Starred Review Like many a crackerjack thriller, this one boasts a breakneck beginning. Thirteen-year-olds Cooper, Gordy, and Hiro are snacking at their favorite burger joint, Frank n Stein's, when they witness a brutal robbery. Two men, masked as a clown and Elvis, savagely beat the owner and steal his considerable stash of cash. The kids manage to escape, and with the security camera hard drive to boot, but Clown gets a good look at Cooper and swears he'll find him. Afraid to go to the police (the robbers were wearing cop pants), Cooper convinces his friends to enact a code of silence. As the maybe-crooked police and other possible suspects get closer to identifying the witnesses, the kids' lies to their parents, their teachers, and one another set off increasingly desperate maneuvers and dangerous infighting. Some will find Shoemaker's covering of every angle too exhaustive, but it is just this meticulousness that makes the novel stand apart. Rarely are kids in thrillers portrayed this realistically: sick with worry, horrified by injury, and smart but not preternaturally so. Mentions of multiple characters' Christianity feel shoehorned in, but that doesn't take away from this deliberate, plausible, and gritty whodunit.

When close friends Cooper, Hiroko, and Gordy accidentally witness a violent robbery, they make a pact to tell no one in order to protect themselves and their families. But as the police search for witnesses, the lies required to maintain their secret complicate their situation and strain their friendship. Although suspenseful at times, the story grows repetitive and overly didactic.

Gr 6-8 A well-written and well-plotted tale about friendship, trust, and doing the right thing. When Cooper, Hiro, and Gordy witness the robbery and beating of a beloved diner owner, they flee the scene, Cooper with the diner's video surveillance in hand. One of the masked men sees him and orders him to surrender the hard drive containing footage of the holdup. In fear, Cooper begs his friends to keep quiet about the robbery. He is sure dirty cops are involved, while Hiro (a dead cop's daughter and a bit of a detective-in-training) suspects a local bully and his father. The trio is in a race to uncover the criminals before cagey Detective Hammer interrogates the entire eighth-grade class and fingers them as witnesses, putting them all at risk. Cooper is an adept liar who manages to evade the criminals and the police. Hiro, the group's conscience, struggles to remain silent, and Gordy just wants things to return to normal. Afraid to contact police, these three teens attempt to discover the criminals themselves at great personal risk. Suspenseful and with a heart-pounding conclusion, this crime drama is a great recommendation for fans of mysteries and thrillers. Kimberly Garnick Giarratano, Rockaway Township Public Library, NJ