Author: Tim Shoemaker
Recommended Age: 15+
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Contemporary
Summary: When Cooper, Gordy, and Hiro witness the robbery of their favorite restaurant and the murder of the restaurant’s owner, they find themselves hunted by the villains as the only witnesses to the crime. Together, they swear a Code of Silence to keep what they saw a secret to protect their family’s lives. But as time runs short and the kids find themselves hesitant to go to the police, can they bring the criminals to justice, or will the Code of Silence be their undoing?
Notes from The Radical Reader:
- Noble Characters: I have quickly fallen in love with Tim Shoemaker’s stories and characters. Cooper, Gordy, Lunk, and Hiro are quick-witted kids with a knack for attracting danger, solving mysteries, and giving readers a heart-pounding tale! Throughout the series, they discover the negative effects of deception, the positive effects of friendship, and the courage that Christ gives to believers when facing evil.
- Captivating Plots: After witnessing a robbery and murder, Cooper, Gordy, and Hiro find themselves holding the only evidence to who committed the crime. But the villains also know they have the evidence, and they’ll do anything to get it back. The children are forced to discover that living a lie comes with a price, but telling the truth could get them killed.
- Elaborate Worlds: This contemporary thriller story is set in an average American town where fast food restaurants are a kid’s favorite go-to and local diners provide the best chocolate shakes in the world. But when darkness seems to cover their town, and the kids find their lives in danger, can they rescue their families and themselves before the murderers get away?
Noteworthy Elements:
- Violence: In the second book, Back Before Dark, one of the kids mistakenly believes their friend is going to commit suicide and contemplates this.
- Profanity: No explicit swear words are used, but slang terms and phrases like “gee”, “hellbent”, and “nuts” are used sparingly throughout the series. In the third book, Below the Surface, Hiro is running from the villain and describes it as “running from hell.” One of the villains describes the anger of his boss as “hellish”.
- Sexual Tension: There are no explicit sexual or romantic scenes. In the second book, Back Before Dark, a character is kidnapped, and while searching for him, his friends consider whether he could have been taken as a victim of the human trafficking business in America. There are a few references to the police investigating former sex offenders as they search for the criminal, but no further details are provided. In the third book, Below the Surface, there is a reference to an unmarried couple running away together and spending the night in a hotel, but no further details are given.
- Spiritual: The kids talk about not believing in ghosts and instead being more frightened by demons. They refer to one location as the “demon tunnel”. The children also tease about zombies rising from the lake in book three.
- Other: A few brief references are made about someone potentially wetting their pants in a frightening situation, and one of the boys makes a reference to peeing in his swim shorts when he couldn’t find his friends.
