The Increment - the elite assassination unit of the SAS.

Three years ago Matt Brown was thrown out of the unit for questioning an order - and he was on the way out of the SAS. Now, just when he thinks he has put military life behind him, he finds himself dragged back into action.

MI6 are demanding he helps a giant drugs company destroy copies of its medicines being produced by Eastern European gangsters. But the mission is not what it seems.

An old friend from the Army has turned into a homicidal maniac - and so are soldiers from around the country. Suddenly Matt finds himself thrust into the centre of a deadly mystery.

As the answers start to unravel, Matt finds himself the only man in possession of a terrifying secret. Alone and on the run, he is up against The Increment - the most ruthless, lethal killing machine on earth.

Chris Ryan has surprised me to be honest. Everybody has heard of his fellow Bravo Two Zero compatriot Andy McNab and most people will be aware that McNab has been writing some reasonably decent popular thrillers since his exit from the SAS, but who would have suspected that there could be two such writers on the same patrol?

Not me, for a start. The Increment is the first book by Chris Ryan I have read except for The One That Got Away which I reviewed the other day. 

Ryan manages in this story to skillfully weave together the most important elements of a good story. He has a hero we can empathise with, a heroine who is shrouded in mystery and some bad guys we can really dislike. There are elements of slapstick in his portrayal of some of the bad guys, but on the whole, Ryan has managed to pull off a really good, easy to read bedtime thriller.