Code of Silence

        When a group of three friends witness the masked robbery of their favorite restaurant, attempted murder of the co-owner, and are threatened with the murder of them and their families by one of the thugs they decide to enact a Code of Silence. This means that they will not tell anyone about what they have seen, especially the police, for fear of a dirty cop. They will have to lie to parents, teachers, police, and pretty much everyone they come in contact with until they can come up with a plan. But it is not as easy as you may think, for as the book says living a lie comes with a price.

            

          This is the dilemma that the characters face in Tim Shoemakers book Code of Silence. A few weeks ago I came across this book while at the library it sounded interesting enough so I decided to give it a try, and I’m glad I did. While the whole premise is intriguing and the action is really suspenseful what I really liked were the relationships between the three friends, it was written in what I would call a third-person omniscient point of view so you really got to know the thoughts and feelings of every character. Another thing I really enjoyed was how developed all of the characters were. Each of them had their own personal feelings about what they were doing. Their turmoil over what they are going to do is evident. In times of trial you can see the points of each character so it does not feel unjustified when a character acts a certain way. Also all of the main protagonists had good solid backstories which helped make them to be more believable. 

           

          This book also excellently delivers on action and suspense. I don’t want to spoil anything but let’s just say it can get very intense. I can’t recall anything that I really did not like about this book. One thing that is interesting is the relationship with God in this book, mainly that there isn't much of one until the end, through character foil you can see those who run to God during trials, and those who run away from Him. The way this was delivered seemed realistic and relatable. Also just to clear it up I wouldn’t necessarily label this book as “Christian fiction” because the focus is on the mystery and the lies, with the relationship with God as an underlying theme.

         

          Overall this book is well-written, realistic, with relatable characters and suspenseful action; this is one to put on your reading list.