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Hell to Pay
A bungled heist, two dead officers, and two missing weapons have weighed heavily on Dan Ferris’s shoulders for some time.
His two operatives, Annie Sinclair and Coleman Armstrong, want answers he can’t supply, and he’s been smelling more rats than ever within the department.
To burden his soul even more, Robert Manhattan, a fugitive and murderer, is back in town with vengeance on his mind.
Dan’s good at calculating things, but what if he slips up?
The bad guys can’t win, but there’s only so much Dan can do when his hands are tied.
His two operatives, Annie Sinclair and Coleman Armstrong, want answers he can’t supply, and he’s been smelling more rats than ever within the department.
To burden his soul even more, Robert Manhattan, a fugitive and murderer, is back in town with vengeance on his mind.
Dan’s good at calculating things, but what if he slips up?
The bad guys can’t win, but there’s only so much Dan can do when his hands are tied.
432 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 20, 2025
About the author
Sandy Paull
12 books25 followersPlease browse my FB page at http://www.facebook.com/sandypaullauthor, & visit my website at www.sandypaull.com
I was born in Mackay on the central Queensland coast. Giving up work to follow my future husband west to the mining communities of central Queensland, I subsequently became a full-time mother to our three children (now all adults), returning to the workforce in my mid-40s to help realise our goal of overseas travel.
As a junior I avidly enjoyed gymnastics and playing basketball, eventually coaching my then-teenage daughter's schoolgirl basketball team. I have had a long association with Kyokushin Karate, achieving the status of Qld Women’s Senior Kata Champion at age 39.
Creativity and persistence are two key drivers in my life. Sketching, macramé, sewing dance school costumes, designing and carrying out my own home landscaping, learning keyboard, guitar and fiction writing are examples of my imagination and determination to master new skills.
I started writing over 20 years ago, initially for my own enjoyment and these days to challenge myself to impress my peers sufficiently to achieve publication & reviews. I have been a member of the Mackay Writers group as well as the U3A (University of the Third Age) Writers Group. Recognition as the farthest solo traveller to attend an annual writers’ conference in Melbourne in 2002 was a pleasant surprise. I would like to acknowledge vital guidance and encouragement from a founding member of the Mackay Writers Group who is also a published author, journalist and editor - Mr Paul Vander Loos.
Linda Diggle from www.bookboffin.com books, and fellow-author Annie Seaton have both helped my stories come to life online & in print!
Apart from my 6 x published novels, the last couple including the sequel to my debut 'Clouds of Grey' in late 2017, and the most recent Christmas 2018 release of 'Survive or Die', I have recently published a short story which is the first in my Smokescreen Series, focusing on undercover cops. There are even more partially written manuscripts which await editing and proofing. As of first half of 2020, Book #7, the sequel to 'In the Dead of Night' was completed, and released April 2020! I am 30,000-words into another manuscript which is the 3rd in my trilogy involving my heroine Cassie Hart from debut 'Clouds of Grey' & its' sequel 'One Shot One Kill'. 2020 will also see me publish a new short story in my 'Smokescreen' series!
These days my husband & I call the beautiful & vibrant Gold Coast home!
Awards:
Kyokushin Karate Qld Womens Open Kata Champion
Favourite Books:
Anything by Matthew Reilly; loved Alfred Hitchcock, Alistair McLean & Enid Blyton in my adolescence.
sandy@sandypaull.com
I was born in Mackay on the central Queensland coast. Giving up work to follow my future husband west to the mining communities of central Queensland, I subsequently became a full-time mother to our three children (now all adults), returning to the workforce in my mid-40s to help realise our goal of overseas travel.
As a junior I avidly enjoyed gymnastics and playing basketball, eventually coaching my then-teenage daughter's schoolgirl basketball team. I have had a long association with Kyokushin Karate, achieving the status of Qld Women’s Senior Kata Champion at age 39.
Creativity and persistence are two key drivers in my life. Sketching, macramé, sewing dance school costumes, designing and carrying out my own home landscaping, learning keyboard, guitar and fiction writing are examples of my imagination and determination to master new skills.
I started writing over 20 years ago, initially for my own enjoyment and these days to challenge myself to impress my peers sufficiently to achieve publication & reviews. I have been a member of the Mackay Writers group as well as the U3A (University of the Third Age) Writers Group. Recognition as the farthest solo traveller to attend an annual writers’ conference in Melbourne in 2002 was a pleasant surprise. I would like to acknowledge vital guidance and encouragement from a founding member of the Mackay Writers Group who is also a published author, journalist and editor - Mr Paul Vander Loos.
Linda Diggle from www.bookboffin.com books, and fellow-author Annie Seaton have both helped my stories come to life online & in print!
Apart from my 6 x published novels, the last couple including the sequel to my debut 'Clouds of Grey' in late 2017, and the most recent Christmas 2018 release of 'Survive or Die', I have recently published a short story which is the first in my Smokescreen Series, focusing on undercover cops. There are even more partially written manuscripts which await editing and proofing. As of first half of 2020, Book #7, the sequel to 'In the Dead of Night' was completed, and released April 2020! I am 30,000-words into another manuscript which is the 3rd in my trilogy involving my heroine Cassie Hart from debut 'Clouds of Grey' & its' sequel 'One Shot One Kill'. 2020 will also see me publish a new short story in my 'Smokescreen' series!
These days my husband & I call the beautiful & vibrant Gold Coast home!
Awards:
Kyokushin Karate Qld Womens Open Kata Champion
Favourite Books:
Anything by Matthew Reilly; loved Alfred Hitchcock, Alistair McLean & Enid Blyton in my adolescence.
sandy@sandypaull.com
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 6, 2025
Hell to Pay is a gripping, pulse-tightening thriller that delivers tension, grit, and emotional weight in equal measure. Sandy Paull crafts a world where loyalty is fragile, danger is constant, and justice comes at a steep personal cost. The result is an unflinching, character-driven crime novel that refuses to let the reader go.
What stands out most is the psychological complexity woven through every layer of the story. Dan Ferris is not the typical hardened officer he is a man haunted by past failures, trapped between moral obligation and institutional rot. His burden of guilt over the bungled heist, the missing weapons, and the deaths of fellow officers fuels a narrative steeped in inner conflict. Paull does an exceptional job showing how “doing the right thing” becomes a maze of impossible choices when corruption saturates every corner of the department.
Annie Sinclair and Coleman Armstrong add compelling depth as operatives hungry for answers Dan cannot safely give. Their dynamic injects tension and vulnerability, amplifying the stakes. And then there is Robert Manhattan calculated, vengeful, and terrifyingly patient whose return raises the pressure to a boiling point.
Paull’s pacing is masterful. Each chapter tightens the screws, escalating the sense that Dan is running out of time, out of trust, and possibly out of luck. The writing is sharp, atmospheric, and immersive, with dialogue that feels authentic and action sequences that are cinematic without ever overshadowing the emotional core.
Hell to Pay is not simply a crime thriller; it is a story about consequences, integrity, and the brutal weight of responsibility. Sandy Paull has crafted an intense, layered, and deeply satisfying novel that leaves readers thinking long after the final page. A standout addition to the genre.
What stands out most is the psychological complexity woven through every layer of the story. Dan Ferris is not the typical hardened officer he is a man haunted by past failures, trapped between moral obligation and institutional rot. His burden of guilt over the bungled heist, the missing weapons, and the deaths of fellow officers fuels a narrative steeped in inner conflict. Paull does an exceptional job showing how “doing the right thing” becomes a maze of impossible choices when corruption saturates every corner of the department.
Annie Sinclair and Coleman Armstrong add compelling depth as operatives hungry for answers Dan cannot safely give. Their dynamic injects tension and vulnerability, amplifying the stakes. And then there is Robert Manhattan calculated, vengeful, and terrifyingly patient whose return raises the pressure to a boiling point.
Paull’s pacing is masterful. Each chapter tightens the screws, escalating the sense that Dan is running out of time, out of trust, and possibly out of luck. The writing is sharp, atmospheric, and immersive, with dialogue that feels authentic and action sequences that are cinematic without ever overshadowing the emotional core.
Hell to Pay is not simply a crime thriller; it is a story about consequences, integrity, and the brutal weight of responsibility. Sandy Paull has crafted an intense, layered, and deeply satisfying novel that leaves readers thinking long after the final page. A standout addition to the genre.
March 14, 2025
Hell to Pay is the third book in the series, On the Edge of Destruction, by Sandy Paull. The thrilling momentum of book one, Clouds of Grey, and book two, One Shot, One Kill, continues in book three. Ms Paull grabs her readers from page one with gripping action, continuing the suspense and drama to the very last page. Her characters, both good and evil, are well defined and their fast-paced dialogue speeds the story along at a furious pace. I felt as if I were part of the action. Gun smuggling is the theme of book three and readers are kept on the edge of their seats until the very last page. 5*
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews