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Kickback
Sheila Carpenter's dream job for a prestigious computer consulting firm spirals out of control when she's instructed to cover up illegal activities. Now she's the only one who knows a truth so devastating that it could bring down an entire industry. With three people already dead, she's in a race to gather evidence while her own life hangs in the balance.
318 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2002
9 people want to read
About the author
P.M. Terrell
22 books242 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 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 22, 2011
Kickback
p. m. terrell
Chicago Spectrum Press, 2002
ISBN 1879260417
Mass Market Paperback
Re-issued by Drake Valley Press, 2002
ISBN 0972818618
0-9728186-1-8-9728186-1-8
Sheila Carpenter is a recent college graduate, a farm girl just starting her career as a computer programmer in the big city, Washington, DC. Recruited by a prestigious computer consulting firm, she’s rented a lovely townhouse in Old Town Alexandria, a place she’s delighted to have even if she can’t afford any furniture to put in it yet. Sheila is living her dream.
Her first assignment is with a large trucking broker, a firm which contracts with trucking companies all over the country to haul products for its clients. Her job is to create the programs that will allow the company to move its computer operations from an old mainframe to a PC system. Within a few days, though, she learns that what they really want is a new program that she believes must be illegal, although she’s not entirely sure.
Seeking advice, Sheila runs into brick walls everywhere. Her employer is dismissive of her concerns and law enforcement doesn’t seem to be interested; in fact, they treat her with disdain even when real trouble begins with a break-in and assault at her home and a death ruled a suicide when she is sure it’s murder. Fear begins to escalate as Sheila realizes she is being followed and bodies begin to pile up. There is only one person she can trust but she’s going to have to find the evidence herself if she has any chance of surviving.
The action in this soft-boiled thriller is nearly constant and the suspense builds to a crescendo that is nearly unbearable but also irresistible. Those of us who are voracious readers have the pleasure of reading many very fine works; most of us, though, don’t ever have the experience of discovering a real gem and that is what this is. Kickback is a joy to read for a number of reasons—great story, wonderful writing, good grammar (which is important to me), a protagonist who could be yourself or your daughter or sister, red herrings galore. This is the author’s first novel and, if it gets the attention it deserves, I expect p. m. terrell will become one of the big names in the mystery field.
Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, 2002.
p. m. terrell
Chicago Spectrum Press, 2002
ISBN 1879260417
Mass Market Paperback
Re-issued by Drake Valley Press, 2002
ISBN 0972818618
0-9728186-1-8-9728186-1-8
Sheila Carpenter is a recent college graduate, a farm girl just starting her career as a computer programmer in the big city, Washington, DC. Recruited by a prestigious computer consulting firm, she’s rented a lovely townhouse in Old Town Alexandria, a place she’s delighted to have even if she can’t afford any furniture to put in it yet. Sheila is living her dream.
Her first assignment is with a large trucking broker, a firm which contracts with trucking companies all over the country to haul products for its clients. Her job is to create the programs that will allow the company to move its computer operations from an old mainframe to a PC system. Within a few days, though, she learns that what they really want is a new program that she believes must be illegal, although she’s not entirely sure.
Seeking advice, Sheila runs into brick walls everywhere. Her employer is dismissive of her concerns and law enforcement doesn’t seem to be interested; in fact, they treat her with disdain even when real trouble begins with a break-in and assault at her home and a death ruled a suicide when she is sure it’s murder. Fear begins to escalate as Sheila realizes she is being followed and bodies begin to pile up. There is only one person she can trust but she’s going to have to find the evidence herself if she has any chance of surviving.
The action in this soft-boiled thriller is nearly constant and the suspense builds to a crescendo that is nearly unbearable but also irresistible. Those of us who are voracious readers have the pleasure of reading many very fine works; most of us, though, don’t ever have the experience of discovering a real gem and that is what this is. Kickback is a joy to read for a number of reasons—great story, wonderful writing, good grammar (which is important to me), a protagonist who could be yourself or your daughter or sister, red herrings galore. This is the author’s first novel and, if it gets the attention it deserves, I expect p. m. terrell will become one of the big names in the mystery field.
Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, 2002.
October 30, 2025
Got this book from my Gram, who also gave me one of my favorite movies, Wait Until Dark - she continues to have excellent taste :)
Dialogue and character motivations were very realistic and natural. Relationships develop in a very natural way, as well.
I loved the computer science aspect, and appreciated that the author wrote about what she knew - she's a CS major, which lends an element of credibility and authenticity to the story.
I could absolutely see this happening in real life; nothing is entirely off-the-rails or unbelievable, nothing is over the top drama and crazy intrigue, and yet she still does an excellent job providing a fast-paced, harrowing story with lots of adrenaline.
Because of the realistic elements, I found the story to be pretty immersive, much more than other mystery books (such as Agatha Christie or John Grisham), thus bumping my initial 4-star rating up to five.
Dialogue and character motivations were very realistic and natural. Relationships develop in a very natural way, as well.
I loved the computer science aspect, and appreciated that the author wrote about what she knew - she's a CS major, which lends an element of credibility and authenticity to the story.
I could absolutely see this happening in real life; nothing is entirely off-the-rails or unbelievable, nothing is over the top drama and crazy intrigue, and yet she still does an excellent job providing a fast-paced, harrowing story with lots of adrenaline.
Because of the realistic elements, I found the story to be pretty immersive, much more than other mystery books (such as Agatha Christie or John Grisham), thus bumping my initial 4-star rating up to five.
October 23, 2008
Took me totally by surprise. Very intense plot.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews