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High Water #2
Every Hidden Thing
Every Hidden Thing is the second book in the High Water series. It blends contemporary mystery and suspense, dramatic situations, and high adventure that 12- to 15-year-old boys and girls will love.
Parker Buckman loves his new home in Rockport, Massachusetts. But strange things have been happening ever since Devin Catsakis’ funeral. A series of break-ins have left everyone on edge, especially Parker’s new friend, Ella Houston. She lives with her grandma, and they depend on rental income from a cottage on their property.
Bad online reviews about the “ghost” terrorizing rental homes in Rockport aren’t helping bookings. With the bottom dropping out on the rental market, Ella’s home is at risk. All Parker wants is to help Ella―which means finding some answers. What Parker really needs? To trust that God, the great revealer of secrets, is just and will take care of this in His perfect timing―even when it seems He’s taking way too long.
Parker Buckman loves his new home in Rockport, Massachusetts. But strange things have been happening ever since Devin Catsakis’ funeral. A series of break-ins have left everyone on edge, especially Parker’s new friend, Ella Houston. She lives with her grandma, and they depend on rental income from a cottage on their property.
Bad online reviews about the “ghost” terrorizing rental homes in Rockport aren’t helping bookings. With the bottom dropping out on the rental market, Ella’s home is at risk. All Parker wants is to help Ella―which means finding some answers. What Parker really needs? To trust that God, the great revealer of secrets, is just and will take care of this in His perfect timing―even when it seems He’s taking way too long.
448 pages, Paperback
Published September 6, 2022
7 people are currently reading
84 people want to read
About the author
Tim Shoemaker
36 books103 followersTim Shoemaker is a speaker and author of eight books, including Dangerous Devotions for Guys; Smashed Tomatoes, Bottle Rockets, and Other Outdoor Devotionals; and Mashed Potatoes, Paint Balls, and Other Indoor/Outdoor Devotionals. He has three grown sons and has been happily married for over 32 years. His debut into the juvenile fiction market draws from his experience with kids as a volunteer youth leader for more than sixteen years.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
December 26, 2022
*actual review*
Parker is mostly settled into his new home in Massachusetts. He’s made new friends, has an enemy, but most importantly is still hanging onto the truth of integrity. However, things go array when Devin never comes back from trying to hunt down something or someone unknown. Is Parker willing to sacrifice himself again for a friend? How much harder can things get when it seems like God is being silent?
Okay. I don’t really know where to start because I love this book, but also kind of don’t. Hm, let’s start with the good.
The storyline is captivating. Once you start reading, it’s hard to put it down. You just immediately become curious to see what predicaments the characters will be placed in next and how everything is going to come together. Although this book wasn’t as suspenseful as the Code of Silence trilogy, some scenes still were pretty freaky, which I loved.
The characters are very well developed. I love how with Parker and Jelly you can see their growth from the first book. The things that they learned, they are holding on to and trying to apply in the current circumstances. Also, random side note, it’s very uncommon for media entertainment in any form to portray an open-communicated relationship between parents and their children. That is why I applaud Mr. Shoemaker for making that a part of the story. Parker wanted to include his parents in everything that he did with trying to find out who the "ghost” was and in helping Ella and her grandmother. That’s a whole other topic, however, it does demonstrate character.
When you read the book, you can tell who’s talking before seeing the dialogue tag. They all had their own way of saying things along with specific word choices. They each had quirks, strengths, weaknesses that were all different from one another, which created unique individual characters. And although Ella and Jelly were somewhat similar, he still made sure that they had differences to make them their own character.
*sighs*
Okay, the part I don’t really want to talk about, but it needs to be talked about.
First off, the story was a bit predictable. I was able to figure out who the bad guy was at chapter 15 and this book has a little over 80 chapters. I was told that the book is not really supposed to focus on the mystery aspect too much, but I didn’t want to know that soon. And because I already knew so fast, it was frustrating to me because everything was so obvious, but not to the characters. Ugh, I hate that haha.
The other thing was that I felt the racial things with Ella (who’s black) were focused on a little too much. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that it was bad that he included those things, far from it. However, it did seem to take away from the story some because it seemed as if he tried to just squeeze it in at some points. Oftentimes in media, whenever a black character is included, the creator always emphasizes on discrimination, instead of just making them a character like everyone else. Like I said, it’s not bad, but the rants and some of Scorza’s comments behind her back made it a bit “preachy” as if there was some sort of point Shoemaker was trying to make.
Content warnings: minor “cussing” (h*ck and dog****), racist comments.
Overall though, this book is absolutely amazing. Like I’ve said before, I could never not love a Tim Shoemaker book and although some things bothered me, they do not take away from what I enjoyed. If you’re looking for a YA Christ-centered suspense, pick up this book!
Parker is mostly settled into his new home in Massachusetts. He’s made new friends, has an enemy, but most importantly is still hanging onto the truth of integrity. However, things go array when Devin never comes back from trying to hunt down something or someone unknown. Is Parker willing to sacrifice himself again for a friend? How much harder can things get when it seems like God is being silent?
Okay. I don’t really know where to start because I love this book, but also kind of don’t. Hm, let’s start with the good.
The storyline is captivating. Once you start reading, it’s hard to put it down. You just immediately become curious to see what predicaments the characters will be placed in next and how everything is going to come together. Although this book wasn’t as suspenseful as the Code of Silence trilogy, some scenes still were pretty freaky, which I loved.
The characters are very well developed. I love how with Parker and Jelly you can see their growth from the first book. The things that they learned, they are holding on to and trying to apply in the current circumstances. Also, random side note, it’s very uncommon for media entertainment in any form to portray an open-communicated relationship between parents and their children. That is why I applaud Mr. Shoemaker for making that a part of the story. Parker wanted to include his parents in everything that he did with trying to find out who the "ghost” was and in helping Ella and her grandmother. That’s a whole other topic, however, it does demonstrate character.
When you read the book, you can tell who’s talking before seeing the dialogue tag. They all had their own way of saying things along with specific word choices. They each had quirks, strengths, weaknesses that were all different from one another, which created unique individual characters. And although Ella and Jelly were somewhat similar, he still made sure that they had differences to make them their own character.
*sighs*
Okay, the part I don’t really want to talk about, but it needs to be talked about.
First off, the story was a bit predictable. I was able to figure out who the bad guy was at chapter 15 and this book has a little over 80 chapters. I was told that the book is not really supposed to focus on the mystery aspect too much, but I didn’t want to know that soon. And because I already knew so fast, it was frustrating to me because everything was so obvious, but not to the characters. Ugh, I hate that haha.
The other thing was that I felt the racial things with Ella (who’s black) were focused on a little too much. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that it was bad that he included those things, far from it. However, it did seem to take away from the story some because it seemed as if he tried to just squeeze it in at some points. Oftentimes in media, whenever a black character is included, the creator always emphasizes on discrimination, instead of just making them a character like everyone else. Like I said, it’s not bad, but the rants and some of Scorza’s comments behind her back made it a bit “preachy” as if there was some sort of point Shoemaker was trying to make.
Content warnings: minor “cussing” (h*ck and dog****), racist comments.
Overall though, this book is absolutely amazing. Like I’ve said before, I could never not love a Tim Shoemaker book and although some things bothered me, they do not take away from what I enjoyed. If you’re looking for a YA Christ-centered suspense, pick up this book!
June 29, 2025
It was good. Id reccomend it fairly well. Of course the themes are pretty simple and easy to read into the text, and not super complex it was good. I guessed the villain about halfway through but it was a royal pain. Not as good as say... Monte Cristo but it was enough to keep me engaged.
June 19, 2025
OK. (please allow me this paragraph of space to yell out what my thoughts are) OH MY GOODNESS THIS GUY IS A GENIUS. TIM SHOEMAKER IS AN ABSOLUTE GENIUS. LIKE OH MY GOODNESS. THE FORESHADOWING WAS BRILLIANT. IT SEEMED SO INSIGNIFICANT, NOT EVEN RELATED WHATSOVER TO WHAT HAPPENED AND SAID BY SOMEONE WHO WAS A JERK, BUT OH MY WORD THAT THING BECAME EXTREMELY SIGNIFICANT. THIS BOOK IS ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL. I WAS SERIOUSLY SO SHOCKED AND AWED WHEN I DISCOVERD THE TWISTS (before the characters might I add) THAT I LITERALLY PUT THE BOOK DOWN RIGHT BEFORE THE MOST DANGEROUS TENSE SPOT TO GO YELL AT MY BEST FRIEND ABOUT IT.
March 5, 2024
Awesome suspense christian thriller and mystery! I loved this book!
September 8, 2024
*4.5 stars*
I am really starting to like this series. High stakes, good lessons, great characters! These books are great for tweens and teens who love suspense and adventure.
Parker, Harley, El, and Jelly are a great team. They all have different struggles to work through, and I loved that we got to see each of their perspectives. The character development has already been great, and I’ve been told it gets even better.
Pumped to read book 3!
Forgot to add that I did not guess who the shadowman was. I had my suspicions but ended up being very surprised to find out who it really was!
I am really starting to like this series. High stakes, good lessons, great characters! These books are great for tweens and teens who love suspense and adventure.
Parker, Harley, El, and Jelly are a great team. They all have different struggles to work through, and I loved that we got to see each of their perspectives. The character development has already been great, and I’ve been told it gets even better.
Pumped to read book 3!
Forgot to add that I did not guess who the shadowman was. I had my suspicions but ended up being very surprised to find out who it really was!
January 28, 2026
I missed Jelly a lot in the first half of the story. Ella annoyed me a little but she got better so it’s fine
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September 27, 2024I was a little disappointed with this one and would say I preferred the first book in the series. This book is a mystery, but I definitely saw the end coming. It wasn't terribly obvious, so I don't think most readers will guess it, but it still wasn't enough of a twist for me.
I think this one is well-written and an engaging action-adventure with good suspense and thrills, but it has one glaring problem that really killed it for me.
By far, the weakest element of this book is the forced racial topics. Based on the back cover description, I would not have guessed that this book would address racism at all, but it does, and I think this book approaches it rather poorly. It basically delves into critical race theory and feels divorced from reality.
Thankfully, this doesn't weigh down the entire book, and the final act doesn't delve as much into racism. I really think the author could have subverted expectations more and made a deeper commentary on race relations if the plot had been different. If the book was going to be about racial prejudice in modern-day Massachusetts, the author should have committed to it or at least handled it more tactfully to give readers something to contemplate. As is, the book skims the surface of deep topics just enough to annoy you and feels preachy.
I will probably read the next book in the series, but I don't think I would recommend this one. I might even recommend people skip it. I'll have to see if the next book is an improvement.
I think this one is well-written and an engaging action-adventure with good suspense and thrills, but it has one glaring problem that really killed it for me.
By far, the weakest element of this book is the forced racial topics. Based on the back cover description, I would not have guessed that this book would address racism at all, but it does, and I think this book approaches it rather poorly. It basically delves into critical race theory and feels divorced from reality.
Thankfully, this doesn't weigh down the entire book, and the final act doesn't delve as much into racism. I really think the author could have subverted expectations more and made a deeper commentary on race relations if the plot had been different. If the book was going to be about racial prejudice in modern-day Massachusetts, the author should have committed to it or at least handled it more tactfully to give readers something to contemplate. As is, the book skims the surface of deep topics just enough to annoy you and feels preachy.
I will probably read the next book in the series, but I don't think I would recommend this one. I might even recommend people skip it. I'll have to see if the next book is an improvement.
January 19, 2026
*internal screaming*
Not only did I stay up way later then normal to read this last night, I also spent half my Sunday afternoon with my eyes glued to the page. My mom called me for dinner right on the middle of Chapter 73.
Guys. Whatever you do, please don't stop in the middle of Chapter 73 😭 I was stressed out for most of the meal.
And the plot twist at the end!!! 😱 I had my suspicions right before it happened but still!!! That was an ending I won't be forgetting in a hurry.
Personally, I think this book might have topped book one. All I can say is that I can't wait to read book three!!!
Not only did I stay up way later then normal to read this last night, I also spent half my Sunday afternoon with my eyes glued to the page. My mom called me for dinner right on the middle of Chapter 73.
Guys. Whatever you do, please don't stop in the middle of Chapter 73 😭 I was stressed out for most of the meal.
And the plot twist at the end!!! 😱 I had my suspicions right before it happened but still!!! That was an ending I won't be forgetting in a hurry.
Personally, I think this book might have topped book one. All I can say is that I can't wait to read book three!!!
June 5, 2023
Absolutely amazing!!!!! Wonderful book!!! So well written!!! The chapters from the villains point of view were nailed!!! Perfect!! The story had great conflict, awesome plot twists, and never failed to keep me engaged! No language! The story gave great themes on treating each other the same regardless of looks, and also showed how we should be careful about who we trust. It clearly shows how anyone can change, everyone should be valued, and God reveals in His perfect timing! I highly recommend!!!
October 9, 2024
Awesome read. This one was a bit slower at times than the first book, but just as good. Parker is an awesome main character for this series, and the books have other great characters also. Harley was an interesting person.....even when he was not doing right, he was hard to dislike.
A lot of great faith aspects to the book.
A lot of great faith aspects to the book.
October 2, 2022
Wow! Was NOT expecting that!!!! Such an amazing book! I was actually kinda creeped out. Like, don’t read this book if you’re home alone haha iykyk! Aimed at readers 12+ (racial issues, violence, major creep factor lol).
November 5, 2025
This book was sooo good. HAS SUCH A GOOD PLOT TWIST! If you aren't into suspense or like creepy things, you might not like this one of the series, but if you get past that ITS SO GOOD! Harley's motives are kinda confusing but he becomes a great character!
September 10, 2022
Great second book to this series, very enjoyable.
July 6, 2023
As someone with a short attention span, this book kept my attention. The new characters are GREAT ADDITIONS! (I love Ella and Harper)
August 8, 2024
Amaaazing series....well written for youth to adult! If you love suspense....these are for you!
Read
April 23, 2025This book was AMAZING. At every end of the chapter had a cliff hanger!
Read
January 13, 2026A really good book couldn’t put it down
Read
July 2, 2024I like this book. It is kinda sad when the guy drowns. And I think Parker is a good and brave friend. I really thought that Rankin was the Shadow guy. I give this book 4 stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 14, 2025
This was soooooooooo good. I had to force my brother, who is 5 years older than me, to read it, and that's a sign that it's a great book.
September 6, 2025
*see my review for book one*
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews