THREE HITMEN A BABY by Rob Hart

5 stars

Fast forward three years from the last amazing outing for the Assassins Anonymous gang- former assassins who have all foresworn off further killing and have formed a recovery group to support this decision and to encourage making amends to the families of their victims. Much like Alcohols Anonymous, they have steps to their program, sponsors, and much to emotionally process. Their attempts to stay clear of killing often falls into direct conflict with violent people from their past out to get them.

Mark, the group’s leader after his sponsor Kenji killed and then sacrificed himself to save Mark’s life, has invested in a new secure group meeting space and works hard to hold this “family of choice” together and focused on staying free of killing. Mark, a renown assassin who operated under the code name Pale Horse and worked for a contract group known as the Agency that claimed (falsely it turns out) that their killings were picked for world good, has in turn sponsored another agency staffer Astrid into the group.

Valencia who opted to become a single Mom faces a crisis involving her younger brother in L.A. which her mom has begged to her to sort out. She decides reluctantly she’ll entrust her adorable toddler daughter Lucia to the care of Mark, Astrid and Booker. But immediately as Valencia takes off, two separate crises emerge. Lucia comes down with a fever and when Astrid and Booker take her in the middle of the night to an urgent care, the nurse rightly suspects they’re not her parents as they don’t even know her last name, birthdate or weight. They must escape to take Lucia into hiding and dread Valencia finding out.

Meanwhile, Mark gets called off in the late evening by a text message he refuses to share more about with Astrid and Booker. Turns out that Mark, to locate Astrid in a black ops prison and thus save her life in the group’s last outing, had committed a favor to an elderly Russian powerbroker, known as the Zmeya, and she orders him as that favor to assassinate Astrid. She also threatens Mark’s ex-finance and the son of his she had after splitting up with him and raising as a single mom.

The group has 48 hours to figure out how to keep everyone safe, and to do so without killing anyone, and the breathless action commences. The characters are all so flawed, so endearing and so striving in their efforts to be better people – and you cannot help but root wildly enthusiastically for them all. Plus, each outing reveals more layers of their past histories, their personalities and their vulnerabilities- all of which makes you feel even more connected to them.

Another magnificent Assassins Anonymous adventure!

Thanks to Putnam and NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy.

Stacy DeBroff

Stacy DeBroff, founder and CEO of Mom Central.com and social and digital consultancy, Influence Central, is a social media strategist, attorney, and best-selling parenting author. A sought-after expert for national media, she trend-spots regularly with national brands and speaks frequently to national and international audiences on a wide range of subjects, including influencer marketing, social media, entrepreneurship, and consumer trends. A passionate cook, gardener, reader, and tennis player, she adores this new chapter of post-college-age parenting.