[ Home ]
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]

KICKBACK by p.m. terrell Chicago Spectrum Press, May 2002 $9.95 ISBN: 1879260417

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, May 2002

[ Top ]

QUICK SEARCH:

Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)

[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
[ Home ]