Up from
Hell
Echoes of the Past · Crimes in Central Texas · Book 1
From the neon of Las Vegas to a corrupt Texas police department and cartel-scarred border towns, one cop must decide what kind of man he truly is.
The story
You can leave Vegas.
Vegas never leaves you.
“To survive, he must decide what kind of man he truly is.”
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.
The journey
Three places. One reckoning.
Las Vegas
A boy raised by a drug-addicted mother, pulled from danger by Sergeant Finch and sent to a new life in Texas.
Jarrell, Texas
Neil becomes the officer he always wanted to be, inside a department where corruption is rampant.
The Border
Cartel-scarred towns where traffickers profit from chaos, and Neil learns how far he’s willing to go.
The players
Who’s in the game
Reader reviews
What readers are saying
A protagonist you get behind
“It’s well written with a protagonist that you get behind from the very first page.”
“Moran builds a solid cast of characters to flesh out the story.”
For fans of character-driven crime
“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.”
“I recommend UP FROM HELL to readers of character-driven crime fiction.”
Interesting Read
“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.”
Read the full review +
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.
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.
Amazon (US), June 12, 2026 · Kindle
What a great book!
“What a great book! Fantastic read! I live in Texas, so I was vested in the locale. The plot was really interesting, different, and the author has a wonderful way to tell a story. Highly recommended for a Summer read!”
Meet the author
Joan Moran
Joan Moran is the author of nine books spanning crime fiction, memoir and nonfiction. Up From Hell is a gritty Texas crime thriller and the first book in the Crimes in Central Texas trilogy.
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 trilogy.
More about Joan +
As a keynote speaker, Joan commanded the stage with her delightful humor, raw energy and wealth of life experiences, combining 15 years of theater experience with over 13 years 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 set in modern-day Havana, currently in development for a streaming series. Once A Homecoming Queen is a darkly humorous take on senior alcoholism, which Joan also adapted into an award-winning screenplay. Her latest book is a memoir of her mother: Suddenly Jewish: The Life and Times of My Jewish Mother.
Available now
Start the trilogy
Book 1 of Crimes in Central Texas, in ebook and paperback. Pick your store.
