Up From Hell

by Joan Moran

UP FROM HELL is the story of a small-town Texas cop, Neil Dixon, who is experiencing corruption in his department and in the county. When he was young and living in the seedy section of Las Vegas with his mother, an addict, he was saved by a policeman who saw to it that he was taken care of and sent to the small Texas town of Jarrell to be cared for by his aunt. He never saw his mother again, and he never knew his father. Years later, after he became a cop, Neil gets word from the policeman who saved him that his mother died. When he goes back to Las Vegas for the funeral, he meets his father, a low-life mafia criminal. His father introduces himself and begins to bond with his son. He wants something from Neil that pertains to a nefarious business opportunity at the Mexican border, specifically distributing drugs in central Texas. The nature of the grifter comes up against Neil’s righteousness.

UP FROM HELL weaves themes of corruption, identity, and the complexities of family bonds, as the protagonist grapples with his past and present, and navigates the murky waters of a world where loyalty may be a betrayal in disguise.

UP FROM HELL is the first book of a trilogy: ECHOES OF THE PAST: CRIMES IN CENTRAL TEXAS BOOK 1

297 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 7, 2026

About the author

Joan Moran is the author of seven books spanning crime fiction, memoir, and nonfiction. Her latest novel, Up From Hell: Echoes of the Past Crimes in Central Texas Book 1, is a gritty Texas crime thriller and the first book in the Crimes in Central Texas trilogy. Available now on Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Google Play. Her last book is an historical memoir called Suddenly Jewish: The Life and Times of My Jewish Mother.

Joan holds two master's degrees in Theater and Education. She founded the Meadows Playhouse, Las Vegas's first year-round professional theater and received the Governor's Award for Distinguished Excellence in Theater in Nevada. She trained as a producing fellow at the American Film Institute before spending fifteen years writing and producing films in Hollywood. A motivational speaker, yoga and meditation instructor, and longtime contributor to HuffPost and Sixty and Me, Joan now lives in Austin, Texas where she is writing the second book in the crime trilogy Echoes of the Past: Crimes in Central Texas.

Reviews

[Karen Brooks - TheTxLitChic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Up From Hell – Echoes of the Past: Crimes in Central Texas – Book 1
~Joan Moran

Up From Hell by Joan Moran is a psychological crime drama that feels like a confession unfolding in slow motion — raw, intimate, and achingly human. It is as much a portrait of survival as it is a thriller about the shadows that follow a boy into manhood. The kind of story where trauma is not merely backstory, but oxygen itself.

The Broken Arms is a crumbling apartment complex in Las Vegas, home to ten-year-old Neil Dixon and his mother Cheryl. It is a place where gunfire is as common as overdue rent notices. Cheryl is a heroin addict and sex worker, while Neil is a child forced to navigate realities far too harsh for someone his age. The neighborhood drug dealer, Jasper, makes it his business to keep the residents of The Broken Arms dependent and desperate. Among them is Gary, the Vietnam veteran who lives next door to Neil and Cheryl.

Whenever Neil needs to be out of the way while his mother “works,” Gary becomes his companion and unlikely guide through Las Vegas. He teaches Neil the beginnings of poker, carries him to school when Cheryl physically cannot, and offers the boy the closest thing to stability he has ever known.

But one night Neil’s world is shattered by a single gunshot. Gary is dead, Jasper is in custody, and Cheryl is trapped in the agony of withdrawal, desperate for her next fix. Then the police knock on Neil’s door, and everything changes.

Sergeant Finch enters Neil’s life like a lifeline. He helps Cheryl get into detox and later rehabilitation, while Neil, with nowhere else to go, temporarily stays with Finch and his fiancée Arlene. In just a few short days, they show Neil more compassion and care than he has experienced in his entire life. Their kindness leaves a permanent imprint on him, fueling his determination to finish school and someday become a police officer himself.

Eventually Neil is sent to Jarrell, Texas, to live with an aunt he has never met. Aunt Nancy is nothing like he imagined. She is hilarious, stubborn in her tastes, deeply set in her ways, and impossible not to love. The house is crowded with her son Jack, her rough-around-the-edges boyfriend Big Mac, and his two daughters, but despite the chaos, it becomes the closest thing Neil has ever had to a real home.

The only question is whether Neil will fall into the traps of small-town police politics or rise above them in honor of the example Sergeant Finch gave him.

Moran writes her characters with an unflinching honesty. There are no glossy filters or dramatic flourishes, only the quiet devastation found in ordinary moments: cold pizza tasting like a feast, a step-ladder becoming detective training, fleeting acts of kindness carrying the weight of salvation. Neil is resilient, stubborn, vulnerable, and heartbreakingly believable. His reality feels painfully authentic because it reflects struggles that are all too common.

Sergeant Finch and Arlene become emotional anchors in Neil’s life, while Aunt Nancy and Jack become his tether to identity and belonging. Nancy initially projects strength above all else, but beneath that tough exterior lies someone just as fractured as everyone around her. Her vulnerabilities ultimately become the source of her strength.

The supporting cast is vividly drawn without ever overshadowing Neil’s story. They feel familiar in the way faces in old photographs do — grainy, weathered, imperfect, but unmistakably real.

What makes Up From Hell so compelling is that it does not rely on relentless action or manufactured suspense. Its momentum comes from tension and emotional accumulation. Scenes unfold carefully, building emotional weight with surgical precision until even the quietest moments land with startling force. The deliberate pacing serves a purpose, allowing each domestic detail to deepen the psychological foundation of Neil’s later career in law enforcement.

Nothing feels rushed, yet nothing ever feels entirely safe.

The novel is richly grounded in sensory detail — the smells, textures, sounds, and atmosphere all immersing the reader in Neil’s world. Moran explores themes of survival versus identity, addiction and inheritance, the illusion of rescue, and the moral origins of law enforcement, all while maintaining a haunting emotional undercurrent throughout the story.

Overall, Up From Hell is a gripping and deeply humane novel that blends emotional precision with the framework of a crime thriller. As the beginning of this series, it leaves me eager to follow Neil’s future in law enforcement, while also hoping we continue to glimpse Aunt Nancy and Jack as their lives evolve alongside his.

I would like to thank Joan Moran and Lone Star Literary Life for the opportunity to read Up From Hell. As always, all reviews and opinions are entirely my own. I have not been promised any compensation by the author or publisher for a fair and honest review.

[Leslie aka StoreyBook Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes a child has to grow up fast, and that is what happened with Neil. Born in the 1970s, this was a different time for kids that what we see today. Neil could be considered a latchkey child, and luckily he has a kind neighbor that watches out for him since his mother is not able to. However, circumstances lands him in Texas with his aunt and her boyfriend and his cousin. This is where the story really takes off. 

The story spans approximately 15 years. The first ten reflect how quickly he had to grow up. The home life was not the best and his aunt's boyfriend was abusive. Neil's objective was to get out of the house and stay away as long as he could. Living in a small town in Central Texas, however, does not lend itself to many opportunities, so he ventures to a nearby small town and finds a job in a bicycle shop. Reading about his journey to this town reminded me of life in East Texas: compassionate residents and business owners who take an interest in young minds and people by working with them to encourage a better life. I definitely felt for Neil and everything he endured, because these incidents caused him to mature much faster than he should have. 

One thing I admired about Neil is that he knew from early on that he wanted to be a police officer. This is largely due to a police officer named Finch in Las Vegas that took him in before he was sent to Texas. He joins the police force right out of high school, or at least he tries. Small towns aren't known for their speed. It doesn't help that the police in these small towns were corrupt and that was a hill he was going to have to climb - whether to be upstanding like Finch, or corrupt like these cops. Neil is smart and it is surprising the cases he solves at such a young age. He doesn't do everything on his own, he has a few trustworthy friends who help him out. By this time, it is the early 1990s, but that doesn't stop him from trying to conquer the drug industry and stopping cartels from bringing in drugs to these small towns. I am still surprised at the complexity of the situation, and how is able to piece things together.

Perseverance is the trait I would give to Neil. He never gives up no matter what is thrown at him. Even when his father appears and believes that Neil will help get him in bed with the cartel. 

While the focus of the book is on Neil, the other characters add dimension and nuance to the story. I really enjoyed meeting these characters and wondering how their story would play out in the end. 

I know that there will be two more books in this series, and I can't wait to see what new adventures Neil will have.

We give this book 4 paws up.

[W.M. Gunn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sooner or later, everyone stands at a crossroads in their life. Neil Dixon was the young son of a Vegas drug-addicted mother who always wanted to become a cop, though his world was mired in a living hell. How could he escape the squalor of his mother’s world to reach such a lofty career goal as a cop? Standing in the middle of that crossroad was his answer. A mentor, a savior, a father figure -- a good, honest cop named Sergeant Finch of the Vegas PD. Finch helped young Neil connect with his mother’s sister in Jarrell, Texas, where he lived with her family. His cousin Jack helped Neil assimilate into the pattern of a Central Texas school. After high school, Neil faced another crossroads.

Neil chose to become a police officer in Jarrell, but he quickly learned of corruption, payoffs, and drug traffickers. He stood at another crossroads – a life of crime or a life as an honest cop. The bottom-of-the-barrel rookie cop soon rose in stature as an honest man and a skilled police officer. Neil became more aware of the drug scene in Jarrell and around Central Texas and the mounting pressure on all levels of law enforcement. Give in and become a pawn to the cartels, or stand on your principles and risk the death of you and your loved ones. Another crossroads. Neil Dixon became the cop he always dreamed of being – but at what price?

The author Joan Moran provides an excellent, diverse cast of characters. Ms. Moran weaves a giant spider web connecting drug traffickers in Mexico that supply distributors in Central Texas and beyond. But who is the spider in the center of the web? She also weaves a panoramic, deadly vista from Las Vegas to Jarrell to Texas border towns where no one is safe from multiple, competing cartels. Officer Neil Dixon builds a trusted team of friends to fight drug traffickers and corruption in law enforcement.

Well done, Joan Moran! But who is the “spider” of this web of drug traffickers? I smell a sequel in the Texas air.

[Jean Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Karen Siddall · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young boy comes of age in not-so-sleepy Central Texas.

Up From Hell is the first book in author Joan Moran’s gritty crime fiction series, Echoes of the Past: Crimes in Central Texas, featuring a young boy who was dealt a rough start in life but who has a plan to turn it all around and make the most of his dream to become a good police officer. When Neil Dixon’s mother goes into the hospital to treat her drug addiction, the eight-year-old is befriended by Las Vegas Police Sergeant Jordan Finch, who gets him to a safe, stable place before arranging for a more permanent solution with the boy’s aunt and her family in distant Jarrell, Texas. Finch’s example and kindness become Neil’s ideal for his own future, and as he grows, he plots a course to become a police officer in his new hometown. But law enforcement in small towns in dusty Central Texas was a whole different beast at that time. Corruption was rife through the little communities, and the bad guys went unpunished while the cops took money to look the other way. Still, Neil pursued his dream, with the ultimate goal of changing the way justice was served, from the inside out.

Told from Neil’s point of view, his experiences and impressions from his early life are hard to read, even as Neil keeps himself together and strives for more. After leaving his life in Las Vegas behind, things improve marginally for him, but his aunt is also fighting her own battles with an alcoholic live-in boyfriend. Still just kids, Neil and his cousin, Jack, take the necessary steps toward getting her the help she needs.

One of the hallmarks of small-town living is that neighbors help neighbors, and Neil is the beneficiary of some good people who want to give the honest, hard-working kid a break, which is how he comes by his first job and first modes of transportation. Another small-town element is the undeniable familiarity; everyone knows everyone else, their families, and their business. This truth both helps and hinders Neil as he progresses toward his goal.

Because of his unbuffered childhood, Neil had to grow up quickly, but along with the hard knocks, he gained a keen sense of survival and a strong intuition that served him well. I liked how Neil could see through most people’s smokescreens of lies, half-truths, and other obfuscations to get to the heart of what was going on.

The story moves at an even pace as Neil grows to maturity, punctuated with exciting encounters with criminals, potential danger, and obstacles laid by those who should have been on his side. The young man experiences even more tragedy in his life, yet keeps rebounding even stronger than before. I look forward to more of his crime-stopping adventures.

I recommend UP FROM HELL to readers of character-driven crime fiction.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy from the author through Lone Star Literary Life Book Campaigns.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joan Moran's Up From Hell was an emotionally compelling read that quickly pulled me into Neil's story. His journey from a nine-year-old raised by an addict in Las Vegas to a good cop fighting corruption in small-town Texas showed how one kind, meaningful intervention can change the trajectory of someone's life.

Neil is an old soul who consistently shows up with wisdom and integrity. His cousin Jack's assessment of him resonated and captured Neil perfectly:
"You were raised in chaos, yet you move through life grounded in reality."

Moran keeps the action going as she covers large spans of time. We weave through Neil's dangerous childhood, threatened by the seedy reality of the Las Vegas drug and prostitution scene, his young adulthood protecting his aunt from an abusive boyfriend, and his days as a young cop trying to figure out a corrupt and sinister system. There were edge-of-my-seat moments when I feared for his life and relief when he once again survived the violence that seemed to follow him.

At times, the story almost read like a memoir, with asides that felt like real-life details. Sometimes Moran circled back and explained, other times not.

Regardless, Neil's sage observations and advice impressed me, and only occasionally wandered into didactic territory. His insight helped him prevail over difficult circumstances:

"It's better, I guess, to be aware of your own darkness. Then you don't feel better or worse than anybody else. You're just human. Like everyone else."

"Maybe that was love: deciding someone was worth fumbling for."

"What you do today is the future. Set an intention every morning to show up. Exceed yourself in small ways. Stop judging yourself like you're the jury and executioner."

Moran has given us a principled character with pure motivations and a drive for justice who will stop at nothing to clear out the drug syndicate taking over Texas. While some parts of the story were a bit choppy and a little heavy-handed, overall, the author's world of crime, bribery, and exploitation kept me engaged.

The ending was not fully satisfying; however, I think that was intentional. It leaves lots of room for a sequel, and I will be tuning in to see what happens next.

Up From Hell will appeal to readers who enjoy crime thrillers and glimpses of small-town Texas, and at its heart is a novel that questions whether someone raised in darkness can choose light and makes us care deeply about the answer.

[Maryann · Rating 4 out of 5]

My interest in this story is two-fold. I like a good crime thriller and stories about small towns in Texas. Having lived in one for a number of years and been privy to some of the double-dealings and corruption in police departments and city governments, I enjoyed that aspect of Up From Hell. The story deals with all that in a realistic way.

The central character, Neil, exhibits an inner strength from the start of the story when at age eight we meet him, noting that he’s more responsible than his addicted and dysfunctional mother – a mother that he protects and cares for in a way that no child should ever have to do. That opening sets Neil up as a very likable character indeed.

One of the other characters I liked a lot was the aunt who took the boy in after his mother dies. She is one of those no-nonsense country women, who also has a soft spot, and her support of Neil is inspiring, and her character is well-developed.

Neil’s father was harder to connect with. Not because he’s a gangster. There are plenty of gangsters in fiction that a person can find engaging. The Godfather series comes to mind, but the father’s characterization in this story is uneven. First, he’s that uber-tough, scary man, then he devolves into a weaker, unfocused person. The transition from one to the other isn’t as smooth as it could be to become believable. At least that was the case with me.

Another smaller issue I had while reading is the repetition of facts and history, such as the details of how the police officer in Las Vegas, helped Neil stay on the straight and narrow and inspired him to seek a future in law enforcement. That plot element is mentioned, almost word for word, so often in the narrative as the story progresses, that it became tiresome.

The author’s background in film and screenwriting is evident in the way scenes are set so visually, and that is a strength of the story. Vivid descriptions place the reader firmly in a setting, and one can get a real feel for the places the story takes place.

Part a character study of someone who’s dealing with so much trauma and part suspense, this is a story that many readers will enjoy.

[Joanne Easley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neil Dixon had a rough start to life, taking care of his drug addict mother in Las Vegas. Then his life fell apart when she was forced into rehab. A kind police sergeant named Finch helped Neil avoid the foster system and find his aunt in Texas, where he went to live. A few years later, the encounter with the officer inspired Neil to pursue a career in law enforcement.

Small-town Jarrell, Texas, was rife with corruption. Neil’s new living situation, despite his aunt’s love, was far from ideal. When violence in the aunt’s home erupts, Neil grows up fast. He finds a job and a mentor at a bicycle shop and finishes high school. Then he overcomes the odds and becomes a police officer, despite the chief working against him. Neil navigates the corrupt town where the police take payoffs, unsure of whom to trust. He has great deductive powers and solves several cases while still a rookie.

When his mother, whom he hasn’t seen since he was a child, dies, he returns to Las Vegas to make final arrangements and reunites with Finch, the officer who shaped his life. He also meets the father he never knew, a minor Mafia figure who spent time in prison. The father tries to bond with him, but Neil senses there is an ulterior motive, something criminal involving the drug trade in Texas.

As Neil investigates drug trafficking, distributors, and users, he relies on a varied group of unlikely allies, but his instinct is to trust them, and Neil has good instincts. Stakeouts and trips to the border reveal his father’s involvement with the Mexican cartel and the depth of his depravity.

Neil never wavers from his mission to become one of the good cops. I enjoyed the Central Texas setting and the interesting cast of characters. Up From Hell is the first novel in the Echoes of the Past: Crimes in Central Texas series. I recommend this book to fans of gritty crime thrillers with emotional depth.

[Celia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Up From Hell by Joan Moran is a crime thriller that is also the first book in the Echoes of the Past: Crimes in Central Texas series. There are layers to this story; it contains the themes of small town corruption, deep family secrets, addiction, and emotional trauma. Neil Dixon is digging into his past, which includes the mystery of his father, while he is dealing with corruption in Central Texas. I feel that Moran did a fantastic job in balancing the part of the story that has to do with crime with the part that is the emotional scars that Neil is holding. I am a huge fan of character-driven stories and Up From Hell is definitely that. We follow Neil as he goes about his family drama and the thrilling tale of corruption.

Readers who are interested in an emotionally-driven read will surely enjoy this book. Be aware, however, of the traumatic/PTSD themes that it contains. There can be a hopeless type of feeling that can go along with the themes in this book, but honestly, Neil is such a strong character and that strength bleeds through his trauma and grief. He is the definition of a survivor clawing their way through the muck. He tries hard to be better than the background he came from and I honestly love that.

[David Carriere · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Up From Hell, Joan Moran delivers a quietly brutal Texas noir where a good cop's biggest enemy isn't the corruption in his department it's the Mafia father who just walked back into his life. Neil Dixon's journey from a Vegas childhood with an addict mother to a small-town badge feels earned, and watching him wrestle with a father who wants "family bonding" while plotting a drug pipeline is genuinely uncomfortable. Moran wisely avoids easy heroes and cartoon villains; the dad's charm is as dangerous as his business. The first half moves at a deliberate, character-driven pace, but the moral weight sticks with you. A strong, human sounding start to the Echoes of the Past trilogy I'm already curious where Neil's loyalty finally breaks.

[Paige Moulton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Up From Hell is a crime thriller that explores corruption, identity, and family legacy through the perspective of a small town Texas police officer.

The narrative follows Neil Dixon as he navigates institutional corruption while confronting the emergence of his criminal father, creating a personal and professional conflict that drives the story forward.

Themes of loyalty, moral ambiguity, and systemic crime are woven throughout the narrative, connecting individual experience to broader criminal networks.

A grounded crime thriller for readers who enjoy law enforcement stories, family centered conflict, and morally complex narratives.