The Hunter
by Tom Wood
Sphere pp544
ISBN-13: 978-0751545302

Sometimes I wonder about the effects of my diet of thrillers. Every time I saunter into the public library, I head straight for the thriller or crime section. Since I seem to be reading about three a week, I’m really glad there’s a good library on my doorstep – thrillers are an expensive habit. The thriller market is limitless and I’m not the only one in the grip of its addiction – I often wonder to what extent my book diet is now made up of junk.

Some thrillers are really good, while others are unbelievably bad – and yet I keep reading because at the end of the day a plot involving pyramids, an ex-SAS dude and lots of bullets is as far away from reality as you can get.

But like comfort food, there are days when you need a solid thriller, such as Tom Wood’s The Hunter. You know there’s nothing particularly new or original and you know how it’s going to end but you crave it anyway.

Let’s be honest, the whole lone assassin who is secretly sexy and shuns all human contact thing has been done to death. Throw in a beautiful woman and the CIA and technically you should have a cliché.

Yet this is precisely the point of comfort reading (or food, for that matter). Mr Wood’s book has been compared to the Bourne series or even 24, presumably to target those who don’t read but watch plenty of TV. It’s neither, which is really not a bad thing. And in case anyone is wondering, I found the Bourne books much more compelling than the films.

This is, however, a thriller with a good narrative thread and, clichéd as the plot is, it is at least well written. Quite frankly, I was hooked. Jack Reacher, the super assassin who is, of course, nearly immortal, is just what you would want your thriller hero to be. The action sequences are really well written and much better than TV or film versions involving endless shooting and men being annihilated at an amusingly fast rate. My eyes tend to glaze over during most action sequences but these were well executed, if you will pardon the bad pun. Jack Reacher is obsessively methodical, completely paranoid and wonderfully efficient in his work.

Doubtless, Reacher can come back with a vengeance in a sequel or three and I will happily curl up with a copy and a nice cold beer.

• Dr Vella Gregory is an archaeologist. She strongly believes that our heritage should be safeguarded and celebrated.

This book is available at Word for Word.