Vengeance

by Clair M. Poulson

A decade ago, eight-year-old Aubree Lansing peeked from her hiding place in the closet and saw the unthinkable: a dead body on her bedroom floor and a man standing close by with a gun in his bloodstained hands. A man she called daddy.

Aubree’s courageous testimony during the murder trial led to a hefty prison sentence for Stone Lansing—and placed a heavy weight on his daughter’s heart. When Aubree’s mother married Reginald Kern, one of Stone’s former defense attorneys, and the new family welcomed the birth of twins, it seemed that Aubree had left her tragic past behind. But at age eighteen, her nightmare suddenly resumes: Stone Lansing is out of prison, and he’s looking for the daughter whose words sent him there. In the wake of a death threat, Aubree flees with her twin half-siblings aboard the cruise ship Stargazer and finds protection in the care of its young sea captain. But there’s more than one menace closing in on Aubree, as the cold tide of vengeance threatens to drag her under.

Genres: Lds Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Lds, Adult, Fiction, Crime

272 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 2011

About the author

Clair M. Poulson was born and raised in Duchesne, Utah. His father was a rancher and farmer, his mother a librarian. Clair has always been an avid reader, having found his love for books as a very young boy.

He has served for forty years in the criminal justice system. Twenty years were spent in law enforcement, ending his police career with eight years as the Duchesne County Sheriff. For the past twenty years Clair has worked as a justice court judge for Duchesne County. Clair is also a veteran of the US Army where he was a military policeman. He has served on various boards and councils during his professional career, including the Justice Court Board of Judges, Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice, Utah Judicial Council, Utah Peace Officer Standards and Training Council, an FBI advisory board and others.

In addition to his criminal justice work, Clair has farmed and ranched all of his life. He has raised many kinds of animals, but his greatest interest is horses.

Clair has served in many capacities in the LDS church, including fulltime missionary (California Mission) bishop, counselor to bishop, young men president, high councilor, stake mission president, scoutmaster, High Priest group leader, etc. He currently serves as a Sunday School teacher.

Clair is married to Ruth, and together, they have five children, all of whom are married: Alan (Vicena) Poulson, Kelly Ann (Wade) Hatch, Amanda (Ben) Semadeni, Wade (Brooke) Poulson, and Mary (Tyler) Hicken. Between them they have twenty-three children. Clair and Ruth met while both were students at Snow College and were married in the Manti temple.

Clair has always loved telling his children, and later his grandchildren, make-up stories. His vast experience in life and his love of literature has always contributed to both his telling stories to children and his writing of adventure and suspense novels.

Reviews

[Joy Spraycar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Clair Poulsons books. This one has a lot of action and twists that I enjoyed guessing who the bad guys were. Although I figured out a few before they were revealed. Aubrey testified against her father in a murder case when she was like eight, and then 11 years later he gets out of prison and goes looking for her. The story is well put together and draws you in right from the beginning. If you don't mind the churchy stuff this is a great read.

[Patti · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun book to read since it included Denmark and a Danish character. I am familiar with Danes and Copenhagen. The plot was easy to follow and I figured out the bad guy early on. The end of the book was disappointing with the main character in the book dropping everything to marry and move abroad at such at such a young age.

[Brenda B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book a lot; however, that being said.....

The proofreading on this book was HORRIBLE, to the point that I am about to quit reading books put out by Covenant because they do such a lousy job.

Typos throughout the ENTIRE BOOK! It drove me crazy!

[Stacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I usually enjoy books by Clair Poulson. He is very good at LDS suspenseful writing. This one was not one my favorite books by him, but definitely worth the time I spent listening to it in the car driving my kids around!

[Ashlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

#3 Vengeance by Clair M. Poulson is an enticing novel of suspense and mystery. It follows a girl named Aubree Lansing, whose father, Stone Lansing, is sent to prison when she is 8. He has been accused of murder! Aubree saw the evidence, and has to testify against her father. Her mother remarries, and the stepfather is a lawyer, who just happened to help with Stone Lansing’s case. They go on a cruise, and have to watch their backs because they are afraid that Stone is coming for them. It is very suspenseful, but it is very interesting. This book is valuable because it teaches some interesting things about law enforcement. I thought that it was fascinating from the points of view. It was from Aubree’s, her dad’s, and a man on the cruise ship that Aubree befriends. It was good because everyone was spread out all over the globe. I definitely agree with the author’s perspective. It was very important to this story. This book was an emotional roller coaster. It stressed me out, it made me happy, it scared me, all sorts of emotion. I related it to many other mystery books I have read. Even with the relation, it was very unique. The storyline was captivating, and it intrigued me. There were a few parts that bored me. I didn’t like this very much because I didn’t have as much of a drive to keep reading. I think that the theme for this book is get all of the details before you assume or judge. The characters in this book and their actions are never as they seem. I would gladly read this book again.

[Billie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my first Poulson book, which was in a stack of free CD's from a friend. We took this on a roadtrip this week. Light listening, simple plot, lots of characters to keep straight (being distracted by the road and scenery), surprise religious aspect, fairly predictable. I was able to guess who the bad characters were easily enough and the ending was just too much. I appreciated that it was clean and family friendly.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much better than the last one i read! Audiobook narrator was different 🙏.
Good premise. I enjoyed the action at sea. There were a few moments that bothered me. Maybe I’m just nitpicking..




One of the big ones was when Torbin baptized her. I’m not a huge woman’s rights person, but what if she wanted Kevin to do it? Again, super small and not even a big deal, just a bit bugged that they would presume she would want that.

[Cass · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has a little bit of everything to make a nice cozy read. A little bit of deception, a little bit of murder, a little bit of revenge, a little bit of terrorism, a little bit of love, a little bit of religion, etc. A friend introduced me to this author and has loaned me a couple of his books. They are well written and interesting. I will read more of them.

[Susan Forsgren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clair Poulson draws on his vast knowledge of the courtroom and criminal cases to deliver a wonderfully complex story, which is full of interesting events, exciting adventures, and unpredictable characters.

[Allie Higley · Rating 1 out of 5]

The character's are boring and predictable. I felt no attachment to them. The plot is stretched thin, too much time passes between the beginning of the book and its ending. Over all a poorly written book.

[Madison Warner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aubrey and Torbins love story was cute and the suspense of who was causing the most trouble kept me reading. The ending felt rushed to me though. I didn’t love how the person behind all the trouble died. I would definitely recommend this book to others though.

[Valjean · Rating 2 out of 5]

I believe the author wanted to create a book with suspense and added too many unrealistic situations.
More depth to the characters was needed.

[Vickie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! The power of lies! Good read.

[Ranette · Rating 3 out of 5]

A girl of 9 witnesses a murder probable by her father. 10 years later he is released and his family run away thinking he will kill them. Not as exciting as his other books.

[Kevin Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kept me on my toes with a twist ending

[Colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I give it 3.5!

[Terri · Rating 2 out of 5]

Predictable and expected "thriller" novel about a convicted killer out for vengeance on his daughter who testified against him except it's pretty obvious pretty early, that something else entirely is going on. It was worth listening to on a long drive, but otherwise, meh.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book that is suspenseful and keeps you guessing who the real bad guy is till the end.I loved the hero of the book, Torban, a returned missionary who knows, Russian, English, German, and Danish. He is a black belt, a former cop and a sea captain only to help support his father who is unable to work.8 Year old, Aubree Lansing testimony against her father, Stone Lansing helped sentence him to 10 years in prison for murder. Aubree's mother then a model, remarried a attorney who was a partner to his defense team. Stone had time to think while he was locked up and on his release he had some things he wanted to take care of. Reginald Kern, Aubree's mother's new husband had told Aubree and her mother that Stone told his attorney that he wanted revenge on Aubree and her mother for their part in sending him away. They get restraining orders against him and even plan a trip out of the country so they will be away from him. He follows, but not to hurt them to protect them, from whom he doesn't know yet.
While on the cruise without their parents, Aubree and her two twin stepbrother and sister are followed by a stranger. They befriend the ship sea captain, Torben, and he helps unravel the attempted plot to kidnap and randsom the children, kill Stone, kill Aubree mother, and pirate the ship in exchange for automatic machine guns stolen from the US army. Who is the bad guy, is Stone guilty or was he framed?

[Kelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is probably my favorite Clair Poulson book. I love that he can write a completely clean murder mystery novel and actually make it interesting! I thought he had a good balance of suspense mixed with a little romance. However, I really hate when LDS novels end the book with a proposal when the characters have only known each other for a few weeks. Also, I hated that she was only 18 and I'm not sure how old he was but it made him sound like he was a lot older because he had already been a cop for a few years. I really liked that there ended up being a tie between the pirates and the father because at first I was annoyed that they both just happened to plan an attack on the cruise ship at the same time.

[Tamera Westhoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was a whole lot going on in this book between the really bad guy, the pirates, the romance (of sorts) and learning about the church! It was all very well done! I was glad for the great ending, I really enjoy closure! Poor Aubree though, she seriously got put through the ringer, and at 18! I think her age explained a lot of how she reacted to things. I was super glad that Torben was such a cool guy! He spoke lots of languages, had a black belt, worked hard and was a RM that was earning money for his family. Awesome guy! This was a pretty interesting cover, since he was out of prison from the beginning of the book.

[Ryviera Shayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this one of Clairs. One of his best I would say. I enjoyed it from beginning to end. I was able to determine the story ending before it was revealed but it still kept me entertained because I wanted to know how it was exposed and resolved in the end. Although a piece here and there seemed to be a little far fetched - such as how the bad guy was able to preserve such a good presence until the very end - but it no doubt happens in the real world on a regular basis. A scary thought. A great read.

[R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of Poulson's better books. It was a little slow in some places, but mostly it was engaging and I wanted to know what happens next. Most of the LDS emphasis was mild enough it didn't feel like the reader was choking on it, but was very much still there (especially in the epilogue). There are so many moving parts to this puzzle that it constantly has you thinking one thing and then changing to another direction as everything comes together. Stone and Reginald certainly turn out different than their first impressions would suggest, as do some of the other characters.

[Tracy · Rating 2 out of 5]

So I guess I'm not a fan of Clair Poulson. I've never going to go for the 2 week romance that turns into something real. I'm just too practical, and it honestly bothers me. Plus, I always figure out the end and who the real bad guy is. Poulson does his best to hold back the truth by alternately following different characters, but he's just too honest. I was surprised by one element of the plot, though, and that was nice.

[04rachels · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best book Clair M. Poulson has ever wrote. Through the whole book from beginning to end i couln't put it down. It had a lot of adventure, mystery, romance, and spiritual stuff. This book talked a lot about the LDS church. It has some wierd names, but that's what makes it cool. I thought all along that Aubree's father was the murder until the end. It was amazing throughout the whole entire book.

[Aimee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poulson is a great writer and I enjoyed reading this book just like the rest of his. It is fast paced and has some great characters. I can't say I had any surprises with the plot. I had the book pretty much pegged from the beginning, but there is nothing wrong with having the satisfaction of knowing at the end of the book that I was totally right. :) A good, clean LDS fiction read.

[Alissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was pretty intense. I really enjoyed it because there were a few different plot lines going at once, and you don't really see what's going on until the end. This author is very good! He is an LDS author who writes suspense, so his books don't have any swearing or sex. It was a really suspenseful novel, but I loved it!

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intense, fast paced thriller. This book fell in line with my expectations of Clair Paulson 's writing style. Subtle hints from the very beginning of the book lead me to decide who the good guys and bad guys really were. The romantic interest fell a little flat, though. I think they were not realistic about the problems inherent in that relationship. But overall I really enjoyed this book.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't my favorite of his books. First of all I find it hard to believe that any mother would send her 18 year old daughter and her 8 year old twin siblings into a foreign country by themselves. Especially one under death threat. Next, I thought it was pretty predictable. I pretty much had it figured out from the beginning. It was a good read but not the most exciting I have ever read!

[Annie · Rating 1 out of 5]

The person you are listening to can make or break the experience.

I did not like this reader at all. It didn't even feel like a Clair Poulson book to me, and I have listened to many of his books on CD as I travel.

I would have given the book a much higher rating, but the audio version is 1 star.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really good book. You don't know who is behind everything that is going on, and the person who you think is the bad guy turns out not to be so bad. I am looking forward to Mr. Poulson's next book.