Vengeance Follows: A Novel

by Scott Lax

A young man loses the true love of his life and seeks vengeance from the man he holds responsible for his wife's death. Told with elegant simplicity, this novel of literary suspense is a tragic story of love and loss that ultimately reveals the cruelty of human nature and the healing power of forgiveness.

Sam and Sophie's idyllic life of Parisian cafes, fine wine, and romantic passion is torn apart when Sophie is diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor. Then Sophie reveals something that happened years before they met--a horrific event that changed her life and left her wounded in ways no one knew. She's found peace in the years since, she swears to Sam. But then she's gone, and Sam finds only pain.

Bereft and alone, he leaves the City of Light and seeks solace in a small French village where no one knows him or his past. Troubled in heart and mind, he knows one man is responsible for Sophie's death. Sam cannot live without confronting him and holding him accountable for his past crimes.

And so Sam travels to America, to a charming little Ohio town where lights twinkle on the snow in winter and fairs shimmer in the summer heat. Here, Sam will seek his revenge--and find retribution for his lost love in a way he could never imagine . . .

Genres: Fiction, Ebooks

256 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2013

About the author

Scott Lax is the author of two novels (VENGEANCE FOLLOWS, Gray & Co. Publishers, forthcoming Feb. 2014 & THE YEAR THAT TREMBLED, 2nd edition, Gray & Company Publishers, Oct. 2013); hundreds of nonfiction essays and features, short fiction and a stage-play version of THE YEAR THAT TREMBLED. Scott lives with his wife, son and step-son in the Chagrin Valley.

Reviews

[Sean McGurr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vengeance Follows is a well-written book about an ex-pat in France whose wife dies as a result of a trauma when she was younger. Despite her pleas to her husband to forgive and move on with his life, Sam Koppang is unable and seeks revenge on the man who he believes is responsible. Author Scott Lax has set the book in a fictionalized version of a small northeast Ohio village. While the plot is somewhat engaging, I was unable to connect with the main character. There were too many details about his life and how the plot comes together for me to be totally absorbed by the book. Lax notes in his acknowledgements that the book was written over a period of 12 years. I wonder if that is why it doesn't flow organically. Between the viewpoint of the novel changing between characters and times where the focus seems to shift, I was never totally absorbed by this book.

[Erin Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting novel about revenge and healing. Sam has lost his wife Sophie to a brain tumor she developed. He blames an old boyfriend of hers for causing the tumor and loss of her life by a traumatic head injury he inflicted on her back in their college days. He leaves France where he has been mourning for the last five years to seek vengeance against Lee Clayborne and quietly enters the small town where Sophie grew up and Clayborne still lives. He becomes friendly with several locals and ultimately reaches a point where he can let go of the past and move on with his life, although there is a lot of drama in the interim in order for him to get to this point. Recommended for a fast paced read.

[Darcia Helle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vengeance Follows is a poignant story of love and heartache. Sam's love for Sophie goes to the core of his being, and without her he struggles to find any meaning in his life. We follow Sam as he attempts to fill the hollow ache of her absence.

Scott Lax has a knack for getting to the core of characters. We see what drives them. We see the shades of gray with the good guys and the bad. With this story, as the plot unfolds, we see how our lives tangle together, even when we aren't aware of it.

I came into this book with high expectations. After recently reading - or, rather, being fully immersed in - The Year That Trembled, I know what this author is capable of. I wanted that experience again, which I'm sure colors my opinion on this one. The opening third of this book felt more cinematic, as if I was watching the story play out instead of experiencing it. I have to say it would make a fantastic movie, but I wanted to immerse myself in the characters. I wanted to feel it more than see it.

A couple of details didn't quite sit right for me. One instance is with Sam's job. He is a writer, yet he doesn't have an Internet connection or even a phone. He doesn't seem to have much contact at all with his editor and/or the publisher(s), which I just didn't find realistic.

Despite these minor issues, there is much to love here. Scott Lax is no doubt an author to watch.

[Gretchen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel is about a man Sam who finds the love of his life, Sophie, in Paris. They fall in love and get married but after a short time together, Sophie gets sick and dies. Before she dies, she reveals to Sam a secret. When she was in college in the States, a boyfriend brutally attacked her. She believes that the injuries she sustained then caused her sickness. Sam is devastated by her death and five years go by, and he has still not been able to move on from her death. He is barely living actually. He decides he must get revenge on the man who hurt Sophie. He moves back to a small town in Ohio, and slowly integrates himself into the small town while plotting revenge. This book is mostly a character study of Sam and also a little bit of the man Sam wants revenge on, Lee Clayborne. The plot is pretty basic - no real big twists and turns, but the characters are really what make you stay interested. The small town atmosphere and some of the interesting people Sam befriends - a cop who used to be a NYC cop, a lesbian couple, etc. You really feel for Sam and what he is going through. Lee is your typical villain, and I wish he might have been depicted with a little more layers. You are given an idea of what made him the monster he is today so that gives him a bit of sympathy. It's a pretty quick read - you want to find out what Sam chooses to do in the end regarding his desire for revenge.

I won this copy in one of the Goodreads giveaways.

[Colleen Estep · Rating 5 out of 5]

After many happy years and then pure misery in France, Sam Koppang returns to a small town in Ohio and he is a man with a mission. While in France Sam fell in love and married Sophie, she is his everything, the love of his life. They share a love most people only dream of. Sophie also is from the States.
One day their idyllic life is shattered, when Sophie's severe headaches are diagnosed as a fast growing brain tumor for which there is no help or cure. On her deathbed Shopie tells Sam about her about her college fiance who one night beat and raped her, slamming her head repeatably on the floor and walls. The old French Doctor says this assault is what caused this tumor.
When Sophie dies Sam goes into a downward spiral and finally decides he must go to Ohio and kill the man who was the cause of Sophie's death. What he finds in this small town are caring, loving people who want to reach out to Sam.
There are a lot of twists and turns, strong characters, and a very surprising end. Can vengeance lead to redemption? This is a great read,and many thanks to the author, Scott Lax and Goodreads for my copy.

[Rena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Received this from LibraryThing.com for a review.

This book's writing is quite poetic and beautiful. Sam's wife Sophie is diagnosed with terminal brain cancer that the doctor says is a direct result of an attack years ago by Lee Clayborne. Sam seeks revenge for his wife's death and most of the novel is spent exploring that.

There were some things I found odd. Sam doesn't tell his parents that his wife died, which is weird. He doesn't have a phone or internet. OK, even if you want a quiet life, a phone is kind of essential. And it's really rude to his family not to contact them. Doesn't he care about the people in his life who are still alive? Also, Sam's relationship with his next-door neighbors seemed too good after a significant event which should have dissolved that friendship.

Anyway, I liked the policeman's character and his interaction with Sam.
Overall, this was a good, well-written story. And if you don't know anything about wine, you'll probably learn a few things from this book.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lax does an amazing job at setting up a compelling storyline of a happy couple torn apart by the death of one as a result of a tumor. However the story doesn't end there as Sam gets to put a face to the man who he and Sophie's doctor are convinced caused her death all these years later after the man brutally assaulted Sophie as a young woman. On his quest for vengeance, Sam undertakes a journey that takes him across the world and into the lives of several characters. It is the characters created by Lax that really make this story work because each character puts their own stamp on Sam's journey of healing. Lax takes what could be a simple quest of revenge and turns it into so much more. While each of these characters change Sam's life, he also changes theirs. Overall Vengeance Follows is a compelling read that I would most definitely recommend.

Received a copy of Vengeance Follows through LibraryThing in exchange for an honest review.

[Ariel Dopsovic · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing is awkward. Maybe I'm just not used to the way it's written, but I hated it. The sentences are so choppy, and I found multiple grammatical errors. So, that took a real toll on my rating.

The first 60 pages I really had to force myself to get through, because I really wanted to finish this book and give it a chance. After page 60 it got better, and more interesting. I enjoyed the way the characters he came into contact with all tied together. However, I spent all this time reading, and waiting for an exciting peak to the story and it never came. I feel like there was a lot of potential in the story line, plot, characters, and the way everything tied together, but it just never really happened for me.

[Irene Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book as an ebook free from the author through LibraryThing in exchange for an honest review. A man loses the love of his life to a brain tumor felt to possibly be the result of past head trauma and seeks revenge against the man who raped and beat her years before. The book follows him through the stages of grief as he looks for resolution for the death of his wife. He develops many wonderful and caring friendships during his journey through grief that help him to find peace and resolution. This is a good story and I really enjoyed the descriptive writing style of the author. I definitely recommend this book.

[Stacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
Sam loses the love of his life and blames one man. After her death he heads to a small Ohio village to plan his revenge. What he finds is town full of people who can help him heal, if only he would let them.

Chestnut Falls is lovely. Lax brought the people and village to life. I fell in love with the friends Sam made and their stories. My only problem was I didn’t quite buy into the quest for vengeance, so Sam was a mystery to me.

This is sure to appeal to lovers of charming villages and small town life. It even adds a sophisticated air since Sam spent years in Paris writing about wine. Sounds like a perfect job to me.

[Liz Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, this was a very enjoyable read that kept me hooked from the beginning. Unlike other reviews I've read, I found this book well-paced and suspenseful but also not too intense. The author's writing is the perfect mixture of descriptive and inventive, however, the only thing I perhaps would have liked a bit more of was more in-depth character analysis / descriptions. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a passionate, romantic, suspenseful and, most of all, meaningful book that is not too tough on the brain but not too easy either.

[Connie Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow!...Great story, easy to read, yet, there are a couple of things that really bothered me...How can a writer survive without a phone and/or a computer/internet? And why would he feel the need to lie to his parents about Sophie's death?

Besides those little glitches to an otherwise exceptional story....this book was really good! Such a sad love story, yet with a feel good ending!

Job well done, Mr. Lax...

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was sent to me from library thing. Sam meets Sophie in Paris and falls madly in love is married and lives an idyllic life. Well until Sophie is diagnosed with a brain tumor which the doctor feel is a result of a rape in college. After Sophie dies Sam eventually has to return the Ohio to avenge Sophie's death and the guy is almost comically bad. Kept going to the end and while I liked Scott Lax's writing style overall the tale was fairly standard.

[Debbie Heaton · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Lax’s suspense novel, Sam loses Sophie, the love of his life to a terminal brain tumor. Before her death, she reveals to him a tragic event that forever scarred her. Unable to completely let go, Sam heads out to Ohio to take the ultimate revenge on the man who harmed her.

Both masterful and elegant, this is the tale of one man’s grief, and triumphant renewal, a definite testament to the strength of the human spirit. A difficult book to put down.

[Emmitt Henkel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book wasn't what I expected at all. It was extremely gripping, entertaining, and very different from my normal. The book was well written and reminiscent of Stephen King's 11/22/63 (though much much shorter as that was a monster). It maintains the action without letting up and is very descriptive (especially with the wine, as if you could taste it whenever Sam brought out a good bottle). It's been awhile since I read something as gripping as this.

[David John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won a copy of this book from a First Reads contest... It was a mostly enjoyable and fun read but one part bothered me. The entire premise of the book is that Sophie developed brain cancer from a rape that included a traumatic head injury. As far as I know, this is just not accurate. It surprises me that this major flaw in the story line was not caught by anyone prior to publishing. For me it was an annoying detail that I couldn't get past while reading the book.

[Tommy · Rating 1 out of 5]

The list of things I didn't like about this book is much longer than the list of things I liked. The plot was ok but the writing was terrible. The dialogue was awkward and hard to follow. The whole book was filled with useless blurbs of information, then blurbs about wine, and then sex. The only reason I didn't put it down after page 40 is that it was $18.
Overall a bad book with poor writing, entirely not relatable characters, and unlikely situations. Would not recommend.

[Lainie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won a copy of this ebook for a honest review from library thing. I enjoyed this smooth fast read. The novel starts off in Paris with a couple madly in love. The women finds out she has terminal cancer. The husband finds out the truth behind her cancer and is set for revenge. I love wine so I loved all the wine talk.

[Cindelu · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book on Goodreads and I enjoyed it very much. The style of writing threw me a bit at first but as I got into it I enjoyed the abrupt clarity of the writing. The story was fascinating, moved smoothly along but kept my interest well and had an abundance of interesting characters. There was real depth in the characterizations too. I look forward to reading more of this authors work.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

***LibraryThing Giveaway***

I enjoyed the easygoing, laid back style writing of the author, it could have easily been boring but somehow it wasn't. There was a little of something for everyone, drama, suspense, romance and sex. I will say, that I had hoped for a stronger finish, it was a bit anticlimactic but other than that I would recommend this book to serious readers..

[Alexis · Rating 5 out of 5]

At it's heart VENGENCE FOLLOWS is a love story. A story of love, forgiveness and acceptance. Oh yes, it's also suspenseful, but not "gritty" as some other psychological thrillers. A compelling, cant-put-down read, I highly recommend VEGENCE FOLLOWS as your must read book of the first quarter 2014.

I received a copy of this book via a giveaway on goodreads.com

[Sheryl]

This book was a quick read. I liked the flow and pace of the novel, and really grew to like the characters. I felt that the ending was a bit anti-climactic, but it was still a good ending for this novel. I'll be looking out for more books by this author.

I received a free copy of this novel through Library Thing Early Reviewers in exchange for my honest review.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book as a giveaway through Goodreads First Reads. I found Vengeance Follows to be well written and especially enjoyed the descriptions of life in both France and Ohio. I had a harder time relating to the vengeance side of the story, hence my average rating.

[Patty · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book from GoodReads. Thank you for allowing me to read your book. I really enjoyed this book. The way the story was written kept me reading. I had to find out what this man was going to do and how. Loved the ending.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very brillant book it has a little bit of everything, inclding romance and suspense. It was a real page turner. I highly recommed this book.

[Steve · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a LibraryThing early review copy. I can't go any further, the story is not moving at all. This book is going into the abandoned book pile.

[Violet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional writting. Love, loss, suspense once I started reading I did not put the book down.

[Sheree Algie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book! Quick read, unable to put down once you start reading. Written very well.

[Nancy Shorkey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book. Loved the suspence right up untill the end