The first half of the book was slow, lots of unnecessary details. The second half was more what I expected from the description and was excellent.

Jacob Finch Bonner is an author of a book several years ago now teaching. One of his students arrogantly claimed to have written a future best seller. Jacob agrees and expects to hear eventually that it has been published. When that doesn’t happen he finds out the student died soon after the class.

Jacob goes on to write his version of the story and it indeed becomes a sensation. Then Jacob starts getting messages from a troll saying he knows he stole the story. This prompts Jacob to investigate what happened to the arrogant student and that story is incredible.

There is a love story with Jacob falling for and marrying Anna from Seattle.
His family and friends love Anna, who eventually moves to NYC to marry him.

There are some twists and turns at the end, some that I did see coming but some I didn’t. At least after slogging through the beginning of the book, the last half of the book was worth it.

Please do not learn a lot about this book before reading it! It is a skillfully written mystery with twists and turns, interesting characters, and thrilling surprises that works best when you know very little before reading it. Jacob is a semi-successful fiction writer who teaches prospective authors in summer seminars to help support himself. When a student shares his "can't miss" plot with Jacob, (but not with the reader), the teacher is sure it will be a best-seller, but years pass and the book never materializes. When Jacob learns the student died without writing the "can't miss" novel, he decides to write the story himself. There begins this very clever, twisty mystery. Thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for providing an ARC.

I like all of her previous books and I very much enjoyed this book as well. While any reader could see that the main character wasn’t going to get away with stealing their students story, I liked the way the story unraveled. I enjoyed of the chapters from the “book” were interspersed within the story, and wile the ending was a little predictable I still really enjoyed it.

The Plot - Jean Hanff Korelitz

WOW. This story was not at all what I was expecting when I first started to read The Plot. Jacob is a struggling author who is working as a writing teacher at the beginning of the book. He meets a pompous & overly confident student who claims to have the best plot for a novel and is unwilling to take feedback from anyone. In Jake's opinion, he's a jerk, and why would he waste his time mentoring someone who doesn't want to be mentored?

Years later, Jake starts to wonder what happened to that student? Did his book ever come out? Surely, if it did, it wasn't such a success after all if he hadn't heard of it? That's when Jake does a bit of research and finds out that his former student passed away not too long after he was a student, and his extraordinary plot will never be written. Or, will it? Jakes begins to remember a few of the details from his former student's plot and then decides to write the story on his own. Not to his surprise, the story is, in fact, a hit! His career takes off, he meets a woman, and they get married. He travels around the country making press appearances; what could come down and crush his newfound success?

Someone begins to message Jacob about "his" plot and threatens to expose that Jacob did not write the novel after all. If the man behind the original plot is dead and no one else knows where Jacob came up with this book, who could this possibly be?

The start of the book was a bit of a slow burn. I wasn't sure where the story was going to go after the first time jump. Once Jacob finds out that he could possibly be exposed and all his success and fame (and his marriage) could be taken away from him, I struggled to put this book down. Although I didn't find the characters to be likable, I was way more interested in finding out what Jacob's next moves are throughout the novel.

I recommend The Plot for anyone who couldn't turn the TV off while watching HBO's The Undoing (also written by Jean Hamff Korelitz). Thank you, Celadon Books and NetGalley, for the advanced copy. This book comes out May 11, 2021!

The story definitely took a while to get going and was overloaded with an abundance of repetitions, but because of the excellent reviews, I soldiered through and am glad I did.

Our protagonist, Jake, is as dull as dishwater and fearful of his own shadow. His counterpart, Anna, who became his wife, is his exact opposite – shrewd, daring and totally fearless. Of course, she plans ahead and works the plan, segueing into Plan B or C as her life and circumstances demand.

It was an interesting psychological study. I really enjoyed this and look forward to more by Korelitz.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an unbiased review.

Could not stop reading once I started. Love the suspense, the main characters, and yes, the plot. There's so much to say about it, but I don't want to give it away. As a writer, I completely identify with everything Jacob felt.

The build up. The ending. The novel itself. Everything just really came together in the most poetic and clean way. The author clearly took the time to really think about what she wanted to do with this book and where it was going to go. I greatly appreciated it.

Of course I started out disliking the Jacob Finch Bonner character. His lack of interest in his job was a turn off. He wasn't given any charm. But as his plight developed I liked him better. Having stolen the idea for his great novel from a dead former student left him in jeopardy, but it didn't concern me a lot since he did write the entire novel himself. So it was interesting to see that the real objection was not plagiarism, but telling the story of someone's life who didn't want it told. Since he hadn't see the pages for the student's novel, how could he have had enough details so that the student's sister was offended? That wasn't clear to me. But I did like the twist that the novel has, and I can say that I really enjoyed it.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

A great read, a quick read, a fun read. Having read this post-Maud Dixon, I was excited to find that there were two literary thrillers that were about, like, literature in the world this year. This one starts slow, gets crazy busy fast, then the mystery is solved (by me) before it is solved by them (the protagonist).

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Plot.

I love to read, I love mysteries and I love when a story is centered around an author and the art of writing so I was excited when my request was approved.

Jacob "Finch" Bonner was once a rising star in the publishing industry but after a dismal second book, he finds himself teaching would-be authors at a low-tier MFA program. He hasn't written anything in years and the likelihood he will publish again dwindles with each passing day.

Until he meets an arrogant student named Evan Parker, who reluctantly tells him the plot of his novel-in-progress, guaranteed to bring in the dough, the accolades, the movie deals, the whole shebang.

As Jacob waits for this phenomenal book to hit the bookstores one day, he continues to plod on with life. Until he discovers the book was never written, much less published, because the author died unexpectedly.

It would be a shame to let a good plot go to waste, Jacob decides. So, he takes up the pen and the rest is history.

Or is it? Because some plots derive from real life and someone doesn't like their story being told without permission. And Jacob is going to discover the consequences of his actions and it won't be pretty.

The Plot was well-written with thoughtful observations on the writing process, the publishing industry, what would-be authors hope to gain from attending MFA programs/writing retreats and Jacob's inner thoughts.

Jacob was a relatable character and his reasoning behind 'cribbing' the basic plot and spinning it into his own unique work was understandable.

A plot can't be copyrighted nor can an idea. Give ten people an idea for a plot and you'll get ten different stories.

I enjoyed going along with Jacob as he delved into the life of his former student, digging around in the past, speaking to the locals and putting two and two together.

I guessed the twist early on because I read so many mysteries/thrillers so I was prepared for the denouement.

Also, there were aspects of Anna's behavior I felt was suspicious, but I'm a naturally suspicious person in real life.

My only caveat is the author loves compound sentences and long paragraphs, which was hard to read through all at once and I sometimes had to go back and read the paragraph again.

This was an enjoyable read and I look forward to the author's next book.

I received an ARC of this suspenseful novel through Net Galley.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Undoing, an HBO mini-series that came out late in 2020, based on this author's book, You Should Have Known. (That book has now been republished as a paperback and titled The Undoing.) The series starred Hugh Grant and Nicole Kidman and it was packed with an enormous amount of tension and suspense. The series made me very curious about the book and its author. The Plot proves that the author can create that same sort of atmosphere with the written word.

Surprisingly, this book started slow, setting the scene with character development. Another successful mystery/thriller author says that you need to capture the reader in the first 60 pages. That does not happen in this book, but if you stay with it, this story absolutely takes off after its ordinary beginning.

This novel is about a struggling author who, after finally putting out a bestseller called The Crib, becomes accused of plagiarism. So there is a book within this book. Excerpts from The Crib are interspersed between the chapters of The Plot.

Did the author steal this book? What became of the young man who created this, or a similar, plot? Was the plot that was allegedly stolen based on real life characters? If so, what became of them?

It's hard to say more without spoiling things. Suffice it to say this book will quite satisfy readers who love twists at the end.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview THE PLOT by Jean Hanif Korelitz. This novel started slow for me, and I almost thought that i should give up - but not so fast readers...this one picks up steam and doesn't let go. I loved it.
A down and out writer, Jacob, is now teaching a class in a small Vermont college. He once had a best selling book, but that was a long time ago. Now he is set to read his student's manuscripts, short stories, and life is just a bore. There is one student, Evan Parker - a brash young man with interesting pages of a book he will write someday and Jacob is quite intrigued - it's quite good.
Time goes on, but those pages never left Jacob's mind - what ever happend to Evan Parker. Jacob's investigative mind starts to search for Evan Parker - what happened to this young man and the book he said he would write. Jacob learns Parker has died - so he takes those notes and creates a novel - CRIB and all hell breaks lose because now Jacob is a best selling auithor. Everryone loves this book - it's a stunner and Jacob is famous. CRIB's success is astonishing - even Steven Speilberg wants to make it a movie. BUT.....
In the back of his mind, Jacob struggles with success - is it his or his deceased studen's book. Jacob's life changes when he meets a great woman, his book is going into a second print, and he has alot of money - what could go wrong? Then someone starts sending Jacob messages - telling him he's a thief, he stole someone's idea, he's a fraud. Jacob must find out who is trying to ruin his life - Parker is dead - who is stalkiing him? Jacob becomes the detective and starts to hunt the person who is set on ruining his life. And Jacob gets alot more than he bargained for - his best selling novel may just be a true story, and that someone doesn't want that story in print.
Very good - I could not put it down. 5 stars - RECOMMEND..

4.5 stars (but felt giving 5 was more appropriate than giving 4 and rounding up). You can plagiarize a story, but can you steal a plot?

I loved this book. It was expertly paced, the characters jumped off the page, and most importantly, it was entertaining to read. Jacob's dread and guilt once the emails start to arrive is palpable. His need to figure out what exactly is going on feels understandable. I don't want to give too much away, because I don't want to ruin the story for anyone else.

"Jacob Finch Bonner was once a promising young novelist with a respectably published first book. Today, he's teaching in a third-rate MFA program and struggling to maintain what's left of his self-respect; he hasn't written--let alone published--anything decent in years. When Evan Parker, his most arrogant student, announces he doesn't need Jake's help because the plot of his book in progress is a sure thing, Jake is prepared to dismiss the boast as typical amateur narcissism. But then . . . he hears the plot.

Jake returns to the downward trajectory of his own career and braces himself for the supernova publication of Evan Parker's first novel: but it never comes. When he discovers that his former student has died, presumably without ever completing his book, Jake does what any self-respecting writer would do with a story like that--a story that absolutely needs to be told.

In a few short years, all of Evan Parker's predictions have come true, but Jake is the author enjoying the wave. He is wealthy, famous, praised and read all over the world. But at the height of his glorious new life, an e-mail arrives, the first salvo in a terrifying, anonymous campaign: You are a thief, it says.

As Jake struggles to understand his antagonist and hide the truth from his readers and his publishers, he begins to learn more about his late student, and what he discovers both amazes and terrifies him. Who was Evan Parker, and how did he get the idea for his "sure thing" of a novel? What is the real story behind the plot, and who stole it from whom?"

Thanks to NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed herein are my own.

After finishing The Plot, it seems to me that author Jean Hanff Korelitz has the following:

1. A giant set of cojones. To write an actual novel about the plot of a fictional novel that’s so good it will be a guaranteed best seller, and to include that fictional novel within your actual novel? Yeah, that’s pretty ballsy.

2. Writing chops. This is a well-written *literary* thriller, where form doesn’t heed to function. Yes there’s a great plot to The Plot, but it’s framed with crafty sentences and giant walls of text. Don’t like page-long paragraphs? Too bad for you.

3. A crystal ball. This novel (and ergo the novel within it) will be a best seller. A worthy one, at that.

My thanks to the (ballsy) author and Celadon Books for the advance copy to review via NetGalley.

This is the best book I have read in a long time, maybe in the past three years...I can't remember when I've devoured anything so quickly and with such relish. Oh, wait -- I could describe my reading of You Should Have Known, by the same author, in that way!

I will not stop talking about this book! I read it over 24 hours. I told my husband all about it (he doesn't read), my in-laws, and my friends at work. I will talk it up, up, up to my patrons. It can go out to anyone. Like You Should Have Known, it's a sort of domestic thriller with well-drawn and sophisticated characters. Not your everyday throwaway thriller -- something special. What is different with this one is that it is intensely CREEPY and will appeal to horror lover in you, if you have one! There is menace behind every corner for our main character -- when will his past catch up with him?

And the twists and the turns. I am a pretty careful reader but I couldn't always keep up with them all. There were so many characters -- and versions of characters because this is meta-fiction -- with various authors! -- that I couldn't imagine how this book would ever come together in a satisfying way, I just knew that it would. And it so did.

I can't say enough good things about this book. The fantastic premise makes it an easy, quick, compelling booktalk. And the twisty, cut up narrative structure makes it satisfying to literary fiction readers who want a thrilling summer read they can also sink their teeth into. Thank you so much for sharing this excellent book with me!

This was an intriguing thriller. This novel has several plots in it, layer upon layer of plots. It's very clever in that respect. This is also a novel about writers and writing. I enjoyed reading about that. Jake was a familiar character very much like one from a Stephen King novel. I figured out a major plot point early in the novel, so the big twist didn't surprise me. Still, I appreciated the clever plot(s) of the story and am glad I read this book.
I received an Advance Review Copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I had hopes based on the synopsis, but it fell flat fast. The writing was wordy, in fact, too wordy. For an example - the first main was given paragraphs to explain his three part name. I don't feel like I needed that in depth explanation for the middle name Finch that he gave to himself. The last name derived from a Jewish name. Who cares that much ? It held nothing in regards to the plot.

Sadly, about 25% I gave up. The style and length was just overboard, in my opinion. I will also say that I love mystery novels.

la·gia·rism
/ˈplājəˌrizəm/

noun: plagiarism; plural noun: plagiarisms
the practice of taking someone else's work or ideas and passing them off as one's own.

Jacob Finch Bonner, author of one fairly successful and well received novel and one which quickly moved to the remainders stack would kill to have a commercially successful critically received book. Nearly broke he moves from his Manhattan apartment having been relegated to teaching at an MFA program that’s crushingly unfulfilling. Except for one student. One cocky, obnoxious self involved student named Evan Parker who claims to have the story that will launch his career, make him a household name, and reach the literary pinnacle, the endorsement of Queen Oprah. So one night Evan spills the story in broad strokes to Jacob who indeed understands how this book could do all Evan claims it would. Some time later, Jacob back to his life learns that Evan Parker has died with no living relatives, and more importantly, no published book. So Jacob writes a story, Evan’s story, and like Aladdin rubbing the lamp, his literary dreams come true. He gets everything he could possibly want and more. That is until the day an email arrives with four simple words: You are a thief.

Jean Haneff Koreff, has written a smart, slow burn thriller that pokes gleeful fun at the egos, eccentricities and ambitions of writers. Jacob thinks near the beginning: “He had supported other writers he’d known and admired (even the ones he hadn’t particularly admired)by attending their readings and actually purchasing their books (in hardcover! At independent bookstores!)” There’s a delicious schadenfreude that happens as the book progresses, because while Jacob doesn’t come off as particular unlikeable (which he absolutely could) he has placed himself in a soup of his own making, the temperature rising exponentially with each subsequent chapter. And although I figured out who was the culprit behind the threatening texts, it didn’t dent the overall enjoyment of the read. Thanks to @celadonbooks and @netgalley for the advance copy.

4.5 Stars

This was the first book of Jean Hanff Korelitz’s that I have read and boy was I impressed. Like many other reviewers have stated it was very compelling to read a book about a book and the fact that it was a book within a book was even better. Although the first few chapters were a little slow I found myself quickly absorbed in the plot of The Plot.

Told from the first person perspective of the main character Jacob Finch Bonner Jean Hanff Korelitz has weaved a suspenseful and haunting story that had me questioning everything. The Plot is a literary masterpiece full of complex details and an inspired storyline and I just adored that ending.

I did, however, figure out the "who" less than half way through the novel but it didn't take away any of my enjoyment while reading. Jean Hanff Korelitz is an amazing writer and I look forward to reading more of her books in the future.

Thank you to the publisher for a free copy of this book out in May!
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What I liked: I loved the idea for this book. Once the mystery really started moving, I enjoyed the tension in the story. The author writes well and the tension is thick at times, as well as, the feeling that our main character is on a downward spiral. Though I could figure out one of the twists, and to be honest I think it is intentional, there are other twists that were well done. I enjoyed the ending as well!

What I didn't: The pacing was slightly slow in the beginning and it seemed to drag to start. Once it got going it was great pacing, I wish it just would have picked up a bit.

Highly recommend!