The Law of Retaliation

by Jon Athan

Ryan Martin decides to take his wife, Alexa, and his five-year-old daughter, Lucia, to a lake house in Pennsylvania for a vacation. Before they can reach their destination, the family is stopped by a group of teenage troublemakers led by the fearsome Caden Clark. The confrontation ends in tragedy. Two years later, Ryan and Alexa visit Caden and his family in hopes of exacting their revenge. At the Clarks' house, however, they discover a sinister a secret... Jon Athan, author of The Abuse of Ashley Collins and A Family of Violence, brings you an uncompromising horror-thriller about family and vengeance. This book contains scenes of graphic violence. This book is not intended for those easily offended or appalled. Please enjoy at your own discretion.

Genres: Horror, Splatterpunk, Audiobook, Fiction

184 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 20, 2017

Reviews

[Peter Topside · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hot damn, was that another nasty little entry from Jon Athan. An innocent family is terrorized by a group of neo-Nazis, who claim their daughter's life in an unprovoked attack. And Ryan and Alexa now want revenge on the perpetrators. The plot is very simple, the characters are nothing groundbreaking, but the book itself was well done. Tons of violence and innovative kill scenes, as the parents of the young girl get some semblance of closure, using blood, fire, hot irons, and pure rage to get it. Cade, his friends, and family are your bare basic antagonistic, violent, up-to-no good punk kids. They were written to be everything that you want to hate in a character, and they certainly lived up to expectations. While I wanted to feel more of a connection to Ryan and Alexa, I felt like their character development lacked a little bit. If maybe we had a short flashback to their strife after the court case, or something else in the very beginning, it was have made them more rounded. But you still rooted for them throughout and were glad as the body count began to ascend. The ending was also sort of abrupt and felt unfinished, which I didn't love, too. It was fine, but just felt like it was a bit of an afterthought. But honestly, when you read the plot to a book like this, you want action and blood, and lots of both, and you got it here. Mission accomplished!

[Stitching Ghost · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a simple bish, I like my life cozy, my energy rancid and my neo-nazis dead (in fiction at least), a splattery tale of revenge featuring a semi-generous amount of the latter should have been right up my alley, especially as I've read and enjoyed the author's work before, alas I did not have a great time with this book. That sucks because the story has really good bones and there are some amazingly gruesome scenes in there.

The dialogues were not great. If you're going to give me cliché neo-nazi characters and bad dialogues, you might as well lean into the ridiculous nature of what they say. The writing style in general also felt rough and unpolished, it seriously read like a first draft.

Rant about the conclusion of the book incoming, possible spoilers ahead: Also, if you're going to include neo-nazis, law enforcement's complicity with hate groups and the mention that one of your characters is supposed to be an advocate for free speech who is opposed to book burning to the point where she thinks about it when burning the house of the person who killed her child please spare me the "this is not political". To continue on that conclusion, since when are we afraid to offend neo-nazis? They just so happen to be the bad guys? Uh? They're NEO-NAZIS you've been repeating it to us every other line, being the bad guys is sort of their whole thing. If the book itself hadn't felt so phoned in I would have been inclined to think that this was done to bring attention to the political nature of the book and of the genre but I don't think this one was that deep. Lastly, if you want me to delve into whether or not a character who was a passive participant in the gratuitous murder of a child deserves what the parents of the child did to him you should probably not make him consistently complicit in everything with only the most marginal attempt at humanizing him, moral quandaries require nuance especially when cruelty is so easy.

If you think I used the word neo-nazi too often in this review, you'll probably struggle with the book too.

[Mort · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my third Jon Athan story and I decided to buy this one without reading the blurb - yes, this guy impressed me!
As a home invasion story, the author managed to twist this basic idea to more than just a family fighting back against the bad guys after their home gets invaded. I dare you to tackle this one without the blurb and it will be a pleasant surprise.
He also brings up some very valid and difficult questions with this one, which will probably be debated until the end of days:
Can revenge/retaliation be justified? How far is too far and how much is too much?
Every reader can have their very own opinion on the matter, without being right or wrong, or maybe even both at the same time, but as a father I had to ask myself where exactly I stood in this huge gray area.
Honestly, I know for a fact that a psychopath can never be cured, and when all hope is gone, I can't force myself to believe that it may not benefit society to remove an obvious threat to the innocents.
Having said that, I hope and pray that I will never find myself in a situation where I will need to find out.
This story is graphic and gory, so it goes without saying that sensitive readers will not enjoy it.

I couldn't bring myself to give this story 5 stars, mostly because I had a problem with the time and space - the things this couple accomplished while outnumbered stretched a little too far for my liking.
But it was enjoyable (if you are into this kind of thing) and well worth the buy, so I will recommend it to fans of the extreme genre.

And, Jon, I have to tell you that I absolutely LOVE the covers - they are awesome!

[Sea Caummisar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't imagine the pain of losing a child. Imagine witnessing the murder of your own child. How far would you go for revenge? Especially after the murderer gets found not guilty in court.
Yep, I think we can all agree that a parent would go to extreme lengths to seek revenge.
especially if the murderer is a nazi.
This is what I love about Jon Athan. He hits raw nerves that people can relate to

[theperksofbeingmarissa ;) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh, I got to the end & rolled my eyes at the part about that book not being political... The Nazis deserved to die lmao can't change my mind bout that

[Uptown Horror Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

In-fucking-credible book......

Just finished reading it and thats all I can say at the moment.

[Beatrix Starling · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written revenge story that'll make your blood boil at times. An unbearable loss, despicable people who feel they are above the law, and the burning hot need for vengeance weaves a story that can only end in blood and suffering.
A grim book with plenty of violence and heartache, it was an excellent read.

[Caitlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Those evil Nazi’s deserved it!!!! This book was hard to read but I loved how the author allowed the parents to be victorious.

[Treen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bravo Jon Athan! I couldn't put this book down! I found another author, who's books I need to read....all of them!

[Amit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh!!!
F*ck! F*ck!! F*ck!!!
That ecstasy, that lunacy, the vengeance, the hunger of murder was too much, too much I say...

ONE OF THE GREATEST STORY BY JON ATHAN!

I absolutely f*cking loved it. Best of the best...

Ryan and his wife Alexa was in the car going safely with their daughter lucy then all of sudden a gang of punk teenagers showed up and forced them to stop their car. At first Alexa didn't like the idea of slowing the car as her husband done so. Ryan didn't know at the time what on earth is waiting for them. It was horrific and disgusting as the gang attacked upon them. Assaulted the two of them and took out their little daughter from the car and killed her brutally. It was too much to read and I felt so angered and very disturbed, couldn't get enough of what I was reading; it really got into my nerve system...

So after that when they've been humiliated disgustingly the couple didn't give up. Ryan the father of that sweet little girl team up with her wife and make an oath they will never stop until the murderer of their child die. It's rather they would going to die or them. The deal was done between them...

The tensions of this book was so obvious to tell. You have no choice but kept going with the flow of the story. At this point I thought maybe I know what would happen next after next as if I already got the idea. But I was shamefully and horribly worng about that. It was more than that thinking of my mind. I caught backfire as the story moving forward with it's fast paged mind blowing events. When they finally entered Caden's den (house). The game or say the game of hell only just begun from then. Caden and his parents Owen and Natalie and all of those gangs members going to pay what they done to an innocent little angel girl. They gonna feel the torture, the sickening pain for absolutely. They will pay and the justice will remain in absolute rank...

The F*ck that tale was, I repeat I just f*cking loved that book...

[Sophie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really love most of Athans work but I really hate to say that I didn't like this one at all, I disliked all of the charatcters the victims made all of the stupidest choices they could have, also I hated how much the word dome was used, thankfully that's not a trend in his other work. This is by far the only book I have disliked by this author.

[Bradley · Rating 2 out of 5]

It just didn’t hit the mark for me. It has the tropes that I love from Athan and good kills but it felt poorly constructed. And I couldn’t get over the fact that Caden wasn’t in jail, like what? Athan tries to explain why but I didn’t buy it.

[Jen Kitner simcox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short but an excellent story

Suspense from beginning to end! I wish it was longer! Definitely worth reading! I will be checking out more of this authors books!

[Mei · Rating 1 out of 5]

No…. This was awful. Let me start by saying I am a huge fan of Jon but this was stupid. It sounds like a great revenge tale. I was ready. The couple breaks into the house, torture the couple for a bit, than hide upstairs in a bedroom because the target came home with two friends. Let’s stop right there. Why would they hide? The cops could have easily been called to get them. But the people bring in reinforcements to help get the couple hiding in bedroom. Except no one can open the door??? Really.? There are multiple doors and multiple keys but no one can get in. 3 guys on one side can’t rip the door open while Caden’a wrist was stuck in the door and getting his finger snipped off. I’m sorry that was so ridiculous. Than the wife is attacking the pregnant lady throwing a toaster and there’s a houseful of people but no one hears it or is around to protect her. I thought it was cool that the baby plopped out but I decided to end the story here. When I’m annoyed by stupidity the entire time I’m obviously not enjoying the book. So I’ll move on to the next Athan novel. I feel his books are a hit or a miss for me.

[malinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have come to worship Jon Athan as an author. Not one of his books has disappointed me yet. This particular book spoke to me the most. 2 yrs ago, I lost one of my 2 month old identicaltwin girls to SIDS. That kind of loss changed who I am completely. I'll never be the same person again. Every day, I carry unbearable guilt, anger, and utter despair around with me. I've come to hate my Husband while still loving him too. And her death was deemed faultless. So, I can only imagine if I was forced to watch someone murder my baby in cold blood than completely walk away from any consequences. I find each one of his books stays with me for days after, making me ask "What would I do if it were me?" It makes me question certain beliefs, opinions, and judgements I held prior to reading his book. This book will invoke many emotions while supplying the trademark horror and violence you expect from a Jon Athan novel. I wait every month with baited breath for his next book. If you haven't experienced the world of Jon Athan...now is a good time to start!

[Janalyn, the blind reviewer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone who is familiar with John Athens you know a lot of the killers get away with it but in this book a family is heading to the cabin when a teenager named Kayden and his friends stopped them and killed their little girl after two years of planning the couple return in their plan is retribution but there’s a twist that stop them from getting the revenge they seek or at least pauses it. Theres a point in this book where the wife who is set on revenge has locked herself in the bathroom and it looks like she is no recourse in her time on earth is soon to end but then she looks around the bathroom for weapons and OMG did she find one this was such a great book I loved it and although it has the hallmark of John Athens gruesome narrative it also has the taste of sweet revenge in the end. He also adds a little humanity to the book with a couple in their marriage I really love this book and love all of the authors books but found this one to honestly be my favorite by him or at least so far. Please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I need to read a book I know will be good, I just pick something off my Jon Athan shelf. The Law of Retaliation was this weeks read.

First I want to say, just when I thought this book was going one way, it didn’t. In his author’s note, Athan describes it like a reverse home invasion book and I really like that description. The novel was action packed pretty much on every page.

One detail I particularly liked about this book were the flashbacks. There were some short flashbacks of a dead character that played in our main protagonist’s head. Definitely added to the sadness factor of this book and gave some more meaning behind all the violence.

I do have a minor critique with this book, and felt the need to address it because it had me rolling my eyes a bit. Let’s just say there’s a lot of plot armor at times. Seriously some characters should not have survived as long as they did.

All and all this book was very good. Just another example of Jon Athan’s consistency as a writer.

[CARLEEN · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Law of Retaliation was my first Jon Athan read (via ebook); I actually had a small Fbook interaction with him two weeks ago in which he was announcing the plot of a new book he was working on, I told him I really liked him because I loved what I was hearing and he actually responded. sigh...okay back to this book...I LOVED it!

If you can stand to read graphic violence, thrilling, twisted, gut wrenching, sick, revenge infested horrorgore (yes, horrorgore); THIS is for you. I can now say I have read a Jon Athan book and I am a fan!

This was a fast, e-read scrolling book that is about a family of three on their way to having a magical family time and ran across some young basTURDSs that changed the parents lives FOREVER. When the law fails you; you make your own laws and that's what Ryan and Alexa did; their ending didn't matter to them as long as they got justice for their daughter Lucia.....Lucia should be proud!

[❤ArtfullySinful❤ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Alexa said, “No. That was just the end of one chapter—one story. You see, this is a new one. Lucia's story...” She clenched her jaw and sniffled, fighting the urge to cry. She said, “Lucia's story was a story of tragedy. This is a story of vengeance.”

Two young parents, Alexa and Ryan Martins wanted nothing more than a relaxing weekend getaway to celebrate the life they shared, and the innocent life they created together; their five year old daughter Lucia. Finding themselves deep in the desolate woods with zero phone signal, the isolation was a powerful tool of fear as they drove their sedan slowly passed what seemed to be four teenagers stranded at the side of the road. With a knitting of fear in his wife’s stomach, they made the unfortunate decision to drive past the youngsters, a chalice that’ll leave behind very fire consequences.

[Teresa Watts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grief, revenge, and true love.

Wow. This is the third book I have read by Athan. I’m accustomed to his extreme horror, so I was not expecting a love story.

Don’t get me wrong; this story still has some moments of depravity. However, it was deserved and important to the plot. As a mother I can’t fault the extreme actions taken by grieving parents. I was looking for a revenge story, and this more than delivered.

I was not expecting the love story that is the main take-away of this book.This is by far touching and truly genuine. As a mother who has lost a child the relationships, thoughts, fury and grief are depicted flawlessly.

This book is ideal for those wanting to read Athan’s work, but not ready for his more extreme novels.

[Jessi · Rating 3 out of 5]

well this happened

I know I am supposed to feel some complicated things about this story, but I don't. Ryan and Alexa for the win. Doing the world a service.
This is a revenge story about two people who seek justice for the death of their child. In the end, they become just as flawed in their actions, and yet it doesn't matter because it truly was worth it. They become monsters, but I can honestly say that only two people didn't deserve what happened to them. The rest had an ending that benefitted their actions. One person may have deserved it less, but that is subjective.

They tried the legal way, but it didn't work. So kudos to them for getting justice through every means possible.
End note, Caden found out.

[Tracy Halls · Rating 5 out of 5]

another good read from this author

Another good read, I love this author switches things up and no two books are the same, some are outright horror, some one invasion, some have potential to be real etc.
Really enjoyed this brutal story, some of the pages were difficult to read from a personal perspective and made me very uncomfortable but I don’t read horror to be comfortable so it’s all good!
Well written story of brutal very much deserved revenge!

[Meinfulleffect · Rating 2 out of 5]

The word Nazi was mentioned 57 times in 169 pages.
Oftentimes, in consecutive paragraphs.
I just can't read anymore of this author. I don't even have mediocre expectations for these books.
Too much repetition.. from book to book, repetition in each of his short books, and even repetition in pages. Jon Athan sure loves making most of his characters talk to themselves to get a point across for us.
I just can't.

[Thomas Hobbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

A married couple seeks revenge on a group of kids basically the ringleader, but things turns sideways as They all show up at once. Sorry I gave 4 stars. Great story, but seriously this couple had 2 years thinking and plotting revenge, and there plan was ruined. They didn't have a plan b or think outside the box. What might happen, if this or this happened? This reverse home invasion might have worked better if the couple actually planned better.

[Nicholas Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. That is really all I have to say.

This book was great! I’ve been on a revenge binge lately, just reading Yellow by Aron Beauregard before this, and this one is on par with that one.

This story is a brutal one, not for the weak of heart. There’s brutality within this book that may turn less squeamish readers away. But the payoff is a good one!

Five blood-drenched stars!

[Kylie Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good imagery and story, but some of the words he uses get really repetitive in his books. Like "dome". Just a weird descriptor to use so much. And in this book, he just kept referring to the villains as the racists every single time. It never really got changed up. But i do love the book other than that. The graphic descriptions make me squirm in the best way.

[Tamára · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dos poucos livros q li deste senhor o q gosto sempre é a vingança q as personagens conseguem sempre. Émuito satisfatório por mais f*ck** up q seja.
Para mim não é dos melhores trabalhos dele. Não me interessou muito a história do racismo mas como qq trabalho do jon è sempre interessante ler tudo até ao fim. Dá sempre q pensar.

[Rob Eamer · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was my second book by this author, the first being Do Not Disturb, which I really enjoyed. Unfortunately, this one was a huge disappointment. The writing felt immature and the plot veered into the absurd at times. One scene even involved strangling someone with an umbilical cord, which was just ridiculous. I pushed myself to finish, but it was a real struggle not to DNF.

[Page Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not even sure what I want to say about this book. It was a good read, the characters were compelling, but these racist dudes were something else. I didn't feel one bit sorry for what the parents felt like they needed to do to get justice.

[Shandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Page turner!

Finished in one day, even as a busy mom! I couldn't stop reading! Took it with me while I did anything . Can't wait to read another! I personally loved how detailed the brutality was.