The Spy Who Haunted Me

Secret Histories #3

by Simon R. Green

When it comes to supernatural intrigue, nobody does it better than New York Times bestselling author Simon R. Green.

Eddie Drood, at your service. For generations my family has been keeping humanity safe from the wicked, the nasty, and the generally not-nice inhuman predators who feed on people’s fear and misery. No one kicks evil arse better than us Droods—especially yours truly.
          
 In fact, my arse-kicking skills have come to the attention of the legendary Alexander King, Independent Agent extraordinaire, who spent a lifetime doing anything and everything—for the right price. Now he’s on his deathbed, looking to bestow all of his priceless secrets to a worthy successor.
           
To decide, King challenges six competitors—myself included—to solve five mysteries all around the world, figuring that along the way we’ll backstab one another until only one remains. But I’ve got to win at all costs, because King holds the most important secret of all to the the identity of the traitor in our midst.

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Fiction, Paranormal, Mystery, Science Fiction, Supernatural

383 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Simon Richard Green is a British science fiction and fantasy-author. He holds a degree in Modern English and American Literature from the University of Leicester. His first publication was in 1979.

His Deathstalker series is partly a parody of the usual space-opera of the 1950s, told with sovereign disregard of the rules of probability, while being at the same time extremely bloodthirsty.

Excerpted from Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Ok paranormal thriller in which Eddie is teamed up with five other agents, who must work together and compete against each other to solve five great mysteries. The best part of this was Walker from the Nightside being one of the agents.

[Jeffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simon Green who penned the space opera Deathstalker series has turned his eye to urban fantasy and has a winner, I think, in the tales of his secret agent Shaman Bond a/k/a Eddie Drood. The Droods are a family of super secret agents who combat evil with the armor that encases them from a torc around their necks. Green has populated their world with all sorts of foul murderers, magical creatures, elfs, aliens, witches and spies. Eddie Drood, the grandson of the Matriarch of the clan Drood is one of the secret agents that risks his life to keep the world safe.

The novel start off with Drood assuming his namesake Shaman Bond in a plot to kill some ravens in the Tower of London, where we meet some of the odd villains and get a taste of the world. After Bond painlessly dispatches some of the co-conspirators, he returns to the family home for a super secret mission.

He is to journey to the home of an earlier secret agent -- The Independent Agent, who claims to have secrets about a traitor who is harming the Drood interests. The Independent Agent, who appears to be deathly ill, has asked Drood and 5 other special up and coming secret agents to travel the world figuring out various magical mysteries. The winner of the contest will be granted access to all of the Independent Agent's secrets.

The six agents are whisked around the world to face various bad guys including nasty aliens, a creature out of a Robert Louis Stevenson novel, a creature at the bottom of Loch Ness and others before a final confrontation at the end of the novel.

Green is a master of the colorful characters, battle scenes with armor, swords and beasties. I felt the novel was a tad too long -- one less bad beastie may have moved it along at a better clip, but overall it was a fun journey and Eddie Drood is a good character, who has not worn out his welcome in this household.

[Rhyson · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this book a few years ago. It was entertaining to a certain degree, but....... Where do I begin?

So there's this spy dude, who's apparently famous. And old. He says he wants to choose a successor to pass his secrets on to. Really? The author sat down, decided to write a novel, and said, "Gee, I think I'll have this dying spy send a bunch of people on a quest." Sure, the plot twist made it... not pathetic. But really, pathetic is a terrible way to start a book.

So Eddie Drood and four other stooges go on a quest. *Edit: there's six of them. And that's how distinct their characteristics are: not at all.* To solve five mysteries. Starting with the Loch Ness monster. Because none of them thought to do that before. The spy dude didn't tell them what they needed to solve, he just sent them on their merry way. But first they had to figure out where in the world the teleporter put them. They find out through Walking GPS person, who has no other characteristics other than she was given a lot of technology by the FBI, that they're in Scotland. So they decide that the mystery the spy dude wants them to solve is the Loch Ness monster. But they're just guessing. It's an obvious guess, but they don't know. Remember that for later.

Blah, blah, blah, one of them gets killed. And it's not an accident and the Loch Ness monster didn't do it. And the remaining four are like, "Meh, whatever. We can totally still be friends."

Since they get teleported elsewhere, they decide they solved the mystery. Elsewhere is the Southern USA, gadget lady says. So they figure they need to solve the mystery of Bigfoot. Because none of them ever got curious before then. So these people, who are the most competent, skillful, brilliant, upcoming world class spies, use their stellar skills to seek out this bigfoot.

They sit down and make a campfire. To make tea. Seriously. They do that. James Bond would totally sit down and make tea if he wanted to look for Bigfoot.

But luckily, they don't need to search, since Bigfoot conveniently walks up to them. He's a furry pedophile. They kill him. And one of them dies. And it's not an accident and Bigfoot didn't do it. And they're like, "Whatever, we can totally still be friends."

They get teleported to Russia, where the main character saves the remaining "super spies" from hypothermia.

Then they get teleported to Philadelphia, where they decide that the mystery they need to solve is a random ship that disappeared in 1940. Um, what? Out of the whole city of Philadelphia, the biggest mystery is a ship that sink 60 years ago? For all they know, they need to solve the mystery of Mrs. Pinkerton's missing cat. They weren't given any hints what they needed to solve. Why pick that ship?

Another one of them dies. And it's not an accident and the evil fairies didn't do it. And they're like, "Whatever, all three of us can still totally be friends."

And then they get teleported to Midwestern USA. Didn't the author do any research to find out that in the whole, wide world, the biggest mysteries of life are NOT located in the USA? Boring racist. So yes, they're still stuck in the boring USA. And it's an alien invasion they figure they need to solve. Because there's humans and cows with body parts missing. There's a bull that's missing it's stomach, testicles, a patch of hide, and it's top front teeth.

Dang. Based off of that, I'd say they have a much bigger mystery, because cows don't have top front teeth. The aliens managed to steal something the cows didn't have. Good job, aliens.

And then there's the plot twist, that made the whole reason for the book seem not stupid, though it didn't touch the stupidity of the content. And Eddie Drood, ho, hum, average Gary Stue, saves the day. The end.

[Tim Hicks · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, OK, it was written in 2009, and a lot of urban fantasy has passed by since then.
And maybe I'd have taken more from the book if I had read the Nightside books.

But this sure feels like one of those series written by a guy who thinks writing is easy and can bang out a book in a few weeks.

This may be true if your hero has an invulnerable suit that can do, well, anything really - the only limit seems to be that it can't do things Eddie hasn't thought of yet. There goes any dramatic tension. OK, not that we thought Eddie would ever be at risk, any more than James Bond ever was.

Each scene was describe-foe, make a speech, armour up and blast the baddie. No outsmarting (except in a couple of minor scenes), just straight-on BashBash. It's like reading an Asterix comic and waiting for Obélix to PAF! the Romans.

There's even a nod to this from the author when he notes that none of his Q-analog's fancy weapons ever got used.

Even the foes were mostly generic, lightly described and given to Flemingesque speeches of the "you see, Mr. Bond, bwah-ha, my plan is ..."

And yes, I award no marks for wholesale theft of concept, plot and more from the Bond series. There comes a point where it passes tribute or pastiche and just becomes lazy.

Beach read at best, maybe not even that.

[Phillip Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third in the series and so far the best. It’s not great literature but it’s very imaginative and fun. While it’s not necessary to read the first two in the series I recommend it. Simon Green has written several syfy/fantasy series and so far I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read of his.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's really a 3.5, but it's a significant step above his normal work, so I had to give it a boost. Not that I don't like his other books, I've read most of them. But they aren't always that well done. The books in this series are longer and somewhat more complex than his other books. There is just a bit more story and depth. Not tons, but more.

The series reminds me of a mix between James Bond and Xanth. Lots of puns, take-offs, and pop culture references. I'm sure I missed a lot of them, but I enjoyed the ones I caught. I enjoyed his inclusion of references and characters to his other stories (Nightside and Shadows Fall in this one). On the one hand, it's fun, like when Buffy appeared on Angel. On the other hand, it feels a little lazy and like cheap advertising for his other books. But overall he made is work again (the last book included a character from his Deathstalker series). He made a very good choice in the character he chose to include.

The best thing about the series is the main character, Eddie. He's just likable. I'm not thrilled with the concept of this adventure, where Eddie ends up at several famous sites of unexplained weirdness and has to discover the truth. But it was fun to get him out of England.

[Ben Truong · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Spy Who Haunted Me is the third book in the Secret Histories series written by Simon R. Green. It stars Edwin Drood, code named Shaman Bond and he is a part of the Droods, an ancient family that purportedly watches over the world and protects it from various threats, including supernatural and magical ones.

There are rumors of a traitor undermining the Drood family's efforts to guard humanity against paranormal and mystical threats. Complicating matters, legendary agent Arthur King is dying without an heir. Eddie joins a group of other agents in tackling King's challenge: solve five of mankind's greatest mysteries and learn King's secrets, including the traitor's name.

The Spy Who Haunted Me is written rather well. The narrative is engaging with well-crafted quests take the team from Loch Ness to Roswell, where Eddie is forced to choose between saving humanity and recovering the information his family desperately needs. Though some supporting characters are clearly meant to be disposable, Eddie makes a likable hero, and readers will enjoy following him through this surprisingly complex mystery. It is another action-packed melding of spy story and fantasy, featuring suave sleuthing, magical powers and a generous dash of dry wit.

All in all, The Spy Who Haunted Me is written rather well and is a good start to what would hopefully be a wonderful series, which I plan to continue in the very near future.

[Schnaucl · Rating 4 out of 5]

The legendary Independent Agent is going into retirement so he invites 6 of the world's best agents (well 5 of the world's best agents and his grandson, who is a corporate spy) to compete in a contest. The group is to solve 5 mysteries, and the prize for the winner (there can be only one) is the Independent Agent's vast horde of secrets, including the name of the traitor inside the Drood family.

I believe three of the other competitors are new characters, but readers of Green's Nightside series will certainly recognize Walker, and the Blue Fairy is from previous books in this series.

The mysteries are quite interesting, ranging from discovering the truth about the Loch Ness monster to the Philadelphia Experiment. They're each interesting mysteries, although my one quibble is that Sasquatch is from the American Pacific Northwest, not Arkansas. I'm sure Arkansas has some lovely legends and myths of its own, but as a native of the Pacific Northwest, I feel compelled to point out that Sasquatch belongs to the Pacific Northwest.

Predictably, since there can be only one winner, the agents begin being murdered, one by one. There's never any real concern that Walker would die, he's too major a character in the Nightside series to die in a different series, and, of course, Eddie Drood has to survive, but the rest are fair game.

I didn't see the twist at the end but once it was revealed it was blindingly obvious.

I really enjoyed learning more about Walker and seeing him when he's not interacting with John Taylor. It was also nice to see Eddie away from the politics of the Drood family and his girlfriend and just be himself on a mission. I like Molly, but I'd like to see more of that.

[Shayan Kh · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.6 stars

Once again, a book that seems like an Agatha Christie mystery novel. Seriously, the whole time I was trying to guess who is the bad guy and who I can trust. But it wasn't as good as a mystery novel. And if you've read some of Christie's book you can guess the plot of this book.

I like the references to his other books. I really like a connected universe. And what Simon Green made so far is what I really like. I guess it could be quite annoying if it isn't your cup of tea.
The added characters were really shallow. The CIA agent, who supposedly Eddie could have a thing for if not for Molly, didn't have anything that makes her stand out. I have read another book of the series, and I'm already forgetting about her.
I don't remember anything about the other lady.
This is just bad writing in my opinion.
But I'm not reading Simon Green's work for his writing. I'm reading them for a world full of mystery, magic, action and interesting concepts( which this book lacked), and it was okay in this perspective. Especially since you have to read it to continue the series.
The mysteries these agents had to investigate were disconnected, and they mostly didn't do anything that the King himself couldn't do. Except for the loch ness monster and the last one, but he didn't even know about the last one. So the expenses he made in advance wasn't justified in my opinion.

In other words, This wasn't a solid work. It was a patched-up mess of different stories and characters and is only recommended for those who like the series.

[Aliyyah · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this third installment in Simon R. Green's Secret Histories series, we find Eddie Drood back out in the field as Shaman Bond, no longer heading his family, but no closer to finding the traitor either. There is a brief escapade as Eddie as Shaman has to protect the Tower of London, but this seems more to point out that Eddie is no longer the head of the Droods and he likes it that way. He is then invited to play a high-stakes game with several of the best secret agents in the business for the prize of winning all the secrets that the dying Independent Agent knows. The carrot for Eddie and the Drood clan is the supposed knowledge of the traitor in their midst. And so insues a madcap mystery-hopping tour through all the weird and deadly things that Simon Green is known for. For the first time we get to interact with Walker from the "Nightside" series as an individual, which I think may have been some of the best parts of the book. However the over-the-top nature of every new mystery gets to be a little repetitive after awhile (there can only be so many strange, uncertain, inhuman ways to be inhuman it seems). But all in all, a very good read and a nice break from the Drood infighting of the last book. So if you want some more Shaman Bond and his antics, then this novel is right up your alley. All I have to say is "I'm not weird,... I'm differently normal".

[Tony Hinde · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF 43%

I picked up this book as a palate cleanser, thinking Green's writing was a sure bet. Instead I get a self serving, lazy story that seems headed for nowhere.

A group of super-spies volunteers for a challenge with singular information as the prize. Each challenge is supposedly impossible. Can they work together and rise above the fray. This is just dumb. If they're super-spies then why don't they take aim directly at the information they need? Why put yourself in a situation where you've only a one in five chance of winning/surviving?

In the end, the book fails because of a lack of plot, not a lack of sense. This group of agents seems content to wander around playing ego games with each other like a high school clique. If I had to hear, "Because I'm Drood" one more time I'd have tossed my e-reader across the room.

[Cst · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is much better than the previous book. Taking the characters and removing them from the world is a mistake, they aren’t that good. The story needs the world around it to keep it going, strange conspiracies, weird appearances and weirder powers. This book sends the characters on a scavenger hunt around the world and that is much better than the cooped up torture we had before. There are still problems, I had the big twist pegged much too early and the various tasks would have profited from variety, but this book gives me more from that strange world. And Walker. I like Walker.

[Adam Prat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of the series this one was probably the darkest of the novels so far. The book was split into mini adventures/ stories and story lines the author came up with were pretty intense and would almost put this one in a horror category as well as sci/fi fantasy. In retrospect it actually boosted up the the plot a bit as it really was innovative and compelling in the story. I think this one was shorter then the others or the plot just moved along a lot faster then the others. Overall it was a very good read.

[Scott Fogel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book started out a little confusingly, like I missed a book. However, it became very interesting as we got to the real story.

I only have it 4 stars because or really started to drag when they went to Siberia in the third test.

It picked back up again after that.

Overall it was a good book and kept the series going well, building on the other books.

[Britta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic like the rest!

I love how characters from other series were brought in again to the book again. One of my favorite elements. I read nightside first and after finishing his other series I'm thinking I might reread it to see about any Easter eggs I may have missed unknowingly! Truly love his work

[Robin Toll · Rating 5 out of 5]

Romping good read.

This series is really drawing me in. I suppose on some level it feels a little old fashioned, but it's themed after James Bond- - and in a much more amusing way, to me - so it just sortof works. Looking forwards to the next one.

[Laurla2]

a silly book where drood and 5 other top spys are recruited by 'the best' who is old and dying. they have to complete a series of 5 tasks and the winner gets all his secret knowledge. not as good as the nightside series, but still entertaining. "i am not weird, i'm just differently normal"

[Zach · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book more than the last one. The premise was super easy to follow, and it kept me engaged the whole time. It was pretty predictable, though; I figured out the twist at the end by the end of the third chapter. But still, not a bad ending. Looking forward to starting the next book.

[Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

I already read this one, but picked it up today because I hadn't taken it back to the library yet. Adding it towards my goodreads goal.

[Stan · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you like Simon R. Green then you will like this nook. As usual in a Green novel the trip is more fun than the ending.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I figured out The Who Done It - didn’t detract from the story or the plot, waited til it came along. Enjoyed this romp.

[Chianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not my fave but good.

[Sheri · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m a big fan of the Nightside series and have been longing to find something to fill the gap now that I’ve finished the series. The Droodverse isn’t cutting it. Not even close.

[Charl · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Drood stories are just as good as the Nightside ones, and this one includes a nice crossover between the two. An enjoyable read.

[Philippe Hyndrikx · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good fun with some nice inside jokes and references , uncomplicated without any pretences

[Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

I forgot about this series. Glad I found this one in the basement. 😀

[Craig Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cheesy. ...

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The competition for King's secrets was a lot of fun, and it was neat to see the group of competitors somewhat working together to solve some of the world's greatest mysteries, with Green's own twist to them. Really enjoying reading this series and the Nightside series together, something I definitely recommend. To read my full review, please visit my blog: https://allyouneedarebooksandcats.wor...

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great read in the series. I really couldn't put this one down until i completed it. He is just serious enough to put an edge on but then it will go away with the revelation of one of the mysteries.

The Crossover of walker from the Nightside series was awesome.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zo zaciatku kniha posobi pomerne jednoducho, ale postupne sa to zamotava a ku koncu je to uz celkom dobry koktail pribehu a emocii.