Spy, Spy Again
Valdemar: Family Spies • Book 3
by Mercedes Lackey
Why You'll Love This
Two teenage boys discover their shared psychic Gift is actually something Valdemar has never seen before — and the kingdom's safety depends on figuring it out fast.
- Great if you want: cozy Valdemar comfort reads with next-generation character focus
- The experience: warm, low-stakes, and easy to settle into over a weekend
- The writing: Lackey excels at weaving worldbuilding into character relationships, not exposition
- Skip if: you're new to Valdemar — this rewards longtime series readers only
About This Book
In the world of Valdemar, magic and duty have always run in families — but fourteen-year-old Tory never expected to be pulled into the dangerous work his parents Mags and Amily have spent their lives mastering. When his unusual psychic connection with young Prince Kee draws the attention of the Heralds' Collegium, Tory finds himself facing a destiny that's entirely his own while still living in the long shadow of his legendary father. Mercedes Lackey builds her stakes quietly but effectively here: this isn't a story about saving the world in dramatic fashion, but about a boy discovering who he is when extraordinary circumstances demand answers fast.
Lackey's great skill in this installment is her patient, warm worldbuilding — she trusts readers who've spent time in Valdemar to feel the emotional weight of familiar places and legacies without over-explaining them. The prose is clean and purposeful, moving between coming-of-age tenderness and genuine tension with ease. Tory makes for an engaging center of gravity, and the dynamic between him and Kee gives the narrative an appealing momentum that rewards readers who have followed the Family Spies arc from the beginning.
