Hell to Pay

To Hell and Back, Book 3

By: Matthew Hughes

Narrated by: Tom Lawrence

Meet Chesney Arnstruther. Once a mild-mannered insurance actuary, now a full-time crime-fighting superhero, it’s all he can do to kick bad-guy ass while at the same time holding down a steady relationship with the gorgeous Melda. Something is going on.

Meet Xaphan, wise-cracking demon and the source of (almost) all of Chesney’s powers. He’s been asked by his infernal master to give Chesney whatever he needs…but surely stopping bad guys is not in Hell’s plan? Something is definitely going on.

Meet Arthur Wrigley, a modest yet charming older gentleman whose nasty little hobby is fleecing innocent widows.

Meet Simon Magus, ancient mystic and magician from Biblical times now very much enamoured of Vegas, baby. And pray you never meet the Chikkichikk, a proud and ancient race of, well, warrior dinosaurs, from the universe that God made then rejected before He started monkeying around with this one.

©2013 Matthew Hughes (P)2014 Audible Studios

Critic reviews

"... a hugely fun read and with more complexity than the cover would make you suspect... a highly enjoyable read, with some interesting philosophical underpinnings and surprising twists. The book makes for a satisfying ending to the To Hell & Back series, which gave us a quirky, off-beat story about an unlikely super hero, with unexpected depths..." (Fantastical Librarian"
"One thing that occurred to me while reading this third volume in Matthew Hughes 'To Hell and Back' series, is just how clever he’s been with the setup. What he’s done is to take a lot of characters/elements that would normally suggest a broad situation comedy approach, then treat them completely seriously. That’s not to say the books are without humour – there are many laugh out loud moments – but the main focus is on the plot. The first book in the series was very good, the second was better. The events of those books were leading up to this final volume in the trilogy and it’s the best yet... This is a great series. The covers, while nice to look at, perhaps emphasise the silly aspects a little too much for such cleverly plotted books. There’s so much more to them than humour." (British Fantasy Society)

Funny but not the best in the series

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

If you liked the previous books in the series or Terry Pratchett yes.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The demon assistant.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Tom Lawrence?

Maybe.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Near the end when the characters all realized how much they'd been used.

Any additional comments?

The ending wasn't great but it wasn't horrible. It just didn't feel like a nice closing for an ending of the series.