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Assassins Anonymous #3
Three Hitmen and a Baby
Welcome back to Assassins Anonymous, where family is everything and danger lurks around every corner.
Assassins Anonymous isn't just a weekly recovery meeting for reformed killers—it's also a family.
When Valencia receives troubling news that her brother has gone missing, she wants rush off to LA to find him. But she can’t bring her baby girl, Lucia. Enter the other members of Assassins Anonymous—Mark, Astrid, and Booker, who offer to watch the toddler while she's gone. After all, they're three of the deadliest, most highly skilled people on the planet; what could go wrong?
Turns out, a lot. Shortly after Valencia leaves, Mark is summoned to the lair of Zmeya, a Russian mob boss calling in a deadly favor—she wants him to kill Astrid, his protege and friend. Mark refuses, but Zmeya reveals that she knows the identity of Mark’s ex-girlfriend . . . and his son. Either Astrid goes, or they do.
Meanwhile, Lucia spikes a dangerously high fever, and when Booker and Astrid take her to urgent care, they realize too late, that their fabricated identities are a real liability. Also, they don't know Valencia’s last name, let alone Lucia's. They can hardly blame the staff for calling the NYPD.
Suddenly the splintered group is on the run from both the Russian mob and the police, dodging bad guys and do-gooders while trying to find refuge in a city full of surveillance cameras—all without killing anyone. That is, until Zmeya captures Sara and Bennett, and Mark is ready to throw his sobriety out the window.
Assassins Anonymous isn't just a weekly recovery meeting for reformed killers—it's also a family.
When Valencia receives troubling news that her brother has gone missing, she wants rush off to LA to find him. But she can’t bring her baby girl, Lucia. Enter the other members of Assassins Anonymous—Mark, Astrid, and Booker, who offer to watch the toddler while she's gone. After all, they're three of the deadliest, most highly skilled people on the planet; what could go wrong?
Turns out, a lot. Shortly after Valencia leaves, Mark is summoned to the lair of Zmeya, a Russian mob boss calling in a deadly favor—she wants him to kill Astrid, his protege and friend. Mark refuses, but Zmeya reveals that she knows the identity of Mark’s ex-girlfriend . . . and his son. Either Astrid goes, or they do.
Meanwhile, Lucia spikes a dangerously high fever, and when Booker and Astrid take her to urgent care, they realize too late, that their fabricated identities are a real liability. Also, they don't know Valencia’s last name, let alone Lucia's. They can hardly blame the staff for calling the NYPD.
Suddenly the splintered group is on the run from both the Russian mob and the police, dodging bad guys and do-gooders while trying to find refuge in a city full of surveillance cameras—all without killing anyone. That is, until Zmeya captures Sara and Bennett, and Mark is ready to throw his sobriety out the window.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published June 16, 2026
About the author
Rob Hart
58 books1,168 followersRob Hart is the author of the USA TODAY bestseller ASSASSINS ANONYMOUS. He also wrote THE PARADOX HOTEL, which was nominated for. Lambda Literary Award, as well as THE WAREHOUSE, which has been sold in more than 20 countries. He also wrote the Ash McKenna crime series, the short story collection TAKE-OUT, the novella SCOTT FREE with James Patterson, and, with Alex Segura, the comic book BLOOD OATH and the novel DARK SPACE.
His short stories have been published widely, including “Due on Batuu,” set in the Star Wars universe, which appeared in FROM A CERTAIN POINT OF VIEW: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, and "Take-Out," which appeared in BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES 2018.
He’s worked as a political reporter, the communications director for a politician, and a commissioner for the city of New York. He is the former publisher at MysteriousPress.com and class director at LitReactor. He lives in Jersey City.
His short stories have been published widely, including “Due on Batuu,” set in the Star Wars universe, which appeared in FROM A CERTAIN POINT OF VIEW: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, and "Take-Out," which appeared in BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES 2018.
He’s worked as a political reporter, the communications director for a politician, and a commissioner for the city of New York. He is the former publisher at MysteriousPress.com and class director at LitReactor. He lives in Jersey City.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 216 reviews
June 23, 2026
One thing you can take away from this book is that a child spiking a fever will absolutely ruin your whole day/ week😅 I SPEAK FROM EXPERIENCE 😭
This may be odd to say, but this series about assassins in a recovery group called Assassin's Anonymous is so comforting to me😅
Mark continues to be such a complex character.. he killed more than 100 people but.. I can fix him😌 If you like the John Wick movies, you will love this series! Book 1 continues to be my favorite but this was very entertaining as well!
Excited for the next installment and possibly an upcoming movie adaptation????
___________________________________________________________
pre-read
MARK IS BACK LET'S GOOOOOO!!
This may be odd to say, but this series about assassins in a recovery group called Assassin's Anonymous is so comforting to me😅
Mark continues to be such a complex character.. he killed more than 100 people but.. I can fix him😌 If you like the John Wick movies, you will love this series! Book 1 continues to be my favorite but this was very entertaining as well!
Excited for the next installment and possibly an upcoming movie adaptation????
___________________________________________________________
pre-read
MARK IS BACK LET'S GOOOOOO!!
June 17, 2026
I really enjoy this suspense series with its unique concept: professional assassins who want to give up that life and enter an AA-type program. It has drama and excitement and lots of heart. I highly recommend the series for some entertaining summer reading but do start with book #1, Assassins Anonymous, for the full character and plot development.
Many thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an arc of this new thriller.
Many thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an arc of this new thriller.
June 28, 2026
In this third installment of the Assassin’s Anonymous group, several of the members are tasked with babysitting a toddler. Soon, following a series of poor decisions and dumb mistakes, the entire gang of former hitmen find themselves pursued by the police and an assortment of Russian gangsters. As the noose around them tightens, this unique 12-step group begins looking for a way that they can keep out of trouble without losing their sobriety by killing someone.
While I enjoyed the first part of this novel, I felt it began to drag a little before the book’s midpoint. Indeed, every chapter seemed to end with the roof caving in on the 12-step protagonists; and, then, miraculously, there would be some sort of “escape door” appearing out of nowhere. Aside from the beer truck that whisked several of them around an NYPD city dragnet, there was the unexpected merchant ship that took the same group to safer ground up the coast, as well as a secret tunnel under an apartment that led to Chinatown. All in all, this predictable scenario took away from the overall story.
Despite enjoying the first two books of this series, I found the “Three Hitmen” to be a more tedious read.
While I enjoyed the first part of this novel, I felt it began to drag a little before the book’s midpoint. Indeed, every chapter seemed to end with the roof caving in on the 12-step protagonists; and, then, miraculously, there would be some sort of “escape door” appearing out of nowhere. Aside from the beer truck that whisked several of them around an NYPD city dragnet, there was the unexpected merchant ship that took the same group to safer ground up the coast, as well as a secret tunnel under an apartment that led to Chinatown. All in all, this predictable scenario took away from the overall story.
Despite enjoying the first two books of this series, I found the “Three Hitmen” to be a more tedious read.
June 3, 2026
Long live Kitty Smalls!
April 24, 2026
⋆˙⟡ ── ʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ 5★
ⓘ 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘙𝘊.
This was so good! I read this in one sitting. A quick, easy, action-packed, high stakes, suspenseful, thriller that keeps you on your toes. I didn’t realize this was the third book in a series, but you really don’t even need to read the first two to understand the characters or the story.
The concept of a group of reformed assassins in an “alcoholic’s anonymous” type setting is actually funny, but it’s also a nice way of exploring how people aren’t just who they appear to be on the surface. While I don’t know the growth these characters have gone through since the beginning of the series, it’s not hard to see that they have. The POV ping pongs between two of the characters (Astrid and Mark), but it’s not hard to keep up with at all. In fact, it keeps you engaged to the story as a whole.
ⓘ 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘙𝘊.
This was so good! I read this in one sitting. A quick, easy, action-packed, high stakes, suspenseful, thriller that keeps you on your toes. I didn’t realize this was the third book in a series, but you really don’t even need to read the first two to understand the characters or the story.
The concept of a group of reformed assassins in an “alcoholic’s anonymous” type setting is actually funny, but it’s also a nice way of exploring how people aren’t just who they appear to be on the surface. While I don’t know the growth these characters have gone through since the beginning of the series, it’s not hard to see that they have. The POV ping pongs between two of the characters (Astrid and Mark), but it’s not hard to keep up with at all. In fact, it keeps you engaged to the story as a whole.
July 3, 2026
Absolute banger of a book! My favorite of the series so far, and that is saying a lot because I’ve loved them all. The characters were fabulous as always, the plot was exciting, and I just couldn’t put the thing down. The subject is dark, but the humor and heart throughout make this series so very readable. In fact, I read it in one sitting, and cannot wait for the next book! At this point, Rob Hart can just take all my money, really.
July 27, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley and GP Putnam’s Sons for a free review copy.
This is the third book in the Assassins Anonymous series. The series follows Mark and a group of friends who are ex-assassins committed to a life without killing. You don’t have to read the previous books to enjoy this one, but I do recommend it. The relationships between the characters have strengthened due to the high stress situations they experience together.
This story is told in first person alternating chapters between Mark and Astrid. Fellow Assassin’s Anonymous member Valencia has received a message that her brother is in trouble with a bad crowd in LA and she needs to go help him, but she doesn’t have childcare for her toddler, Lucia. Mark volunteers himself as well as Astrid and Booker to look after Lucia while she takes care of business. Things blow up when Mark has an old favor called in by a Russian mob boss while Astrid and Booker take a feverish Lucia to urgent care without key information about her family which leads to the staff calling the cops on them believing they kidnapped the child.
Once again, the members of Assassins Anonymous are under attack on all fronts and now they have a toddler to protect in their midst along with their sobriety. It’s a fast-paced adventure through the streets of New York City and beyond, and it will require the members of this group to use all their skills to make it out alive, toddler and all. I love the camaraderie of this group. Their extreme experiences and pasts give them a special connection to see them through highly charged situations.
Recommended for the fast-paced entertaining story and the fun characters.
This is the third book in the Assassins Anonymous series. The series follows Mark and a group of friends who are ex-assassins committed to a life without killing. You don’t have to read the previous books to enjoy this one, but I do recommend it. The relationships between the characters have strengthened due to the high stress situations they experience together.
This story is told in first person alternating chapters between Mark and Astrid. Fellow Assassin’s Anonymous member Valencia has received a message that her brother is in trouble with a bad crowd in LA and she needs to go help him, but she doesn’t have childcare for her toddler, Lucia. Mark volunteers himself as well as Astrid and Booker to look after Lucia while she takes care of business. Things blow up when Mark has an old favor called in by a Russian mob boss while Astrid and Booker take a feverish Lucia to urgent care without key information about her family which leads to the staff calling the cops on them believing they kidnapped the child.
Once again, the members of Assassins Anonymous are under attack on all fronts and now they have a toddler to protect in their midst along with their sobriety. It’s a fast-paced adventure through the streets of New York City and beyond, and it will require the members of this group to use all their skills to make it out alive, toddler and all. I love the camaraderie of this group. Their extreme experiences and pasts give them a special connection to see them through highly charged situations.
Recommended for the fast-paced entertaining story and the fun characters.
June 21, 2026
★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2 (rounded up)
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader. If you like this post, you might like others on that site. Consider checking it out!
---
What's Three Hitmen and a Baby About?
After the events of The Medusa Protocol, things have really settled down for the members of the recovery group. Up until the events of this novel, of course. Valencia gets word of some family trouble in California, and she needs to go help—but she can't take her three-year-old with her. So Mark, Booker, and Astrid, her "uncles" (yes, even Astrid—Lucia's not so great with gender concepts), volunteer to watch her. How hard could it be?
Spoken like people who haven't spent that much time on their own with a toddler. Incidentally, 12-Step rules or not. If you're going to watch someone's child for a few days—you'd better know their last name. Our trio learns that the hard way. I'll leave it at that.
At the same time, one debt that Mark owes a Russian mobster becomes due. They (on behalf of someone else) want Astrid dead. And who better to take care of that than her friend, Mark. They don't care that Mark isn't killing anymore, and they'd care even less to learn that Mark was her sponsor. And you don't have to be a Friend of Bill to know that the relationship between sponsor and sponsee isn't supposed to be ended with a murder. Then again, the mobster knows about Mark's ex- and their child. So, he does have two compelling reasons to throw his sobriety out the window.
All in all, these three (ex-)hitman have quite the struggle.
Why did I pick this up? Why did I keep reading?
I can't imagine stopping this series now. When the publicist emailed me about the book, I jumped on it without thinking.
I kept going because the story wouldn't let me go. We get the comedy of these (former) professional killers being utterly inept when it comes to taking care of a toddler. And then this between-a-rock-and-a-hard-place that Mark finds himself in.
What's the Underlying Theme?
This book is about a couple of things at the core—there's the found-family connection between the members of this group—and a couple of other people they've collectively added along the way. But that's something that's been part of this series from the beginning (and will almost certainly continue to be).
The other core of this book is making amends. Step 9 of Assassin's Anonymous—like all 12-Step Programs—is making amends. Now, it's impossible to make amends to those they've killed. So they've each had to come up with ways to do that. Sometimes, it's service. Sometimes, it's talking to loved ones of the victim.
Not only do we see some attempts at amends to victims. We also see the toll that not being able to make them takes on members of the group. The nightmares, the way they're haunted not by their past sins but their inability to do anything to ameliorate the situation or amend for them.
So, what did I think about Three Hitmen and a Baby?
I had a blast with this—and I'm having a hard time coming up with new things to say about this series (seriously, this would've been posted a week ago otherwise).
I do think this is slightly more successful than The Medusa Protocol overall, which is not to cast aspersions on book two. There's less globe-trotting in this book than in either previous book, but that doesn't keep the cast from being international. It just ramps up the pacing. This all happens in a much more contained period of time, keeping the pressure on throughout. There's little downtime or breathing room (and most of that involves entertaining a three-year-old).
Hart really has the balancing act between light-hearted moments, soul-searing introspection/disclosure, and action down pat. The jokes about John Wick and other action films keep coming and haven't lost their punch. There's a great scene where Mark and Booker talk about their preferred entertainment and critique action tropes that I've read at least three times, just to watch Hart fill out these characters a bit (particularly Booker, we know Mark well enough now).
The way this one resolved was rewarding both plot-wise and character-wise, and did set up book four in a pretty solid manner, too.
This one really shouldn't be missed, my friends/readers/utter strangers who happen to see this.
Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Putnam | G.P. Putnam’s Sons via NetGalley in exchange for this post which contains my honest opinion—thanks to both for this.
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader. If you like this post, you might like others on that site. Consider checking it out!
---
What's Three Hitmen and a Baby About?
After the events of The Medusa Protocol, things have really settled down for the members of the recovery group. Up until the events of this novel, of course. Valencia gets word of some family trouble in California, and she needs to go help—but she can't take her three-year-old with her. So Mark, Booker, and Astrid, her "uncles" (yes, even Astrid—Lucia's not so great with gender concepts), volunteer to watch her. How hard could it be?
Spoken like people who haven't spent that much time on their own with a toddler. Incidentally, 12-Step rules or not. If you're going to watch someone's child for a few days—you'd better know their last name. Our trio learns that the hard way. I'll leave it at that.
At the same time, one debt that Mark owes a Russian mobster becomes due. They (on behalf of someone else) want Astrid dead. And who better to take care of that than her friend, Mark. They don't care that Mark isn't killing anymore, and they'd care even less to learn that Mark was her sponsor. And you don't have to be a Friend of Bill to know that the relationship between sponsor and sponsee isn't supposed to be ended with a murder. Then again, the mobster knows about Mark's ex- and their child. So, he does have two compelling reasons to throw his sobriety out the window.
All in all, these three (ex-)hitman have quite the struggle.
Why did I pick this up? Why did I keep reading?
I can't imagine stopping this series now. When the publicist emailed me about the book, I jumped on it without thinking.
I kept going because the story wouldn't let me go. We get the comedy of these (former) professional killers being utterly inept when it comes to taking care of a toddler. And then this between-a-rock-and-a-hard-place that Mark finds himself in.
What's the Underlying Theme?
This book is about a couple of things at the core—there's the found-family connection between the members of this group—and a couple of other people they've collectively added along the way. But that's something that's been part of this series from the beginning (and will almost certainly continue to be).
The other core of this book is making amends. Step 9 of Assassin's Anonymous—like all 12-Step Programs—is making amends. Now, it's impossible to make amends to those they've killed. So they've each had to come up with ways to do that. Sometimes, it's service. Sometimes, it's talking to loved ones of the victim.
Not only do we see some attempts at amends to victims. We also see the toll that not being able to make them takes on members of the group. The nightmares, the way they're haunted not by their past sins but their inability to do anything to ameliorate the situation or amend for them.
So, what did I think about Three Hitmen and a Baby?
I had a blast with this—and I'm having a hard time coming up with new things to say about this series (seriously, this would've been posted a week ago otherwise).
I do think this is slightly more successful than The Medusa Protocol overall, which is not to cast aspersions on book two. There's less globe-trotting in this book than in either previous book, but that doesn't keep the cast from being international. It just ramps up the pacing. This all happens in a much more contained period of time, keeping the pressure on throughout. There's little downtime or breathing room (and most of that involves entertaining a three-year-old).
Hart really has the balancing act between light-hearted moments, soul-searing introspection/disclosure, and action down pat. The jokes about John Wick and other action films keep coming and haven't lost their punch. There's a great scene where Mark and Booker talk about their preferred entertainment and critique action tropes that I've read at least three times, just to watch Hart fill out these characters a bit (particularly Booker, we know Mark well enough now).
The way this one resolved was rewarding both plot-wise and character-wise, and did set up book four in a pretty solid manner, too.
This one really shouldn't be missed, my friends/readers/utter strangers who happen to see this.
Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Putnam | G.P. Putnam’s Sons via NetGalley in exchange for this post which contains my honest opinion—thanks to both for this.
July 2, 2026
I really do love this series so much. It's heartfelt in the weirdest way, as well as excellent crime fiction. You really come to love the characters with each entry, and the story beat of sobriety among killers is implemented so well.
Mr. Hart please write as many of these as publishers will allow, and please please please give us a book from Booker and Valencia's POV.
Mr. Hart please write as many of these as publishers will allow, and please please please give us a book from Booker and Valencia's POV.
July 17, 2026
A group of former assassins try to reform from a life of killing but the world isn’t content to let them be. A Russian mob boss threatens Marks family if he doesn’t agree to break his sobriety and kill Astrid. Astrid and Booker are the focus of an NYPD manhunt after a babysitting snafu. There are explosions, shoot outs (non-lethal, mostly), nail bitting escapes and a really badass net gun. It’s a wild and fast paced ride but interspersed with a lot of heart.
Mark, Booker and Astrid of the past could probably take over a small country in a weekend. They were superhero levels of badass, and I love the concept of putting guardrails on them by not allowing them to kill, then throwing circumstances at them that cause them to constantly question their sobriety. How far can they be pushed? All they want is to try and move on and be better people, but their past always comes back to haunt them. The pull to give in and take the easy way out is always present.
Some qualms. This is probably my least favorite installment of the series. Book one was my favorite and was Mark’s journey. Book two was mostly focused on Astrid but we get some Mark as well. I was hoping we would get Booker’s story in this one. We get some but the only two POV’s we get are Mark and Astrid. Mark is dealing with confronting his old life and what he could have had when seeing his family again. Astrid is struggling with her own family loss, being reminded of Chea, the girl she raised then watch die. It’s a lot of guilt and shame, which is what addiction can be, but the arcs in this felt like more of the same from them both. The ending feels like a fresh start though. I will absolutely be reading future installments.
Mark, Booker and Astrid of the past could probably take over a small country in a weekend. They were superhero levels of badass, and I love the concept of putting guardrails on them by not allowing them to kill, then throwing circumstances at them that cause them to constantly question their sobriety. How far can they be pushed? All they want is to try and move on and be better people, but their past always comes back to haunt them. The pull to give in and take the easy way out is always present.
Some qualms. This is probably my least favorite installment of the series. Book one was my favorite and was Mark’s journey. Book two was mostly focused on Astrid but we get some Mark as well. I was hoping we would get Booker’s story in this one. We get some but the only two POV’s we get are Mark and Astrid. Mark is dealing with confronting his old life and what he could have had when seeing his family again. Astrid is struggling with her own family loss, being reminded of Chea, the girl she raised then watch die. It’s a lot of guilt and shame, which is what addiction can be, but the arcs in this felt like more of the same from them both. The ending feels like a fresh start though. I will absolutely be reading future installments.
July 5, 2026
Still a fun series but this one didn’t hit the same way as the others. There was just a lot of running around/escaping and kind of a plot salad. Still good, but not the best.
June 16, 2026
Read Completed 6/16/26 | 3 stars | Book #128 of 2026
Well, this just wasn't very thrilling for me. It almost felt like two different books, the first half being about babysitting and running from the police, and the second half digging into a deeper plot, but they really don't have anything to do with each other. The sequels in this series really haven't had the charm that the first book did, and I almost wish each book was about a different character here.
I'm honestly getting a little tired of these stories and this plot because it's really not going anywhere. For as high stakes as this was, I wasn't getting a lot of emotional investment about it. We really did not need Astrid's POV in here whatsoever and it was boring. I would have rather heard from Booker than these two again because they're not deep enough to carry these books anymore.
Well, this just wasn't very thrilling for me. It almost felt like two different books, the first half being about babysitting and running from the police, and the second half digging into a deeper plot, but they really don't have anything to do with each other. The sequels in this series really haven't had the charm that the first book did, and I almost wish each book was about a different character here.
I'm honestly getting a little tired of these stories and this plot because it's really not going anywhere. For as high stakes as this was, I wasn't getting a lot of emotional investment about it. We really did not need Astrid's POV in here whatsoever and it was boring. I would have rather heard from Booker than these two again because they're not deep enough to carry these books anymore.
July 18, 2026
Three Hitmen and a Baby is one of those rare novels that perfectly balances suspense, humor, and heart. What begins as a story about three hardened assassins unexpectedly caring for an infant quickly evolves into a surprisingly touching tale about redemption, loyalty, and the families we never expect to find.
The book's greatest strength is its characters. Each hitman has a distinct personality, making their interactions both believable and entertaining. Their attempts to navigate diapers, bottles, and sleepless nights are laugh-out-loud funny, especially given their otherwise deadly professions. Yet beneath the comedy lies genuine emotional growth as the characters slowly discover that protecting an innocent child may be the most important mission of their lives.
The pacing is excellent, moving effortlessly between high-stakes action and heartfelt moments. Just when the story seems ready to become sentimental, it delivers another thrilling confrontation or clever twist. The dialogue is sharp, witty, and often surprisingly moving, giving each character a unique voice.
What makes this novel especially memorable is its ability to blend genres. It's an action thriller, a comedy, and an emotional drama all at once, without any one element overshadowing the others. Readers who enjoy fast-paced stories with memorable characters and plenty of humor will find it difficult to put down.
Overall, Three Hitmen and a Baby is an entertaining, original, and emotionally satisfying read. It proves that even the most unlikely people can find redemption and purpose in the most unexpected circumstances. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a novel that delivers excitement, laughs, and genuine heart from beginning to end. It's the kind of book that stays with you long after you've turned the final page.
The book's greatest strength is its characters. Each hitman has a distinct personality, making their interactions both believable and entertaining. Their attempts to navigate diapers, bottles, and sleepless nights are laugh-out-loud funny, especially given their otherwise deadly professions. Yet beneath the comedy lies genuine emotional growth as the characters slowly discover that protecting an innocent child may be the most important mission of their lives.
The pacing is excellent, moving effortlessly between high-stakes action and heartfelt moments. Just when the story seems ready to become sentimental, it delivers another thrilling confrontation or clever twist. The dialogue is sharp, witty, and often surprisingly moving, giving each character a unique voice.
What makes this novel especially memorable is its ability to blend genres. It's an action thriller, a comedy, and an emotional drama all at once, without any one element overshadowing the others. Readers who enjoy fast-paced stories with memorable characters and plenty of humor will find it difficult to put down.
Overall, Three Hitmen and a Baby is an entertaining, original, and emotionally satisfying read. It proves that even the most unlikely people can find redemption and purpose in the most unexpected circumstances. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a novel that delivers excitement, laughs, and genuine heart from beginning to end. It's the kind of book that stays with you long after you've turned the final page.
August 18, 2026
Jacking up to 4.5 ✨
This is book 3 in Rob Harts Assassins Anonymous series. It was a humdinger! Extremely fast-paced, whip smart and extremely funny. It's a high-stakes thriller with a lot of dark comedy.
Basically, this series is about a bunch of very lethal assassins and they've all decided at one point or another in their chaotic deadly life that they would like to go straight and not kill people anymore. So they start a recovery group for reformed Killers.
Unfortunately, even though they're all trying to go straight and by going straight, it means that they will no longer use deadly force against anyone, they will never murder anyone again, but they've all made enough enemies during their life of deadly deeds and these enemies are still coming after them. So they have to come up with pretty ingenious ideas to keep each other safe. All the while not killing the people that are coming after them because that would break one of their codes. Kind of like breaking a killer's sobriety.
So this third novel in the series involves a Russian mob boss that is calling in a favor of Mark aka Pale Horse who is literally the most lethal assassin on the planet. At the same time, Mark and two other of the reformed assassins are babysitting a very small little girl who just happens to be the daughter of a very close friend of theirs. That really throws a wrench into everything. Anyway, this was really an enjoyable novel, a really quick read and I am looking forward to the fourth installment of this series.
This is book 3 in Rob Harts Assassins Anonymous series. It was a humdinger! Extremely fast-paced, whip smart and extremely funny. It's a high-stakes thriller with a lot of dark comedy.
Basically, this series is about a bunch of very lethal assassins and they've all decided at one point or another in their chaotic deadly life that they would like to go straight and not kill people anymore. So they start a recovery group for reformed Killers.
Unfortunately, even though they're all trying to go straight and by going straight, it means that they will no longer use deadly force against anyone, they will never murder anyone again, but they've all made enough enemies during their life of deadly deeds and these enemies are still coming after them. So they have to come up with pretty ingenious ideas to keep each other safe. All the while not killing the people that are coming after them because that would break one of their codes. Kind of like breaking a killer's sobriety.
So this third novel in the series involves a Russian mob boss that is calling in a favor of Mark aka Pale Horse who is literally the most lethal assassin on the planet. At the same time, Mark and two other of the reformed assassins are babysitting a very small little girl who just happens to be the daughter of a very close friend of theirs. That really throws a wrench into everything. Anyway, this was really an enjoyable novel, a really quick read and I am looking forward to the fourth installment of this series.
August 20, 2026
This is the third book in this series and I love it. It’s about a group of assassins that enter an AA program. But because of their former jobs things don’t always go to plan and there are struggles with if/should they maintain there sobriety. It has found family and each character has grown since the first book. New characters have been introduced and it still feels so fresh.
Can’t wait for book 4! I also hope we get to see more of Valencia.
Can’t wait for book 4! I also hope we get to see more of Valencia.
July 24, 2026
Book 4. June 2027. HURRY. UP. PLEASE.
August 6, 2026
I couldn't put it down!
August 3, 2026
Such a fun series with great characters. Done in one sitting on a rainy Sunday. Time well spent.
July 10, 2026
Engagement/Enjoyment: 3.5/5
Plot/Structure: 3/5
Character Dev: 3.5/5
Writing Style: 3/5
Originality: 3/5
Pace: 4.5/5
Recommend: 3.25/5
This series is growing old for me, although it is an enjoyable candied apple - not the best for you but savors the palate! Not very original but still a somewhat entertaining very quick read.
Plot/Structure: 3/5
Character Dev: 3.5/5
Writing Style: 3/5
Originality: 3/5
Pace: 4.5/5
Recommend: 3.25/5
This series is growing old for me, although it is an enjoyable candied apple - not the best for you but savors the palate! Not very original but still a somewhat entertaining very quick read.
May 30, 2026
This very fast paced third entry in the Assassins Anonymous series almost seems to be two stories in one book. The first story, which deals with the baby, is rather slapstick and, honestly, I think is only there because of the title and as filler. The second story, having to do with the deal Mark made in a previous book, is much more interesting and moves the group’s story forward nicely. Because the author is extremely talented at giving the reader both brief yet thorough background information, this book can also be considered a standalone. I’m definitely looking forward to the next book!
My copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review it.
My copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review it.
June 17, 2026
This is book three of the Assassins Anonymous series and I love these books. They are so funny. This time our assassins are tasked with babysitting Valencia’s toddler for the weekend. What could go possibly wrong? As usual, someone is out to kill someone and Mark and the gang need to deal with it without killing anybody. These books are entertaining and fun to read. Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for an advance copy.
August 12, 2026
Thank you to #Putnam and #NetGalley for the digital ARC of #ThreeHitmanandaBaby. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.
This series continues to entertain me. "Recovering" assassins Mark, Astrid and Booker are caring for toddler Lucia while her mom is out of town. Within hours, things go awry. Mark is summoned by the Russian mob to cash in on a 'favor'. Then Astrid and Booker are accused of kidnapping when they take Lucia to the urgent care. Things continue to escalate until the whole team comes together to protect one of their own.
I love the redemption and "found family" aspects of this series. The characters are obviously flawed, but they are trying hard to make amends and the way they support each other is touching. If you haven't started this series, I highly recommend it.
This series continues to entertain me. "Recovering" assassins Mark, Astrid and Booker are caring for toddler Lucia while her mom is out of town. Within hours, things go awry. Mark is summoned by the Russian mob to cash in on a 'favor'. Then Astrid and Booker are accused of kidnapping when they take Lucia to the urgent care. Things continue to escalate until the whole team comes together to protect one of their own.
I love the redemption and "found family" aspects of this series. The characters are obviously flawed, but they are trying hard to make amends and the way they support each other is touching. If you haven't started this series, I highly recommend it.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
4.5 stars
The nitty-gritty: Mark, Astrid and the gang return in the third installment of Rob Hart's high octane Assassins Anonymous series. Get ready for a wild ride!
Once again, Rob Hart hits it out of the park with this third installment of his riotously fun, high stakes spy thriller series. I always know I’m in for a good time when I start one of these books, and Three Hitmen and a Baby was no exception. I’ll try to make this as spoiler free as possible, although I might have to mention a few events from the previous books. As you can tell by the title, this installment features Valencia’s baby Lucia—who isn’t really a baby anymore—and Hart does a brilliant job of using her to create some very funny situations.
The story picks up three years after the ending of The Medusa Protocol. The members of Assassins Anonymous—Mark, Astrid, Booker, and Valencia, all former assassins, CIA operatives and spies, who have decided to leave their old lives behind and stop killing—are gathering for their weekly AA meeting in the very secure basement of the Church of St. Jude in Chelsea, New York. Everything seems to be status quo, until Valencia finds out that her brother is in trouble. She has no choice but to help him, and so she decides to leave little three-year-old Lucia in the capable hands of her friends for a few days.
At the same time, Mark gets a disturbing text from an old adversary and must drop everything to meet with her. This leaves Astrid and Booker to watch over Lucia, who suddenly comes down with a high fever. The two panic and take her to urgent care, but a series of misunderstandings and bumbling explanations put them in hot water—the hospital staff thinks Lucia has been kidnapped—and from there, Astrid and Booker must figure out how to evade the police and keep Lucia safe. Not to mention the fact that Valencia will kill them if anything happens to her.
That’s the set-up in a nutshell, and the rest of the story is full of hijinks, evading the police, near misses and very dangerous situations. It’s worth mentioning that although the characters have committed to turning their lives around, each one is still a wanted man or woman, which is why many of them use fake names and try to stay under the radar as much as possible. Mark in particular was one of the most dangerous assassins in the world when he was working for the Agency. Known as the Pale Horse, he not only has a reputation as a brutal killer, but he’s sort of famous for it in certain circles. Getting caught by one of the many organizations who are after them (including a group of deadly Russian mobsters) could be devastating for their loved ones, who end up being used as bargaining chips in the story.
If you love tech toys and spy gear, you’ll have a blast with this series. Mark has not only rigged the church basement with a high tech security system, but he has a safe house that no one knows about but him. You might wonder how a group of ex-assassins, who still find themselves in dangerous situations, manage to avoid killing but are still able to best the bad guys. Hart comes up with some awesome scenarios that explain just this, including a stash of non lethal but very effective weapons that they have at their disposal. One of my favorite parts of the story is when the gang is suiting up for a showdown and choosing their weapons, arguing over who gets to the use the large target net gun or the flash-bang grenades, lol.
One of the series’ strongest elements is the humor. Hart perfectly melds life-and-death situations with laugh-out-loud dialog, striking the perfect balance and creating a multilayered story that was not only entertaining but emotionally satisfying as well. Each character has a nicely developed backstory, what made them become assassins in the first place and what happened to change that—and if you read the first two books you’ll understand their motivations—and this makes Hart’s assassins extremely relatable and sympathetic. Mark has killed hundreds (if not thousands) of people, and yet the reader is rooting for him to make it out alive.
If you haven’t started this series, please go back and read Assassins Anonymous and The Medusa Protocol before you pick up Three Hitmen and a Baby, although Hart does include some brief sections that will catch up new readers. If I have any complaints about this book, it’s that I didn’t think these recaps were necessary. I understand that the publisher is trying to hook new readers by making book three easy to jump into, but rehashing the “twelve steps” of AA and revisiting Astrid’s emotional journey, which was the focus of The Medusa Protocol, made me roll my eyes. You will miss so much by starting this book first, trust me.
The final showdown is tense and thrilling, and both Mark and Astid have a couple of heartbreaking decisions to make at the end. It seems that Hart wrapped everything up—I absolutely loved the way Three Hitmen and a Baby ended! However, I can’t help but think there’s also a bit of a possible lead-in to the next book, if indeed the author has one planned. I swear I’ll never get tired of these characters and their crazy lives, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed for more.
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
The nitty-gritty: Mark, Astrid and the gang return in the third installment of Rob Hart's high octane Assassins Anonymous series. Get ready for a wild ride!
Once again, Rob Hart hits it out of the park with this third installment of his riotously fun, high stakes spy thriller series. I always know I’m in for a good time when I start one of these books, and Three Hitmen and a Baby was no exception. I’ll try to make this as spoiler free as possible, although I might have to mention a few events from the previous books. As you can tell by the title, this installment features Valencia’s baby Lucia—who isn’t really a baby anymore—and Hart does a brilliant job of using her to create some very funny situations.
The story picks up three years after the ending of The Medusa Protocol. The members of Assassins Anonymous—Mark, Astrid, Booker, and Valencia, all former assassins, CIA operatives and spies, who have decided to leave their old lives behind and stop killing—are gathering for their weekly AA meeting in the very secure basement of the Church of St. Jude in Chelsea, New York. Everything seems to be status quo, until Valencia finds out that her brother is in trouble. She has no choice but to help him, and so she decides to leave little three-year-old Lucia in the capable hands of her friends for a few days.
At the same time, Mark gets a disturbing text from an old adversary and must drop everything to meet with her. This leaves Astrid and Booker to watch over Lucia, who suddenly comes down with a high fever. The two panic and take her to urgent care, but a series of misunderstandings and bumbling explanations put them in hot water—the hospital staff thinks Lucia has been kidnapped—and from there, Astrid and Booker must figure out how to evade the police and keep Lucia safe. Not to mention the fact that Valencia will kill them if anything happens to her.
That’s the set-up in a nutshell, and the rest of the story is full of hijinks, evading the police, near misses and very dangerous situations. It’s worth mentioning that although the characters have committed to turning their lives around, each one is still a wanted man or woman, which is why many of them use fake names and try to stay under the radar as much as possible. Mark in particular was one of the most dangerous assassins in the world when he was working for the Agency. Known as the Pale Horse, he not only has a reputation as a brutal killer, but he’s sort of famous for it in certain circles. Getting caught by one of the many organizations who are after them (including a group of deadly Russian mobsters) could be devastating for their loved ones, who end up being used as bargaining chips in the story.
If you love tech toys and spy gear, you’ll have a blast with this series. Mark has not only rigged the church basement with a high tech security system, but he has a safe house that no one knows about but him. You might wonder how a group of ex-assassins, who still find themselves in dangerous situations, manage to avoid killing but are still able to best the bad guys. Hart comes up with some awesome scenarios that explain just this, including a stash of non lethal but very effective weapons that they have at their disposal. One of my favorite parts of the story is when the gang is suiting up for a showdown and choosing their weapons, arguing over who gets to the use the large target net gun or the flash-bang grenades, lol.
One of the series’ strongest elements is the humor. Hart perfectly melds life-and-death situations with laugh-out-loud dialog, striking the perfect balance and creating a multilayered story that was not only entertaining but emotionally satisfying as well. Each character has a nicely developed backstory, what made them become assassins in the first place and what happened to change that—and if you read the first two books you’ll understand their motivations—and this makes Hart’s assassins extremely relatable and sympathetic. Mark has killed hundreds (if not thousands) of people, and yet the reader is rooting for him to make it out alive.
If you haven’t started this series, please go back and read Assassins Anonymous and The Medusa Protocol before you pick up Three Hitmen and a Baby, although Hart does include some brief sections that will catch up new readers. If I have any complaints about this book, it’s that I didn’t think these recaps were necessary. I understand that the publisher is trying to hook new readers by making book three easy to jump into, but rehashing the “twelve steps” of AA and revisiting Astrid’s emotional journey, which was the focus of The Medusa Protocol, made me roll my eyes. You will miss so much by starting this book first, trust me.
The final showdown is tense and thrilling, and both Mark and Astid have a couple of heartbreaking decisions to make at the end. It seems that Hart wrapped everything up—I absolutely loved the way Three Hitmen and a Baby ended! However, I can’t help but think there’s also a bit of a possible lead-in to the next book, if indeed the author has one planned. I swear I’ll never get tired of these characters and their crazy lives, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed for more.
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
My thanks to NetGalley and Putnam Books for an advance copy for the latest entry in this popular series about a group of professional assassins trying to give up the life, to care for others the way they used to eliminate people, and those outside forces that keep trying to bring them back to their old life.
Action heroes have a lot of tropes, tropes that never really are deviated from. They are stoic, usually to hide uncertain accents. They are usually men, though the fairer sex is starting to make some strong inroads. They either don't work, are retired, or or close to retiring, though one action hero was a chef. Violence is always present, in their past, their future, and their present. A few try to renounce their actions, but few work on it as hard as the characters in this book. And few have to put up with so many people trying to bring them back to the world they were so good at. Three Hitmen and a Baby by Rob Hart is the third book in the Assassins Anonymous series, about a group with a particular set of skills trying to make a better future for themselves, even as outside forces and good old American health care make this extremely difficult.
Mark was once one of the preeminent killers on the planet, a man whose name was used by other killers to scare each other. Now Mark is working to make restitution, mostly to himself, and help others. Mark runs the support group Assassins Anonymous, where killers can come, not be judged and helped to put away the sword, drink coffee and work on themselves. Astrid, a killer probably better than Mark, but you know sexism, Booker, a basher Natalia are part of the support group, a family who looks out for each other. Natalia has some business on the West coast, a brother in trouble but has a daughter Lucia, who she can't leave behind. The others offer to watch Lucia, thinking what is the worse that could happen. Lucia gets sick, and a hospital visit, with a child of unknown origin and dodgy id's soon puts them in the sights of law enforcement. At the same time Mark is approached by Russian gangsters with a simple demand. Put Astrid down, or the family he left behind will be eliminated. Pursued both forces on both sides, the group tries their best to live up to their ideals, but the specter of violence hangs over them, and that specter is getting real close.
I really love this series, and much of it is because Rob Hart is a very gifted writer. Hart can set a scene, drop in action from the best of the eighties, and break your heart all in the same paragraph. Hart has a very good grasp of these characters, what they are capable of, and what lengths they will go to protect each other. More importantly what they won't do. It's easy to writer about violence, but to write about the effect on the person, the affect on the community of people around that person is hard. Hart does this so well, without giving up suspense, or narrative drive. One is forced to keep reading just to see what is coming, with a good balance of points of view, and different narratives.
A series that is easy to recommend. One that should be streaming by now. Good characters, a great idea, and a serious effort not to make things easy by blowing everything up. Hart has really mastered his own kind of thriller, and I can't wait for more.
Action heroes have a lot of tropes, tropes that never really are deviated from. They are stoic, usually to hide uncertain accents. They are usually men, though the fairer sex is starting to make some strong inroads. They either don't work, are retired, or or close to retiring, though one action hero was a chef. Violence is always present, in their past, their future, and their present. A few try to renounce their actions, but few work on it as hard as the characters in this book. And few have to put up with so many people trying to bring them back to the world they were so good at. Three Hitmen and a Baby by Rob Hart is the third book in the Assassins Anonymous series, about a group with a particular set of skills trying to make a better future for themselves, even as outside forces and good old American health care make this extremely difficult.
Mark was once one of the preeminent killers on the planet, a man whose name was used by other killers to scare each other. Now Mark is working to make restitution, mostly to himself, and help others. Mark runs the support group Assassins Anonymous, where killers can come, not be judged and helped to put away the sword, drink coffee and work on themselves. Astrid, a killer probably better than Mark, but you know sexism, Booker, a basher Natalia are part of the support group, a family who looks out for each other. Natalia has some business on the West coast, a brother in trouble but has a daughter Lucia, who she can't leave behind. The others offer to watch Lucia, thinking what is the worse that could happen. Lucia gets sick, and a hospital visit, with a child of unknown origin and dodgy id's soon puts them in the sights of law enforcement. At the same time Mark is approached by Russian gangsters with a simple demand. Put Astrid down, or the family he left behind will be eliminated. Pursued both forces on both sides, the group tries their best to live up to their ideals, but the specter of violence hangs over them, and that specter is getting real close.
I really love this series, and much of it is because Rob Hart is a very gifted writer. Hart can set a scene, drop in action from the best of the eighties, and break your heart all in the same paragraph. Hart has a very good grasp of these characters, what they are capable of, and what lengths they will go to protect each other. More importantly what they won't do. It's easy to writer about violence, but to write about the effect on the person, the affect on the community of people around that person is hard. Hart does this so well, without giving up suspense, or narrative drive. One is forced to keep reading just to see what is coming, with a good balance of points of view, and different narratives.
A series that is easy to recommend. One that should be streaming by now. Good characters, a great idea, and a serious effort not to make things easy by blowing everything up. Hart has really mastered his own kind of thriller, and I can't wait for more.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Welcome to Assassins Anonymous, where anyone is welcome as long as you have a desire to stop. Come for the therapy, stay for the camaraderie. In Rob Hart’s Three Hitmen and a Baby, we follow our group of reformed assassins trying to live day by day as their former life is following them around every corner and tries to grab them back in its clutches.
It’s been three years since the incidents of The Medusa Protocol. The group still meets weekly, and they share with each other with whatever is fogging their mind. When the group is tasked with watching Valencia’s child Lucia while she deals with family issues, what was supposed to be an easy task turns into a nightmare where their particular set of skills are their only hope in getting them out of this debacle. Meanwhile, Mark has to deal with someone from his former life cashing in on a deal made years ago. Will our group make it, or better yet, will they make it while their enemies remain alive?
Like the rest of the books in this series, it’s always fun to dive into the human condition at a philosophical and psychological level, and see how they’re coping with their addiction. Despite being out of the game, they still struggle with thoughts of their former life and if what they’re doing is enough, or even doing anything. While they use humor as a defense mechanism, which leads to some great banter, they’re trying their best to keep their walls up, otherwise it’ll come crashing down. The harder they try, the more they need each other.
What helps is that everyone has made Lucia the center of their world. While she is only three, she has them wrapped around their fingers, and they're willing to protect her, no matter the costs. Also, Lucia's love for Bluey, and later Mark's, was appreciated, considering that a children's television show has some big life themes being explained and experienced by cartoon Australian dogs. It may be a show for children, but everyone, regardless of age, can learn the life lessons they impart.
In this story, it’s amazing to see how their problems could have been easily remedied, which is pointed out by several other characters later. It's also interesting to see how much their assassin life is still a part of them. They can leave that lifestyle behind, but it is just as much a part of them as anything else. The way they dissect everything going on around them and plan for future scenarios is fun to read. Everything is so fast paced for them that sometimes, when there is nothing happening, their intrusive thoughts come back to haunt them.
While the events at the end may be a bit emotional, I still don’t think that this group will be deterred by it. If anything, they’ll keep going to their meetings, and wonder what happens next. To quote Dominic Toretto from the Fast and Furious franchise, "You don't turn your back on family, even when they do." I like to think that Mark would appreciate this quote, considering he likes watching movies.
I received an advance reader copy of this book from Rob Hart and Putnam Books via NetGalley for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. My intentions are to write feedback that reflects my genuine thoughts and is written with the book’s genre and target audience in mind. I aim to review fairly and respectfully, focusing on the story’s purpose.
It’s been three years since the incidents of The Medusa Protocol. The group still meets weekly, and they share with each other with whatever is fogging their mind. When the group is tasked with watching Valencia’s child Lucia while she deals with family issues, what was supposed to be an easy task turns into a nightmare where their particular set of skills are their only hope in getting them out of this debacle. Meanwhile, Mark has to deal with someone from his former life cashing in on a deal made years ago. Will our group make it, or better yet, will they make it while their enemies remain alive?
Like the rest of the books in this series, it’s always fun to dive into the human condition at a philosophical and psychological level, and see how they’re coping with their addiction. Despite being out of the game, they still struggle with thoughts of their former life and if what they’re doing is enough, or even doing anything. While they use humor as a defense mechanism, which leads to some great banter, they’re trying their best to keep their walls up, otherwise it’ll come crashing down. The harder they try, the more they need each other.
What helps is that everyone has made Lucia the center of their world. While she is only three, she has them wrapped around their fingers, and they're willing to protect her, no matter the costs. Also, Lucia's love for Bluey, and later Mark's, was appreciated, considering that a children's television show has some big life themes being explained and experienced by cartoon Australian dogs. It may be a show for children, but everyone, regardless of age, can learn the life lessons they impart.
In this story, it’s amazing to see how their problems could have been easily remedied, which is pointed out by several other characters later. It's also interesting to see how much their assassin life is still a part of them. They can leave that lifestyle behind, but it is just as much a part of them as anything else. The way they dissect everything going on around them and plan for future scenarios is fun to read. Everything is so fast paced for them that sometimes, when there is nothing happening, their intrusive thoughts come back to haunt them.
While the events at the end may be a bit emotional, I still don’t think that this group will be deterred by it. If anything, they’ll keep going to their meetings, and wonder what happens next. To quote Dominic Toretto from the Fast and Furious franchise, "You don't turn your back on family, even when they do." I like to think that Mark would appreciate this quote, considering he likes watching movies.
I received an advance reader copy of this book from Rob Hart and Putnam Books via NetGalley for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. My intentions are to write feedback that reflects my genuine thoughts and is written with the book’s genre and target audience in mind. I aim to review fairly and respectfully, focusing on the story’s purpose.
July 2, 2026
If you are looking for an offbeat series that combines thrills, kills and dark humor, while holding up a magnifying glass to the deeply clandestine role of a hired killer, then Rob Hart’s wonderfully entertaining Assassins Anonymous series is for you. The third and latest installment is THREE HITMEN AND A BABY, a title that I am sure Hart conceived of with tongue firmly in cheek.
Mark is the leader of the Assassins Anonymous meetings, which provide a safe place for current and former hitmen seeking to leave the life or just commiserate about their prior experiences and new challenges trying to make it in the real world. He was once known as The Pale Horse, an internationally recognized hitman of serious renown who is now struggling to stay clean of killing.
Two of Mark's protégés and mentees, Astrid and Booker, are offered the opportunity to care for Lucia, the toddler daughter of fellow group member Valencia, who gets called away after being notified that her brother has gone missing. You would think that three adults watching a child would be an easy assignment. You would be wrong. First, Mark somehow gets pulled back into a deadly war with the Russian mob in New York City, which might lead him to break his personal rule of no killing. That leaves the troubled Astrid, who is still stinging from her own mentee being killed under her watch in the previous novel, and Booker, who is not comfortable around babies, to hold down the fort.
Lucia ends up getting very sick after being put down to sleep. No one knows what to do, and since Valencia is unreachable, Astrid and Booker take her to the emergency room. Unfortunately, they do not know the child’s legal last name, they don’t have a birth certificate or proof of any family relationship, and they lack medical coverage. But they made the right decision bringing her in because she has a fever of 103.
Once Lucia gets out of treatment and her temperature drops, security and law enforcement are called as it is believed that Astrid and Booker are either kidnappers or child traffickers. They cannot afford to be brought into custody, so they grab Lucia and head out on an adventure that is intensely suspenseful and at times laugh-out-loud funny.
Meanwhile, Mark survives his initial skirmish with the Russians but now learns that they are targeting his ex-girlfriend and son. So he ushers them off to a cabin in upstate New York that has a serious security system. Believing they will be safe there, he can help Astrid and Booker evade the authorities and continue to keep Lucia safe until Valencia returns.
Unfortunately, Mark gets word that his family’s cover has been blown, and the Russians are about to grab them. He wants to take care of this on his own, but Astrid, Booker and a few others from their group will not let him do that. So they all head to the deep woods of upstate New York for a memorable showdown with some really bad killers.
THREE HITMEN AND A BABY is pure entertainment and can be enjoyed on its own without having read the prior entries in the series. If that’s the case, I can only hope that you will pick up ASSASSINS ANONYMOUS and THE MEDUSA PROTOCOL once you have finished this summer delight.
Reviewed by Ray Palen
Mark is the leader of the Assassins Anonymous meetings, which provide a safe place for current and former hitmen seeking to leave the life or just commiserate about their prior experiences and new challenges trying to make it in the real world. He was once known as The Pale Horse, an internationally recognized hitman of serious renown who is now struggling to stay clean of killing.
Two of Mark's protégés and mentees, Astrid and Booker, are offered the opportunity to care for Lucia, the toddler daughter of fellow group member Valencia, who gets called away after being notified that her brother has gone missing. You would think that three adults watching a child would be an easy assignment. You would be wrong. First, Mark somehow gets pulled back into a deadly war with the Russian mob in New York City, which might lead him to break his personal rule of no killing. That leaves the troubled Astrid, who is still stinging from her own mentee being killed under her watch in the previous novel, and Booker, who is not comfortable around babies, to hold down the fort.
Lucia ends up getting very sick after being put down to sleep. No one knows what to do, and since Valencia is unreachable, Astrid and Booker take her to the emergency room. Unfortunately, they do not know the child’s legal last name, they don’t have a birth certificate or proof of any family relationship, and they lack medical coverage. But they made the right decision bringing her in because she has a fever of 103.
Once Lucia gets out of treatment and her temperature drops, security and law enforcement are called as it is believed that Astrid and Booker are either kidnappers or child traffickers. They cannot afford to be brought into custody, so they grab Lucia and head out on an adventure that is intensely suspenseful and at times laugh-out-loud funny.
Meanwhile, Mark survives his initial skirmish with the Russians but now learns that they are targeting his ex-girlfriend and son. So he ushers them off to a cabin in upstate New York that has a serious security system. Believing they will be safe there, he can help Astrid and Booker evade the authorities and continue to keep Lucia safe until Valencia returns.
Unfortunately, Mark gets word that his family’s cover has been blown, and the Russians are about to grab them. He wants to take care of this on his own, but Astrid, Booker and a few others from their group will not let him do that. So they all head to the deep woods of upstate New York for a memorable showdown with some really bad killers.
THREE HITMEN AND A BABY is pure entertainment and can be enjoyed on its own without having read the prior entries in the series. If that’s the case, I can only hope that you will pick up ASSASSINS ANONYMOUS and THE MEDUSA PROTOCOL once you have finished this summer delight.
Reviewed by Ray Palen
July 3, 2026
I feel like this is simultaneously the best and worst book in the series so far. The concept of the book was really cool and fun: Valencia is out of town and has Booker, Astrid and Mark watch Lucia while she’s gone. However, the three of them get hunted by the NYPD because they think they kidnapped Lucia(a black dude and two white people with a Hispanic toddler who don’t know her last name). Meanwhile, Mark has Sarah and Bennett, his ex and son, threatened by the Russian mafia in an attempt to get him to kill Astrid.
The problem? The setup makes NO sense in execution. Astrid, a black market trauma surgeon, doesn’t think to give Lucia a Tylenol(the most famous over the counter fever breaker) when she gets a fever. “I was a black market trauma surgeon” and you never had a patient get a fever? Cuz that’s fairly common after a surgery, especially one done on the black market I’d imagine. Booker, former special forces, also doesn’t think of Tylenol.
The NYPD are FAR more of a threat in this book to the former two greatest assassins in the world and a former tier one operator that Mark constantly says he doesn’t know if he could beat in a fight. The NYPD get dangerously close to taking them out on more than one occasion, and it really makes me doubt just how good they really were. Especially when Mark and Astrid both evaded the Agency successfully for years. Keep in mind that the Agency is a combination of multiple international governments, agencies and conglomerate corporations. But the NYPD is just that good apparently. And the resolution to that conflict in the story is lazy at best.
Mark’s plot is a LOT more interesting. He actually has to face Sarah and Bennet, and the resolution to that is pretty heavy with major implications for the rest of the series. If this book focused only on Mark and his POV, I think I would be a lot less harsh on this book. I have no idea why Astrid is still a POV character, as all her POV chapters just rehashed her trauma from the second book, and I’m kind of getting tired of it. Astrid was a really cool and unique character in the first book up until the reveal that she was Azreal(second best assassin in the world). Her plot line in the second book was pretty cool and I like her backstory well enough(even if I feel it doesn’t make much sense with how she’s characterized in the first book, nor her dynamic with Ravi), but this book was a worse and repeated rehash of that backstory.
In the future, I’d prefer more books with Mark’s single POV(especially after the ending of this book), or some Booker POV chapters(he has the potential to be much more than just Mark’s heavy hitting, big, black best friend), or even a POV from Valencia. In fact, Valencia went to California to deal with her little brother getting involved with a gang. Ideally, this book would’ve been Mark trying to figure out how to save Sarah and Bennet without killing Astrid while the second POV dealt with Valencia struggling to get her brother out of the gang life. That seems a much more focused and better written book.
Much like the Walt Longmire series(though for very different reasons) I know not why I continue with this series. But I will continue.
The problem? The setup makes NO sense in execution. Astrid, a black market trauma surgeon, doesn’t think to give Lucia a Tylenol(the most famous over the counter fever breaker) when she gets a fever. “I was a black market trauma surgeon” and you never had a patient get a fever? Cuz that’s fairly common after a surgery, especially one done on the black market I’d imagine. Booker, former special forces, also doesn’t think of Tylenol.
The NYPD are FAR more of a threat in this book to the former two greatest assassins in the world and a former tier one operator that Mark constantly says he doesn’t know if he could beat in a fight. The NYPD get dangerously close to taking them out on more than one occasion, and it really makes me doubt just how good they really were. Especially when Mark and Astrid both evaded the Agency successfully for years. Keep in mind that the Agency is a combination of multiple international governments, agencies and conglomerate corporations. But the NYPD is just that good apparently. And the resolution to that conflict in the story is lazy at best.
Mark’s plot is a LOT more interesting. He actually has to face Sarah and Bennet, and the resolution to that is pretty heavy with major implications for the rest of the series. If this book focused only on Mark and his POV, I think I would be a lot less harsh on this book. I have no idea why Astrid is still a POV character, as all her POV chapters just rehashed her trauma from the second book, and I’m kind of getting tired of it. Astrid was a really cool and unique character in the first book up until the reveal that she was Azreal(second best assassin in the world). Her plot line in the second book was pretty cool and I like her backstory well enough(even if I feel it doesn’t make much sense with how she’s characterized in the first book, nor her dynamic with Ravi), but this book was a worse and repeated rehash of that backstory.
In the future, I’d prefer more books with Mark’s single POV(especially after the ending of this book), or some Booker POV chapters(he has the potential to be much more than just Mark’s heavy hitting, big, black best friend), or even a POV from Valencia. In fact, Valencia went to California to deal with her little brother getting involved with a gang. Ideally, this book would’ve been Mark trying to figure out how to save Sarah and Bennet without killing Astrid while the second POV dealt with Valencia struggling to get her brother out of the gang life. That seems a much more focused and better written book.
Much like the Walt Longmire series(though for very different reasons) I know not why I continue with this series. But I will continue.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Three Hit Men And A Baby is the third book in the assassins anonymous thriller series by Rob Hart. Mark, Booker and Astrid all agree to share babysitting duties with little Lucia while Valencia goes back to California to deal with family issues. The night they leave Mark leaves Booker and Astrid in his apartment as he says he has a previous engagement but refuses to say what that is. What it is is a Russian terrorist tells him that she’s calling in her favor that he owes her and all he has to do is kill Astrid. he immediately lets her know that’s not happening and this is what she says either they go or your son and his mom does. while doing that Booker and Astrid are trying to get medical attention for little Lucia, who woke up with a raging fever and throwing up. everything seems like it’s going to plan until they need her last name. their association is through HMA, where they don’t share last names in the names they do give each other may not even be the real names. This causes the nurse to be suspicious she calls the security guard and then puts a call into the police. This is why Booker Astrid and Lucia are covertly trying to make it to Booker‘s house on Staten Island. Mark sent either Sarah or Kayla because both names were used, but in the book I believe it’s Sarah though and Mark son Benton to his cabin to keep them safe unfortunately they’re not the only ones going there. when Astrid finally learns who beat Mark up she decides to slip away to deal with these people herself the last thing she wants is for them to be hurt the way Chi-Chi was something she cannot forgive herself for. The only thing is when Valencia finds out what is happening she rings the alarm bell and everyone sends on New York there’s a lot that happens but eventually they get a game plan and hope to get out of this with minimal violence and hopefully no debts. I have read all three of the assassins anonymous action thrillers in each book is either better or just as good as the last one I really root for these characters who have done the ugliest thing a human can do to another but wants to be different and strive for that no matter what the cost and having them have to tend to a toddler rob heart style was just genius when the series started and Valencia was pregnant I had hoped we would have a three men and a baby story and now we do and I loved every minute of it. what I didn’t love is how marks baby mama Sarah and or Kayla was so crappy to him I get it he killed her brother but there’s reasons for that and then to turn her back on him not because of something he did to her but what his job was and what he did to others.she rathers Brinton somehow have no father as opposed to telling him Mark’s his father it’s just ridiculous because when kids grow up without a parent something to create a fanciful relationship with the missing parent. and will always for the rest of their life wonder “what if they had been with me.“ not to mention they will harbor ill feelings once they learn the parent that was there stop them from having a relationship.#NetGalley, #TheBlindReviewer,#MyHonestReview,
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Mark began the meeting by reciting the creed and Astrid read the twelve steps. Valencia, with her little daughter Lucia, came in late and sat in the circle after parking Lucia on the sofa with a Bluey episode.
When Mark concluded his opening remarks and asked for discussion, Valencia spoke up. She was having a hard time tracking her brother who lived in L.A., a long way from New York City. He seemed to have some dodgy friends who might be leading him into a gang, and Valencia was very worried for his safety. But there was no way she was going to drag her little child into her brother's mess.
Booker, Mark, and Astrid, came up with a solution-they were all seasoned assassins who had given up their jobs after turning their lives around and joining Assassins Anonymous. Valerie figured that she could find her brother in a few days-if she allowed her friends to babysit Lucia, who they all adored, they could help her while working on their amends to the people they harmed. Piece of cake!
Of course they forgot that the "anonymous" part of their relationship meant no last names or real personal knowledge. Valencia left Lucia with the other attendees, and after they successfully brought her to one of their fortified hiding places and fed her lots of pizza, she spiked a very high fever. Since none of them had any parenting skills or ideas of how to treat her, they headed to a close walk-in clinic. The nurse started asking easy questions like Lucia's last name, their relationship to the girl, and her medical history. They had no idea of the answers and had to make a run for it before Lucia was put into state custody, and suddenly their survival skills kicked in big time.
To make things worse, the Russians had it in for Mark and Astrid who blew up the Russian Mafia"s Coney Island restaurant, and they were out for revenge. While the assassins had taken a vow to no longer murder their enemies, they still could use non-lethal force in self-defense. And Mark, aka The Pale Horse, might have been the greatest hitman alive, but he was also a parent, though he'd never met his son. When the assassins find out that Mark's child is being held alongside his mother in a Russian trap, their new "sobriety" is challenged. Must they sacrifice their personal resolve to do better when faced with impossible circumstances, or is there another way to get the job done?
This is the third book in The Assassins Anonymous series, and it's just as good as the first two. Members of the group, skilled, seasoned killers, have made a pledge to turn their lives around after hitting rock bottom, and are determined to keep it. Unfortunately, they haven't been forgotten by the organizations that employed them or by enemies they've made along the way. There is visible growth surrounding the characters in the three books, and it will be interesting to see how Hart will document their further struggles. Down will come baby, cradle and all?
When Mark concluded his opening remarks and asked for discussion, Valencia spoke up. She was having a hard time tracking her brother who lived in L.A., a long way from New York City. He seemed to have some dodgy friends who might be leading him into a gang, and Valencia was very worried for his safety. But there was no way she was going to drag her little child into her brother's mess.
Booker, Mark, and Astrid, came up with a solution-they were all seasoned assassins who had given up their jobs after turning their lives around and joining Assassins Anonymous. Valerie figured that she could find her brother in a few days-if she allowed her friends to babysit Lucia, who they all adored, they could help her while working on their amends to the people they harmed. Piece of cake!
Of course they forgot that the "anonymous" part of their relationship meant no last names or real personal knowledge. Valencia left Lucia with the other attendees, and after they successfully brought her to one of their fortified hiding places and fed her lots of pizza, she spiked a very high fever. Since none of them had any parenting skills or ideas of how to treat her, they headed to a close walk-in clinic. The nurse started asking easy questions like Lucia's last name, their relationship to the girl, and her medical history. They had no idea of the answers and had to make a run for it before Lucia was put into state custody, and suddenly their survival skills kicked in big time.
To make things worse, the Russians had it in for Mark and Astrid who blew up the Russian Mafia"s Coney Island restaurant, and they were out for revenge. While the assassins had taken a vow to no longer murder their enemies, they still could use non-lethal force in self-defense. And Mark, aka The Pale Horse, might have been the greatest hitman alive, but he was also a parent, though he'd never met his son. When the assassins find out that Mark's child is being held alongside his mother in a Russian trap, their new "sobriety" is challenged. Must they sacrifice their personal resolve to do better when faced with impossible circumstances, or is there another way to get the job done?
This is the third book in The Assassins Anonymous series, and it's just as good as the first two. Members of the group, skilled, seasoned killers, have made a pledge to turn their lives around after hitting rock bottom, and are determined to keep it. Unfortunately, they haven't been forgotten by the organizations that employed them or by enemies they've made along the way. There is visible growth surrounding the characters in the three books, and it will be interesting to see how Hart will document their further struggles. Down will come baby, cradle and all?
June 28, 2026
4 1/2 Stars
If you are looking for an offbeat series that combines thrills, kills and dark humor and actually holds up a magnifying glass to the deeply clandestine role of hired killer, then Rob Hart’s “Assassins Anonymous” series is for you.
His latest, and third release in this wonderfully entertaining series, is entitled THREE HITMEN AND A BABY --- a title I am sure Hart devised with tongue firmly in cheek. Mark is the central character and current group leader of the Assassins Anonymous meetings that provide a safe place for current and former hitmen seeking to leave the life or just commiserate about their former experiences and new challenges trying to make it in the real world. Mark was once known as Pale Horse, an internationally recognized hitman of serious renown who is really struggling to stay clean of killing.
Two of his proteges and mentees, Booker and Astrid, are offered the opportunity to care for the toddler daughter Lucia of another one of their fellow group members, Valencia, who gets called away after receiving a call that her brother has gone missing. You would think three adults watching a child would be an easy assignment. You would be wrong. First, Mark gets somehow pulled back into a deadly war with the Russian mob in New York City, which might lead to him breaking his personal rule of no killing. That leaves the troubled Astrid, who is still stinging from her own mentee being killed under her watch in the previous novel, and Booker who is not comfortable with babies.
Lucia gets very sick after they put her down to sleep and they do not know anything else to do, considering Valencia is unreachable, so they take her to the local emergency room. Unfortunately, they never thought about the fact that they do not know the child’s legal last name, have a birth certificate of proof of any family relationship, or any medical coverage. It was a good thing they did bring her in because she had a temperature of one hundred and three. Once she gets out of treatment and her temperature drops, security is called as well as law enforcement who believe that Astrid and Booker are either child nappers or traffickers. They cannot afford to be brought into a police precinct, so they grab Lucia and go on the run with her on an adventure that is intensely suspenseful and at times laugh out loud funny.
Meanwhile, Mark survives his initial skirmish with the Russians but now finds his ex-wife and child have been targeted by them. He ushers them off to a cabin in upstate New York that has a serious security system. Believing they will be safe there, he can help Astrid and Booker evade NYPD Law Enforcement and continue to keep Lucia safe until Valencia eventually returns.
Unfortunately, Mark gets word that his families cover has been blown, and the Russians are about to grab them. He wants to this on his own, but his colleagues including Astrid, Booker, and a few others from their group will not let him do so and they all head to the deep woods of upstate New York outside of the small village of Keene for a memorable showdown with some really bad Russian killers. THREE HITMEN AND A BABY is pure entertainment and can be enjoyed on its’ own without having read the prior novels in the series. I can only hope that, if this is the case with you loyal reader, that you will remedy that predicament at once after you have finished this summer delight.
Reviewed by Ray Palen for Book Reporter
If you are looking for an offbeat series that combines thrills, kills and dark humor and actually holds up a magnifying glass to the deeply clandestine role of hired killer, then Rob Hart’s “Assassins Anonymous” series is for you.
His latest, and third release in this wonderfully entertaining series, is entitled THREE HITMEN AND A BABY --- a title I am sure Hart devised with tongue firmly in cheek. Mark is the central character and current group leader of the Assassins Anonymous meetings that provide a safe place for current and former hitmen seeking to leave the life or just commiserate about their former experiences and new challenges trying to make it in the real world. Mark was once known as Pale Horse, an internationally recognized hitman of serious renown who is really struggling to stay clean of killing.
Two of his proteges and mentees, Booker and Astrid, are offered the opportunity to care for the toddler daughter Lucia of another one of their fellow group members, Valencia, who gets called away after receiving a call that her brother has gone missing. You would think three adults watching a child would be an easy assignment. You would be wrong. First, Mark gets somehow pulled back into a deadly war with the Russian mob in New York City, which might lead to him breaking his personal rule of no killing. That leaves the troubled Astrid, who is still stinging from her own mentee being killed under her watch in the previous novel, and Booker who is not comfortable with babies.
Lucia gets very sick after they put her down to sleep and they do not know anything else to do, considering Valencia is unreachable, so they take her to the local emergency room. Unfortunately, they never thought about the fact that they do not know the child’s legal last name, have a birth certificate of proof of any family relationship, or any medical coverage. It was a good thing they did bring her in because she had a temperature of one hundred and three. Once she gets out of treatment and her temperature drops, security is called as well as law enforcement who believe that Astrid and Booker are either child nappers or traffickers. They cannot afford to be brought into a police precinct, so they grab Lucia and go on the run with her on an adventure that is intensely suspenseful and at times laugh out loud funny.
Meanwhile, Mark survives his initial skirmish with the Russians but now finds his ex-wife and child have been targeted by them. He ushers them off to a cabin in upstate New York that has a serious security system. Believing they will be safe there, he can help Astrid and Booker evade NYPD Law Enforcement and continue to keep Lucia safe until Valencia eventually returns.
Unfortunately, Mark gets word that his families cover has been blown, and the Russians are about to grab them. He wants to this on his own, but his colleagues including Astrid, Booker, and a few others from their group will not let him do so and they all head to the deep woods of upstate New York outside of the small village of Keene for a memorable showdown with some really bad Russian killers. THREE HITMEN AND A BABY is pure entertainment and can be enjoyed on its’ own without having read the prior novels in the series. I can only hope that, if this is the case with you loyal reader, that you will remedy that predicament at once after you have finished this summer delight.
Reviewed by Ray Palen for Book Reporter
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