Back Before Dark: Sometimes rescuing a friend from darkness ... means going in after them (A Code of Silence Novel) - Hardcover

Shoemaker, Tim

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0310734991 ISBN 13: 9780310734994

Publisher: Zonderkidz, 2013

Synopsis

Praise for Code of Silence:

“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.

About this title

About the Author

Tim Shoemaker is a national speaker and author of eleven books, including Code of Silence, Back Before Dark, and the third in the series, Below the Surface. His nonfiction titles include Super Husband, Super Dad … You Can Be the Hero Your Family Needs.  Tim has three grown sons and has been happily married for over thirty years. Tim has also been working with youth on a volunteer basis for over twenty years—and still loves it. Connect with Tim on Facebook: www.facebook.com/AuthorTimShoemaker

 

 

 

Reviews

Gr 7-10-A group of four friends-Cooper, Gordy, Hiro, and Lunk-is quickly reduced to three when Gordy is kidnapped from a park, even as Cooper and Hiro attempt to save him. Cooper is consumed with guilt over his inability to catch up with the kidnapper's van and the boys take the rescue efforts into their own hands. Feeling that the police are not exploring the most obvious options, Cooper starts investigating local sex offenders whom Hiro located in public records. Lunk supports Cooper's plans, including those that break the law. Equally devoted but more cautious, Hiro challenges Cooper's ideas in an effort to save him from dangerous behavior. Cooper wavers between anger and sadness while holding out hope that Gordy is still alive, despite the town's plans to hold a memorial service for him. The story reaches a climax when Cooper hatches a secret rescue plan that could get him killed. Though references to Code of Silence (Zondervan, 2012) are made, readers do not need knowledge of it to enjoy this nail-biting mystery. The plot is interesting though too drawn out to recommend to reluctant readers. The characters are believable; the dialogue rings true; and the messages about safety, family, and friendship are relevant without being heavy-handed.-Lynn Rashid, Marriotts Ridge High School, Marriottsville, MDα(c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

The trap that begins this strong follow-up to the excellent Code of Silence (2012) is sickeningly smart. Friends Cooper, Hiro, and Lunk watch in shock as their pal Gordy hails a van to tell the driver that there’s a backpack on the roof. But it is a lure; the side door slides open, Gordy is tazed, and the van vanishes with him. The authorities are clueless, so the guilt-ridden friends start taking their own investigative steps, each riskier than the last. Shoemaker’s third-person voice gives us the perspective from each kid, including Gordy, who is chained in a pitch-black, slowly flooding basement. We also get glimpses of the kidnapper, who views the whole thing as a game, before it spirals out of control. As with the first book, multiple characters’ prayers feel awkwardly inserted, and there is a certain amount of repetition spread across the perhaps too many chapters. Still, Shoemaker’s characters and plot possess a believability rare for YA mysteries. And the climax? You will not have any fingernails left by the final page. Grades 7-10. --Daniel Kraus

Edition details

• Publisher: Zonderkidz
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0310734991
• ISBN 13: 9780310734994
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 384