Something lacking

Greed
By Chris Ryan. Century. 313pp. $29.95.
Reviewer: CPL Jonathan Garland
It has become standard for ex-SAS soldiers to write fiction based on their experiences but Chris Ryan has been at it for longer than most and, with titles approaching double digits in number, has staying power in the marketplace.

In his latest offering we are introduced to Matt Browning, a former SAS soldier down on his luck. He owes half a million to some gangsters and in a month’s time they’re going to collect it in kneecaps.

Matt is recruited by MI6 for a covert mission to deprive the al Qa’eda network of some of its funding through some black ops piracy.

He and four others, trained and equipped by the government, hit the vessel and lift the loot. Then things go pear shaped.

A professional hit man is killing the team one by one. Who is informing on them? If Matt can’t find the leak, he and the rest of the team are going to be plugged.

Chris Ryan has crafted an interesting scenario, with tensions between some unlikely team members promising interesting conflict.

He never seems to fully capitalise on it, though, and I found it difficult to become totally absorbed in the plot.

The villain was just a tad too obvious, though the professional hit man was a bullseye.