Chills, Excitement, Mystery & Fun

This is the story of four teenagers, one girl and three boys.  They are all good friends who, along with their families, are taking a lake vacation together right before starting their first year of high school.

The action starts right at the beginning, and a mystery develops involving a missing girl who might have died–or she might not be missing at all.  There is a mix-up over the girl’s identity.  The teenagers in this story are immediately thrown into the middle of the confusion and possible danger.  Much of the story has the lone female teenager, Hiro, convinced that foul play has taken place, while the rest of her friends waver between partially believing her, to complete disbelief.

This is a real page-turner that involves lots of suspense and mystery along with believable dialog and situations.  Although this is the third book in a series, the story definitely stands on its own.  There is a small amount of referral back to earlier books, but it is easy to understand the story-line, and is not confusing.  I have not read the other two, but did not have trouble following Below the Surface.  The author states this is the end of this series.  I hope not, because I would like to revisit these characters after they have had some high school experiences.

I was pleased with the way the author handled the book’s characters that had fears which ran the gamut from swimming under water to doubts about fitting in.  Also, at the end of the book, the author has some great advice about fear, and what should be done when one experiences it.  I appreciated that this was a clean story written from a Christian point-of-view.  Although this book is supposed to be geared toward young adults,  the story and characters are so well-done that adults would like this tale as well.  I certainly enjoyed it, and highly recommend this 5-star book to adults, young and old alike.

The publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book through Zonderkids/Thomas Nelson Publishing for the purpose of review. All opinions expressed are my own, and I have not been compensated in any other manner. Despite my receiving the book free, it has not influenced my judgment, and I have given an honest opinion.

Author information:

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/AuthorTimShoemaker

Twitter:    https://twitter.com/TimShoemaker1

Website:  http://www.timshoemakersmashedtomatoes.com/

More Information:  http://www.zondervan.com/below-the-surface.html