Telling the Truth Could Get Them Killed. Remaining Silent Could Be Worse.When Cooper, Hiro, and Gordy witness a robbery that leaves a man in a coma, they find themselves tangled in a web of mystery and deceit that threatens their lives. After being seen by the criminals—-who may also be cops—-Cooper makes everyone promise never to reveal what they have seen. Telling the truth could kill them. But remaining silent means an innocent man takes the fall and a friend never receives justice. Is there ever a time to lie? And what happens when the truth is dangerous? The three friends, trapped in a code of silence, must face the consequences of choosing right or wrong when both options have their price.

Praise for Code of “Deliberate, plausible, and gritty whodunit.” – Booklist Starred Review Taken! A detour through the park leads Cooper, Gordy, Hiro, and Lunk straight into a trap, and Gordy is abducted! For the kidnapper, it’s all a game, a way to settle an old score, with no one getting hurt. But evil has a way of escalating, and once his identity is discovered, the rules change. Despite the best of police efforts, the hours tick by without a clue or a ransom call, leaving everyone to their own fears. Gordy is gone. Cooper descends deeper into a living nightmare, imagining the worst for his best friend and cousin. Hours stretch into days, and talks of a memorial service begin to surface. But Cooper still feels his cousin is alive and develops a reckless plan, changing all the rules. Now the one who set out to rescue his friend needs to be rescued himself. Sometimes rescuing a friend from darkness means going in after them.

Something is wrong with Cooper. He’s plagued by a fear he doesn’t understand and can’t control. Cooper just wants to escape, and a summer vacation aboard the restored cabin cruiser, The Getaway, with best friends Gordy, Hiro, and Lunk seems like the perfect way to do it. Two weeks of fun—with no mysteries or life-and-death danger. That’s the plan. But their plans are shattered the very first night when they witness a murder. Or did they? Despite their intentions of leaving the investigation to the police, narrow misses and creepy encounters lure them in. Is there really a body floating in the underwater currents of the lake? The closer they get to the truth, the deeper into danger they get. Too late they see the trap. Now each of them must face their own buried fears . . . just below the surface.

This three-book bindup of Tim Shoemaker’s Code of Silence novels takes readers on a series of realistic, nail-biting adventures. In Code of Silence, friends Cooper, Hiro, and Gordy witness a robbery … but when it appears several cops are behind the crime, they aren’t sure who they can trust. Telling the truth could be deadly. But remaining silent could mean an innocent man’s life. In Back Before Dark, the three friends find themselves caught in a trap that leads to Gordy’s abduction. As time goes by without any clues or messages from the kidnapper, Cooper takes things into his own hands. But his choices could place him in even greater danger. Finally, in Below the Surface, what was meant as a peaceful summer vacation turns frightening when Hiro is convinced she witnessed a murder on the lake. Though her instincts are rarely wrong, it appears Hiro may be mistaken this time. Unless the strange accidents happening to Cooper and Gordy are signs of something deeper and more frightening than any of them could imagine.