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Padlocked
International Book Awards 2026 Finalist, Cross-Genre Category
In the afterlife, your past isn’t over. It’s waiting for you.
Ordinary people are swept into an extraordinary storm of life-altering circumstances as Nazi Germany invades Poland in 1939. Each decision they make seals a fate, binding strangers in an unbreakable chain of consequence. In this tense, visionary tale, every action echoes into the afterlife.
Two foreign photojournalists, an American and a Spaniard, are trapped between armies at Festungsfront Oder-Warthe-Bogen, along Poland’s western border with Germany. It is Hank’s last overseas assignment, and he’s been counting the days until he can go home to North Carolina to be with his family. Rafe fled Spain after the dictator, Francisco Franco, targeted his family. They will find themselves embedded with the Polish, Nazi, and Soviet forces at varying times, forcing them to face moral and ethical decisions in their struggles to survive.
A young woman is separated from her sister in Warsaw as the Nazis encircle it. Agata made a vow that she would return to take Elsa to safety, but soldiers and barbed wire prevent her from entering the newly established Jewish sector. When she discovers her sister was taken by train to a work camp near Krakow, she navigates her war-torn country in search of her. Her quest will force her to confront a Hell on Earth to find her.
A young man joins the Jungdeutsche Partei, or the Young German Party. Once bullied as a child, Max’s new affiliations promote him to a position where he can dictate life or death and settle scores. In order to thrive under Nazi occupation, he makes daily choices that have the power to erode humanitarian principles and scruples.
While they don’t know one another at the start of their journeys, each will make decisions that have the power to transform them and place them on paths that ultimately converge on January 27, 1945, as the 60th Army of the First Ukrainian Front opened the gates to Auschwitz-Birkenau for all the world to witness.
This is ultimately a story about the strength of love, courage, faith, and resilience in the face of unimaginable hatred and obsession with power, and how every decision we make places us further along specific paths.
In the afterlife, your past isn’t over. It’s waiting for you.
Ordinary people are swept into an extraordinary storm of life-altering circumstances as Nazi Germany invades Poland in 1939. Each decision they make seals a fate, binding strangers in an unbreakable chain of consequence. In this tense, visionary tale, every action echoes into the afterlife.
Two foreign photojournalists, an American and a Spaniard, are trapped between armies at Festungsfront Oder-Warthe-Bogen, along Poland’s western border with Germany. It is Hank’s last overseas assignment, and he’s been counting the days until he can go home to North Carolina to be with his family. Rafe fled Spain after the dictator, Francisco Franco, targeted his family. They will find themselves embedded with the Polish, Nazi, and Soviet forces at varying times, forcing them to face moral and ethical decisions in their struggles to survive.
A young woman is separated from her sister in Warsaw as the Nazis encircle it. Agata made a vow that she would return to take Elsa to safety, but soldiers and barbed wire prevent her from entering the newly established Jewish sector. When she discovers her sister was taken by train to a work camp near Krakow, she navigates her war-torn country in search of her. Her quest will force her to confront a Hell on Earth to find her.
A young man joins the Jungdeutsche Partei, or the Young German Party. Once bullied as a child, Max’s new affiliations promote him to a position where he can dictate life or death and settle scores. In order to thrive under Nazi occupation, he makes daily choices that have the power to erode humanitarian principles and scruples.
While they don’t know one another at the start of their journeys, each will make decisions that have the power to transform them and place them on paths that ultimately converge on January 27, 1945, as the 60th Army of the First Ukrainian Front opened the gates to Auschwitz-Birkenau for all the world to witness.
This is ultimately a story about the strength of love, courage, faith, and resilience in the face of unimaginable hatred and obsession with power, and how every decision we make places us further along specific paths.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
428 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 30, 2026
About the author
P.M. Terrell
23 books245 followersp.m.terrell is the pen name for Patricia McClelland Terrell, the award-winning, internationally acclaimed author of more than 27 books in four genres: contemporary suspense, historical adventure/suspense, computer how-to, and non-fiction.
Before writing full-time, she founded two computer companies in the Washington, DC, Metropolitan Area. Among her clients were the Central Intelligence Agency, the United States Secret Service, the U.S. Information Agency, and the Department of Defense. Her specialties were white-collar computer crime and computer intelligence, themes that carried forward into her contemporary suspense.
She has been a full-time author since 2002. Vicki’s Key was a top five finalist in the 2012 International Book Awards and 2012 USA Book Awards nominee, and The Pendulum Files was a national finalist for the Best Cover of the Year in 2014. The Tempest Murders was one of four finalists in the 2013 International Book Awards, cross-genre category.
Her historical suspense, River Passage, was a 2010 Best Fiction and Drama Winner. It was determined to be so historically accurate that a copy of the book resides at the Nashville Government Metropolitan Archives in Nashville, Tennessee.
Before writing full-time, she founded two computer companies in the Washington, DC, Metropolitan Area. Among her clients were the Central Intelligence Agency, the United States Secret Service, the U.S. Information Agency, and the Department of Defense. Her specialties were white-collar computer crime and computer intelligence, themes that carried forward into her contemporary suspense.
She has been a full-time author since 2002. Vicki’s Key was a top five finalist in the 2012 International Book Awards and 2012 USA Book Awards nominee, and The Pendulum Files was a national finalist for the Best Cover of the Year in 2014. The Tempest Murders was one of four finalists in the 2013 International Book Awards, cross-genre category.
Her historical suspense, River Passage, was a 2010 Best Fiction and Drama Winner. It was determined to be so historically accurate that a copy of the book resides at the Nashville Government Metropolitan Archives in Nashville, Tennessee.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 30, 2026
Padlocked is an incredible story of human fortitude and suffering in the face of institutionalised brutality.
Set in Nazi occupied Poland, it looks through the eyes of a Jewish woman trying to stay under the radar, foreign journalists in Poland trying to report on atrocities, and a Polish man who joined the Nazis and hired workers for Auschwitz. Showing both human courage and compassion in the face of terrible personal risk, and the determination to fit in at any cost, Padlocked takes us into an earthly hell, and then through to the other side where the characters have to face the consequences of the choices they made on earth, and relive them from the perspective of every person they impacted.
Agata was brought up by her Jewish father in Warsaw, but when the Nazis entered the city her father and sister refused to leave the Jewish quarter with her. Forced to escape alone, she finds herself on a lifesaving mission to find her sister in Auschwitz and rescue her. But to do this, she has to make a terrible decision and walk very fine lines between hurting and helping others.
Hank and Rafe are journalists who travel to Poland to report on the atrocities they see coming. But when the Nazis arrive, they are adopted by the invading forces and used to spread Nazi propoganda. Stuck behind enemy lines, trying to stay alive, they do everything they can to get word oversees, never knowing whether or not their efforts will be successful.
Max grew up on the breadline in Warsaw with his mother, and saw the opportunity to make a name for himself in the local Nazi party. When the invading forces arrived, Max was quick to join the cause and find status and security for himself, hiring staff for Auswitz. But to create this new life, he had to walk away from everything and everyone he knew and loved.
None of the characters face easy choices. None of the characters comes from a position of priviledge. Each one has to make difficult decisions in the face of extreme personal sacrifice and, in the end, each of them has to live with the decisions they make in this life, and atone in the next.
Padlocked is a book about empathy and morality, or lack of it. It reminds us about past atrocities at a time when history seems to be repeating itself, and it brings the story vividly to life through incredible characters. It’s an addictive read with all of P.M. Terrell’s usual page turning quality, and a deep compassion that threads through every single word. This book is a reminder that we all have to live with every single choice we make, and the repercussions those choices have on others, intended or otherwise.
Set in Nazi occupied Poland, it looks through the eyes of a Jewish woman trying to stay under the radar, foreign journalists in Poland trying to report on atrocities, and a Polish man who joined the Nazis and hired workers for Auschwitz. Showing both human courage and compassion in the face of terrible personal risk, and the determination to fit in at any cost, Padlocked takes us into an earthly hell, and then through to the other side where the characters have to face the consequences of the choices they made on earth, and relive them from the perspective of every person they impacted.
Agata was brought up by her Jewish father in Warsaw, but when the Nazis entered the city her father and sister refused to leave the Jewish quarter with her. Forced to escape alone, she finds herself on a lifesaving mission to find her sister in Auschwitz and rescue her. But to do this, she has to make a terrible decision and walk very fine lines between hurting and helping others.
Hank and Rafe are journalists who travel to Poland to report on the atrocities they see coming. But when the Nazis arrive, they are adopted by the invading forces and used to spread Nazi propoganda. Stuck behind enemy lines, trying to stay alive, they do everything they can to get word oversees, never knowing whether or not their efforts will be successful.
Max grew up on the breadline in Warsaw with his mother, and saw the opportunity to make a name for himself in the local Nazi party. When the invading forces arrived, Max was quick to join the cause and find status and security for himself, hiring staff for Auswitz. But to create this new life, he had to walk away from everything and everyone he knew and loved.
None of the characters face easy choices. None of the characters comes from a position of priviledge. Each one has to make difficult decisions in the face of extreme personal sacrifice and, in the end, each of them has to live with the decisions they make in this life, and atone in the next.
Padlocked is a book about empathy and morality, or lack of it. It reminds us about past atrocities at a time when history seems to be repeating itself, and it brings the story vividly to life through incredible characters. It’s an addictive read with all of P.M. Terrell’s usual page turning quality, and a deep compassion that threads through every single word. This book is a reminder that we all have to live with every single choice we make, and the repercussions those choices have on others, intended or otherwise.
August 21, 2026
A ruthless Polish collaborator. An idealistic American journalist. A young Jewish woman who hides her racial identity. In the first pages of Patricia Terrell’s novel, we meet these three characters at the recently liberated Auschwitz concentration camp, January 1945. When a hand grenade is detonated in their midst, they immediately—and separately—enter a different dimension where they face a padlocked gate. Max, Hank, and Agata then prepare to revisit their lives and choices.
After subsequent chapters provide brief backstories, the narrative switches to the Nazi invasion of Poland, September 1939, where the horrors of war become intensely personal for Terrell’s main characters. Agata is desperate to be reunited with her family who she left behind during the blitzkrieg. Max, a closeted Nazi, is determined to thrive in the occupation. And Hank is resolved to document as much as he can.
The mastery with which Terrell intertwines these three narratives creates a brilliantly clear picture of the Polish experience during the Second World War. The reader encounters the world of collaborators through Max’s story and the nation’s secret armed resistance through Agata’s. And all three storylines reveal the unfolding of the Holocaust as the Jewish sector turns into the ghetto; as mass slaughter in the countryside is replaced with more efficient murders carried out in the gas chambers of Auschwitz. It’s one thing to understand that the Holocaust occurred, it’s another to watch shocked fictional characters observe it in real time and Terrell makes us feel their shock acutely.
If Padlocked only illuminated the Polish experience during the Second World War it would have been a triumph, but it is also bookended by the philosophy of eternal consequences and the afterlife. Terrell’s thoughtful and interesting take on this topic is general enough to be acceptable to a wide audience; for believers it will only add depth to the story and for those without faith, it shouldn’t detract from the gripping plot.
Padlocked is thoroughly compelling, meticulously researched, beautifully written, and at times, heart-stopping.
(This review will appear at Midwest Book Review in September 2026).
After subsequent chapters provide brief backstories, the narrative switches to the Nazi invasion of Poland, September 1939, where the horrors of war become intensely personal for Terrell’s main characters. Agata is desperate to be reunited with her family who she left behind during the blitzkrieg. Max, a closeted Nazi, is determined to thrive in the occupation. And Hank is resolved to document as much as he can.
The mastery with which Terrell intertwines these three narratives creates a brilliantly clear picture of the Polish experience during the Second World War. The reader encounters the world of collaborators through Max’s story and the nation’s secret armed resistance through Agata’s. And all three storylines reveal the unfolding of the Holocaust as the Jewish sector turns into the ghetto; as mass slaughter in the countryside is replaced with more efficient murders carried out in the gas chambers of Auschwitz. It’s one thing to understand that the Holocaust occurred, it’s another to watch shocked fictional characters observe it in real time and Terrell makes us feel their shock acutely.
If Padlocked only illuminated the Polish experience during the Second World War it would have been a triumph, but it is also bookended by the philosophy of eternal consequences and the afterlife. Terrell’s thoughtful and interesting take on this topic is general enough to be acceptable to a wide audience; for believers it will only add depth to the story and for those without faith, it shouldn’t detract from the gripping plot.
Padlocked is thoroughly compelling, meticulously researched, beautifully written, and at times, heart-stopping.
(This review will appear at Midwest Book Review in September 2026).
May 6, 2026
Wow. I just finished reading Padlocked. Wow. This is a story that will take your breath away in so many ways. It is gut-wrenching and disturbing but there is a glimmer of hope that clings to every page.
It starts out with a bang. Literally. Padlocked is set against the backdrop and horrors of WWII but is told with a rather unique twist. Four individuals who come from very different walks of life, meet by circumstance, and go their own way only to find they all end up at the same place. Sort of. Their journeys are unique and formidable but really make you hope that there is something called karma.
The research that had to have gone into this is impressive. The horror and trauma of that war are well depicted in an up close and personal way for these four individuals. It gives you a unique perspective of all sides of the war.
This story was engaging from beginning to end with a unique twist. Once I started reading it I couldn't stop. It is a brilliant story and one that I highly recommend.
It starts out with a bang. Literally. Padlocked is set against the backdrop and horrors of WWII but is told with a rather unique twist. Four individuals who come from very different walks of life, meet by circumstance, and go their own way only to find they all end up at the same place. Sort of. Their journeys are unique and formidable but really make you hope that there is something called karma.
The research that had to have gone into this is impressive. The horror and trauma of that war are well depicted in an up close and personal way for these four individuals. It gives you a unique perspective of all sides of the war.
This story was engaging from beginning to end with a unique twist. Once I started reading it I couldn't stop. It is a brilliant story and one that I highly recommend.
July 25, 2026
Every once in a while you read a story so compelling you don’t want to put it down. Padlocked is that story for me. From the first page, you are drawn into a world so well drawn you feel like you are there. The characters are three dimensional and very compelling. The author’s writing puts you right in the middle of the action with the characters and it’s just like you are living through the struggles with them.
The author has done a tremendous amount of research and it shows, but never in a heavy-handed way or by infodrop. Instead she incorporates the research into the story itself, which adds to the reality for the reader. Great job!
This is not just a straight historical fiction, however. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but suffice it to say there is an additional element that layers the story with an additional depth of meaning I did not expect when I started reading the book. And, it was this element that took this book from a 4 star rating to a 5. It is quite easily one of my favorite parts of the book.
The author has done a tremendous amount of research and it shows, but never in a heavy-handed way or by infodrop. Instead she incorporates the research into the story itself, which adds to the reality for the reader. Great job!
This is not just a straight historical fiction, however. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but suffice it to say there is an additional element that layers the story with an additional depth of meaning I did not expect when I started reading the book. And, it was this element that took this book from a 4 star rating to a 5. It is quite easily one of my favorite parts of the book.
May 1, 2026
If we think that history is only in the past, we have missed the mark. History is repeating itself again and again. Padlocked reminds us of the small decisions that we make in the course of our lives that ultimately end up changing the course of other people’s lives. The history within this book is awakening and heartbreaking. But if we have the courage to read it, we will see ourselves within the book and be aware of the decisions that we make today.
May 28, 2026
Padlocked is an extraordinary work of historical fiction that offers lessons for our world today. There are several concurrent storylines of individuals whose lives dramatically intersect. Their fates are unknown until the end.
I particularly like that the religious person in the group is very real! He often quotes scripture while also using colorful language. The distinctive qualities of each character make you love or hate them, and anxious to find out how things turn out. A must read!
I particularly like that the religious person in the group is very real! He often quotes scripture while also using colorful language. The distinctive qualities of each character make you love or hate them, and anxious to find out how things turn out. A must read!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews