anonymity is an important component of any recovery process, and it’s especially important here.

Everything changes when a Russian hitman shows up one day and tries to take Mark out, stealing his coded notebook in the process. Mark manages to survive and find his way to underground trauma surgeon Astrid, who readily stitches him up after asking why she hasn’t seen him in so long. Mark has always had something of a crush on Astrid, so when the Russian makes it clear that he’s followed Mark and knows about her, Mark makes the logical decision to take his not-entirely unwilling doctor with him as he goes looking for answers.

Their journey leads them from New York City to Singapore to London, as Mark not only reaches out to old contacts but finds himself embarking on the important step of making amends to those he wronged while he was working as a professional assassin. As word gets out as to who he really is and why he’d mysteriously disappeared from the field, old enemies come out of the woodwork in search of revenge and other unfinished business. In the old days, Mark would have killed anyone who got in his way without a second thought. His current fight for survival, however, is vastly complicated by who he is now, even when faced with a murderous foe:

He takes small steps toward me now, gauging the distance. Hopping forward a little before stepping back, daring me to swing. I’m matching his stance, forearm out, wrist facing me so he can’t get at the tender part on the inside.

 

But I’m desperately outmatched.

 

What this guy doesn’t know is that I will do anything within my power to avoid killing him, even as the most savage part of me roars with hunger to do just that.

Will Mark be able to find the answers he needs as he travels the world, dodging the many killers on the lookout for him? More importantly, will he be able to do so without taking the lives of any of the people determined to stand in his way?

Delving into the psychology of homicide and the mindsets associated with both murder and addiction, this is a fascinating character study of a man genuinely determined to make a break with his desire to kill. Having once been conditioned to believe that murder is a viable – if not the best and most efficient – solution to any problem arising in his line of work, Mark struggles not only with his behavioral patterns and ego but also with the outside forces that make not relapsing a really big challenge. While the most justifiable killing is arguably the one done in self-defense, Mark is highly trained enough in combat to know that that’s no longer an excuse for him, even as his psychological makeup begs for him to do whatever it takes to survive.

Even without the insights into addiction and power, this is a rip-roaring, cinematic adventure of assassins and secrets that leavens its brutal fight scenes with both hilarity and genuine discussions of what it means to be a good person. I don’t think I’ve ever read anything as thoughtful as this book is on the life of a former killer for hire. I’ve been a fan of Rob Hart’s since The Warehouse and believe that this might be his best book yet. Assassins Anonymous is genuinely unmissable for anyone who enjoys reading about mercenaries, murderers, and mayhem.