Mystery, danger, drama . . . and sharks will keep readers turning the pages of Shoemakers latest book for teens.

Harley Lotitto's jailbird uncle has given him a mission. It's one he'd like to ignore, but Harley can't ignore the threats to his new-found family and friends if he fails to complete it. The more Harley digs into the clues his uncle has given him, the darker—and deadlier—the whole situation gets.

Is it all connected to the string of burglaries plaguing the community? And what about that body found floating in the harbor?

Packed with non-stop action and filled with "real-life" applications of faith, this book does not disappoint! And though this is Book 5 in the series, it is still great as a standalone. Fabulous!

*Thank you to NetGalley and Tyndale House for the complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I have so many thought on this book but I will try to keep it concise. I love Tim Shoemaker books. I think he fills a niche in teen novels for good, clean mystery thrillers. I love the faith aspect that he weaves in. And the character development is great. The friend group is fun. This book contains those same great traits! But... there are some really creepy moments in this book, that left me a little puzzled as to why they got so dark. To the authors credit, it did not stay in the creepy for long. But there were some moments where I was said whoa... There was also a very superstitious character. For this to be a Christian, faith based novel, I felt that these superstitions should have been dealt with more at the end. It felt like all the characters were believing these superstitions at the end, instead of relying on God in those moments. I need to sit on whether I actually recommend this to the teens in life... probably I will only let the older demographic read this one. I would appreciate a slightly toned down dark/creepy factor for my adolescents.

"Even in Darkness" was exceptionally well done and enjoyable. Everything from the cast to the pacing to the rich, atmospheric plot was exceptional. This should have been 5-star worthy. I think it could be the best book of the year; that is, after one final edit before release.

I want to commend Tim Shoemaker for including the many faith elements. There are some big moments of prayer, displaying their power and purpose. He doesn't shy away from being bold in his faith, and the writing never comes across as preachy. The godly lessons are sprinkled generously throughout the story and are integrated seamlessly within the plot. This should be a highly recommended book in Christian youth circles everywhere this fall. We hope to see more of Tim and this kind of work.

Unfortunately, for all the strong messages of faith and their real-life applications, Shoemaker has compromised in many spiritual areas that serve to undo, if not completely cancel, the effectiveness of the overall purpose of the story, which is to bring kids closer to God while offering them some good scares and some good thrills. This compromise comes solely through one character's superstitions and how her influence affects the kids' beliefs in the story.

Now, it's fine to have a superstitious character. It makes for some fun scenes. The kids play around with the superstitions and mull them over. That's all fine. However, none of these superstitions are ever put in check or are presented as avoidable facts by the author. They are presented as the inevitable. This is where I believe he has strayed from the goal, lessened his own faith elements, and sadly works toward leading kids astray, albeit unwittingly.

The main example is the overemphasis on Fate and its power, and its connection to "high and mysterious powers" that are presented as a separate entity from God. There's a superstitious idea about how deaths always come in threes, and the children initially doubt this notion. However, by the end of the book, they become believers in this particular superstition. I believe this is the wrong message and overemphasis on Fate, and it serves to neutralize a Christian's ability to reign over the curse of the world and take godly authority over situations as Jesus did.

All the book needs is perhaps one line for the children to discuss what they believe is stronger: the superstitions or God working all things together for our good. But as it stands, Fate takes equal status as the Divine, and the story overall teaches children to invite curses by making agreements with those curses. Again, I don't believe this was intentional, but it's present nonetheless. In this case, the curse spoken over the children's community was that death always comes in threes, and we see the children gradually accepting this and becoming convinced they'll see it manifest.

As Christians, our thoughts have power. Our words have power. The tongue is the rudder. And Shoemaker, unfortunately, backs up this concept but to the wrong effect. We at Heirloom Book Club really wanted to award this book and give it a full, positive review. But as the verse goes, "a little leaven...".

The book got so much right. It's a better faith book than many recent ones. Sadly, we cannot recommend it, though, based on the Fate elements and how they are portrayed as inevitable. That to me is a type of curse. And as Christians, curses were made to be broken, not agreed with. I simply cannot recommend the book because of this fault.

I did love the book. There were parts where I was inspired with chills; that's how powerful the godly faith elements were. The spooky eeriness was a delight as well, and there were some really great first-rate suspense. But I take great care with anything that takes away from kids being effective Christians in their walk in this life. There’s one superstition too many left unchecked here. It’s a flaw that allows the enemy a foothold into any young reader foolish enough to agree with the careless superstitions this book claims are true.

Thank you so much for allowing me to read it. I do hope you consider these statements. I strongly believe in what this book can accomplish this fall, and I want to see all the good works I know it is capable of doing for kids.

Even In Darkness is the fifth book in the High Water series by Tim Shoemaker. I highly recommend this book because it includes many of good Christian morality. So, what to wait for? Just read it and you will for sure, enjoy it.

EVEN IN DARKNESS is the fifth book in the High Water series by TIM SHOEMAKER. The story is mysterious and exciting and based on strong Christian morals. I am sure that its twelve year old audience.will be unable to put it down!
I highly recommend the book.
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Tyndale House Publishers. The opinions in this review are completely my own.