(2009) Simon Green, Orion, £12.99, trdpbk, 327 pp, ISBN 978-0-575-07947-2
Fasten your seat belts, hold on to your holy water, it is the third adventure of Eddie Drood A.K.A. Shaman Bond, who shakes everything up. But, wait a minute, the end of book two promised he would return in From Hell With Love, and this one is called The Spy Who Haunted Me. And guess what? It says at the end of this book that Eddie will return in –you got it – From Hell With Love. Ooops, slight spoiler there, guess what? Eddie does not die in this one either, but the legendary Independent Agent is dying and before he goes he has decided to pass on his treasure trove of information to the winner of the game he has devised. Eddie finds himself one of six spies who have to work together while trying to beat each other in order to win the prize. There can be only one. Think Highlander, think Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Like the last book, we get a crossover character from one of Green’s other series. You got it, that’s the one. Good, isn’t it? This third book is probably more in keeping with the first of the series and the James Bond pastiche mode that was established there, having removed Eddie through the device of taking part in the great game, he’s removed from some of the supporting characters who appeared previously and also all the baggage of being in charge of his family, so we are back in a Bond-like world of action, thrills and spills, gizmos and gadgets, quips and puns, weird creatures, six big mysteries to solve (all given the Green coat of gloss which makes them shiny and new and a bit different) and a big baddie to go up against. All in all, maybe not as good as the first in the series, but miles better than the second one. Eddie Drood will return in… what? Golden Eyed? Good book, good read, but I still think the American covers are better.
Ian Hunter
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