Up From Hell by Joan Moran Book Review and Giveaway
UP FROM HELL
By Joan Moran
Crime Thriller
Publisher: Next Chapter
Publication Date: April 7, 2026
SYNOPSIS
Growing up in Las Vegas, Neil Dixon's future looked bleak. The son of a drug-addicted mother, he didn't have a lot of options until a police officer, Sergeant Finch, pulled him from danger and sent him to a new life in Texas.
Now, years later, Neil has become the police officer he always wanted to be—steady, principled, and unafraid to stand alone. But Jarrell, Texas, is not the clean slate he hoped for. Corruption in the department is rampant, and traffickers operate across the border.
When Neil’s mother dies, he returns to Las Vegas and meets the father he’s never known. He gets pulled into a deadly game with his father that stretches from Vegas to the police department in Jarrell, to cartel-scarred border towns. To survive, he must decide what kind of man he truly is - and how far he’s willing to go to stop the people who profit from chaos.
The first book in Joan Moran's series of crime thrillers, UP FROM HELL, is a gripping, character-driven novel about the weight of the past and the cost of justice.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Joan holds two master’s degrees: in Theater and in Education. Her desire to teach in the theater department at UNLV led to her position there, where she taught acting and theater history. Five years later, Joan founded and was the artistic director of the Meadows Playhouse, Las Vegas’s first year-round theater. Her interest in film led to her admission to the American Film Institute in Los Angeles as a producing fellow. Joan wrote her first screenplay and continued to write for film in Hollywood for the next 15 years. She produced several films.
Joan also pursued a career as a motivational speaker and blogger. As a keynote speaker, Joan commanded the stage with her delightful humor, raw energy, and wealth of life experiences. She spread her knowledge and energy as she combined 15 years of theater experience, as well as over 13 years of experience as a yoga and meditation instructor at UCLA.
Joan began her writing journey with her memoir, 60, Sex & Tango: Confessions of a Beatnik Boomer. Other books followed: I’m the Boss of Me: Stay Sexy, Smart & Strong at Any Age, a compilation of her most popular blogs, and An Accidental Cuban, a thriller that takes place in modern-day Havana. The novel was developed into a streaming series. Her recently published book, Once A Homecoming Queen, is a darkly humorous take on senior alcoholism. Joan also adapted Once A Homecoming Queen into an award-winning screenplay. Her latest book is a historical memoir of her mother: Suddenly, I Was Jewish: The Life and Times of My Jewish Mother. Up From Hell is her seventh novel. She is developing Up From Hell into a trilogy: ECHOES OF THE PAST: CRIMES IN CENTRAL TEXAS.
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REVIEW
Young Neil Dixon is off to a
rough and rather sad start. His mother, a heroin addict, is forced into rehab
and he is about to be turned over to Child Protective Services, when a
kind-hearted Las Vegas police officer intervenes and sends him off to live with
an aunt he’s never met in faraway Jarrell, Texas.
Loved by his aunt and his cousin
Jack, Neil settles into small-town life in Texas. All is not golden and as a
young man he has to take on his aunt’s abusive boyfriend. He discovers that the
local cops are not always on the right side of the law.
After graduating, Neil is
determined to become a police officer, emulating his childhood savior Officer
Finch. But he comes up against a corrupt system full of kickbacks, crooked
cops, and drug dealers. His absent father reappears in his life and drags him
into the world of the Mexican cartel, smugglers and dealers across the breadth
of Central Texas.
I really enjoyed this story. It’s
well written with a protagonist that you get behind from the very first page. I
loved Neil’s story as he matures into a good man who wants to be a good cop. Moran
builds a solid cast of characters to flesh out the story.
Highly recommend this book to
readers who enjoy small-town crime stories, coming of age stories, and all
round great reads.
I give this book 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐stars!
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