When we meet Jacob Finch Bonner, it's safe to say that he is not a likeable or sympathetic character. As the storyline unravels I found myself rooting for him as he struggled to defend himself. Once a fairly well known writer, Jacob has fallen from New York City Publishing grace as he has been unable to complete a new novel. He makes ends meet by teaching in a third rate MFA program in Vermont.

Jacob spends a lot of time complaining and very little time teaching and mentoring in Vermont. Serendipitously, he hears of a great plot from an aspiring writer in his class.. When the story doesn't subsequently hit the shelves.Jacob decides to "borrow" the idea. The novel is a hit, a best seller, as it was sure to be. But someone is threatening to share where Jacob really got his ideas....

What a book and a FANTAST IC PLOT ! Really, the plot of this novel as well as the plot discussed in the novel will keep you up all night. This may be the only book I have EVER read where I did not truly like the characters but I still enjoyed the book, the journey and the ending.

Highly recommend.

4.5 Be Careful What You Wish For Stars
* * * * 1/2 Spoiler Free
When I saw this blurb, I clicked immediately. As a reader/reviewer, the art of writing is near and dear to me. I started it, dug in, and was captivated by the two major points of this book. Yes, it is a mystery/thriller and I loved that...but it also put out there this bare, raw, and vulnerable reveal of what it is like to have that need, that desire to write, to appreciate the wonder of what words can do.

Our main fella isn't really a hugely likable character. The main thing about him is his early understanding of words and stories. He was advanced in his observations and decided to read books way more advanced for his age. He grew to realize writing was something that needed nurturing, devotion, and a focus to the point of sacrifice. He worked harder, applied to all the necessary programs, awards, scholarships, anything that would advance him in the writing field.

And then it happened, after all the years of schooling, programs, and dedication, he was published and recognized as a promising new voice. He experienced that feeling...it was a high like no other. His book had made a little mark for him and then he needed to do his second book to hold onto his place among those who were considered worthy.

It was that second book curse, he experienced it and never really recovered from it. He was published after many submissions, it never being anything to be proud of. He was on that ugly spiral, the downward journey that had him becoming what many shift to...a teacher.

It is as this teacher for a program for those who wish to write and come to for guidance. It was almost a joke to have him teaching this as he had no real concern anymore for these minds. He did when he first was hired for the program but now he was just marking time and cashing the small check.

This story starts to move forward when we get to the major set-up for this book, an arrogant, entitled guy is part of this session, and his attitude in how he behaves has us immediately disliking him. The joke, of course, is he won't talk about his project when the group first meets and it seems the only reason he is here is to try to get an agent and put a program on his resume. Full of himself would be the perfect description.

This guy has a scheduled time to meet with our teacher and before the meeting, our teacher searches for the required submission needed for the course. It is read, then re-read because it isn't the usual drivel he gets. No, this is different. It is descriptive but with few words. You feel the place and who the people are...the conflict and pain just under the surface. Prepared to deal with this ass, the meeting starts.

It is during this meeting, our author is juggling, dancing back and forth with this guy. It finally comes down to the challenge from the guy daring him to ask about this "Sure Thing" plot for his book. After a back and forth of mental gymnastics for the power play, the guy tells the teacher what is his plot.

It is devastating...It is something that defies all the rules of plotting, of how there are only so many that can happen. It is perfect and everything the jerk had said that would happen when he writes this, will come true.

This is the first part of the book. Heady, right. The book is done in parts and the next one is three years later and our writer has continued down his spiral of non-writing becoming a manager for a writers retreat. It is while he is there when his life will be presented his writing crossroads.

I could not stop reading this, even when I needed to do other things. It presented an interesting theory about the responsibility of words and how the gift of something given needs to be taken seriously, how there is this purpose that must get them out, to not turn your back on them. To revere them, nurture them, and take on their responsibility.

Yes, there is so much more than the concepts of writing, there is a terrific mystery/thriller story too. Our fella took on so much more than he ever could have thought when he decided to go on his path with his new book

Thank you NetGallery, Celedon Books and Macmillan for the free Advanced Readers Copy! The following voluntary review contains my honest opinions.
Wow! First of all, I couldn’t put it down. It does take a minute for the storyline to pick up momentum but once it does, it’s a fun read. If you do not like when a timeline shifts or when there are varying perspectives, this is not the book for you: There are leaps of 2 and 3 years within the first three parts, then the story oscillates between the main character’s life and the book he wrote, also there is an entire book within this book. I felt all of this was well written and well organized.
Jean Hanff Korelitz is so very gifted in character development! At first, I was annoyed by the main character, but by the end I was rooting for him. All of the human behavior, the interactions, felt completely believable.
This will make an excellent movie or TV series. (Personally, I would love to see Alyson Hannigan as Anna!) Be forewarned that this is one of those stories where you as the reader/watcher will want to yell at the characters. I could see some of the pivotal moments coming and yet when they arrived I still felt a sense of shock, even dismay.
Overall, I highly recommend this book!

3.5 rounded up.

I mostly enjoyed this one. There was something about the writing that took me a while to get used to, but once I got into the story I didn’t notice it as much.

Jacob Finch Bonner was once a promising author with a nod in the New York Times New & Noteworthy column. Now he’s teaching Creative Writing in a third rate college’s MFA program. To say he’s burnt out would be an understatement. He doesn’t expect much from his students and from their writing samples, it doesn’t seem like they’re going to disappoint. That is, until his smug student tells him the plot of his planned novel. Then, even Jake has to agree that it will be the next big thing.

Years go by and still this story with the fail-proof plot has not been released. One night Jake looks up his past student to learn that he is now dead, with no surviving relatives. One thing leads to another and well, Jake writes the story and it lives up to everything he imagined it would be from the moment he heard the plot from his student.

Everything is great until he starts receiving the messages from someone who knows... but who could it be? From there, there are snips of the story Jake published interspersed in with Jake’s current life as a best selling novelist on tour and working on his follow up book.

I did expect more from the “unimaginable” plot that was hyped so much, but it did make for a good story. I did see the ending coming and I am not usually one who does, since I tend to just let the author tell the story and not spend time trying to figure it out. It pretty much has to be obvious for me to see it coming and I did. Overall I enjoyed this and I will read this author again!!

Thanks to Netgalley for an advanced copy!

A fun ride of a novel about a writer and a deception. I enjoyed the first 25% and then my interest waned as I predicted the storyline which, for me, was over-the-top and almost a farce. I had high hopes! Maybe if I had read it on the beach on vacation I would have been more willing to take part in the ride? A miss for me.

I'm fruit grateful to NetGalley and Celadon for the copy of this book.

Started slow and I was wondering about the fuss, then as I read I understood. Very well written and kept me guessing until about midway when i guessed correctly! good book!

This is a book that I was anxiously waiting for! One that all my friends loved. I couldn’t wait to get started! The premise sounded amazing!

But oh my, this book started off so slow and by midway I really just to finish it. I found it difficult to read d/t all the parenthesis. It became so distracting I found myself getting frustrated.

I am very much an outlier. There are so many five star reviews for this book. Wish it would have been a different experience for me. But sadly just wasn’t my cup of ☕️.

Thank you to Celadon Books for the ARC to read and review.

I was completely enthralled reading this, but once "the plot" was revealed, I was disappointed. The whole book we're told about this incredible twist in the plot Jake stole that literally nobody saw coming but for even casual suspense/thriller readers, I highly doubt the reveal will pack much punch. I read this in bed and actually said "that's it?" out loud to myself at like 1:30am when I got to it.

And then I predicted the ending to Jake's story as well. So while I really liked the writing and idea and pacing and all that, the reveals weren't strong enough to warrant the way the book was written.

I am always hesitant to give 5 stars to thrillers, but I think Jean Hanff Korelitz and The Plot earned it.

The Plot is a very readable and deeply satisfying thriller. I will warn that it is a bit of a slow burn but is also 110 percent worth it. I was quickly gripped by Jean Hanff Korelitz's storytelling and immersed in the book.

I found Korelitz's prose a bit more like that found in literary fiction than most of the thrillers I read. But I liked it. It felt like the sole purpose of the book was not simply to take me on a wild ride but to also immerse me in the protagonist's life and feelings. I understood his motives and actions, although whenever a character makes dumb decisions repeatedly that fill me with anxiety, I do become frustrated. However, I think this is an intended mechanism that makes you more invested in the ending.

The Plot, as the cover shows, is a book within a book. Korelitz did a fantastic job executing this and slowly unfolding the mysteries. Ultimately, The Plot was addicting and unexpected. If you read a lot of thrillers, you may not be completely surprised by the plot twists, but I think The Plot is very much worth reading.

Overall, I really enjoyed The Plot and think, without a doubt, this is going to be a bit hit. I predict it will be a big beach read for this summer. I highly recommend picking up a copy and setting aside time to devour it in one setting.

I originally saw this book on Bookishfirst and read the sample. It sucked me in immediately and I was disappointed I did not win a copy. Luckily, I was approved for this book here on NetGalley and I was extremely overjoyed to get to finish this book. I read this book quickly and i enjoyed the whole thing.

The Plot has a double meaning that you will understand once you read the book. I went into the book already hating the main character based on the blurb about the book but extremely curious to see how it all played out.

I really enjoyed this book and I am looking forward to more books by Jean Hanff Korelitz

Thank you NetGalley and Celadon Books for an advanced copy of this book.

My book club has been discussing how books get published and the lengthy process for the same. This book came to me at a fortuitous time. In The Plot, the book written by Jean Hanff Korelitz, we have writers, authors, writer’s block, stories, struggle, publishing, and most importantly…where book ideas are born. I can’t give away too much except to tell you that this is a book within a book and is very good. What a great idea and a unique premise. The Plot is thrilling with twists that are on point. I was hooked from beginning to end. I once heard an author say that sometimes ideas come to authors, and they may appear or have once been a snippet shared with another author. I wish I had her exact words, but this is a NY Times best-selling author, and I found this statement fascinating. The author of The Plot writes: “The superstition held that if you did not do right by the incredible story that had chosen you, among all possible writers, to bring it to life, that great story didn’t just leave you to spin your stupid and ineffectual wheels. It went to somebody else. A great story, in other words, wanted to be told.” READ THIS BOOK. The publication date is set for May 11th. It’s going to a best-seller. My thanks to NetGalley for the ARC but my review and opinions are my own without bias. #ThePlot @netgalley @jeanhanff #writers #bookplot #ideas

Wow, doesn't seem adequate to describe my enjoyment of this book! I absolutely devoured this book. I found Jake to be a very compelling character. The twist at the end was so shocking that it left me reeling. I never saw it coming which is the mark of an excellent story.

Elegantly crafted and filled with smart details, The Plot is an engaging puzzle that fully fulfilled its wild goose chase premise. It is worth mentioning this is definitely more of a slow-burn mystery with a literary bent, than a twist-galore commercial thriller; but the deliberate pacing is justified for the well-realized cast of characters, and the planted hints throughout that actually lead towards its grim reveal (rather than the blindsided, but illogical 'twist for the sake of it' maneuver that often plagues stories of this genre).

Also, how subtly smart is the title and cover design (hardcover edition)? I 'get' it now.

Overall, The Plot feels extremely classy and substantial; not only does it dive deep into the process and psyche of authorship (inspiration vs. plagiarism), but also sustain a constant echoing of fiction vs. reality (love the meta detail, such as the fictional 'novel' in the story being published by the actual publisher in real life).

This might be an odd comparison, but the taut atmosphere of The Game with Michael Douglas came to mind numerous times—I would love to see a David Fincher adaptation of this!

Mystery lovers, add this one to your list now! I received an eARC from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an objective review, and absolutely LOVED this book! I'd read two others, Admission and Sabbathday River, by this author and enjoyed both, but this one blew me away. Jake Bonner is a writer, once hailed as a promising young novelist, but now reduced to teaching at a third-rate MFA program, and seemingly "stick" unable to make progress on another book. When one of his students describes a story he's planning to write, and crows that it's a guaranteed blockbuster, Jake finds himself in reluctant agreement, and can't help but feel a twinge of jealousy and resentment that this arrogant young man does, in fact, appear to be the next rising star even as Jake's own star is falling fast. But years go by, and the expected blockbuster novel never materializes. Jake's curiosity leads to a Google search, and he discovers that the student is dead, has been dead, in fact, since just a few months after they met, leaving his amazing story unwritten. Who "owns" a story? Who has the right to tell it? Jake can't resist this opportunity, and convinces himself that this story needs to be told, launching himself on a glorious resurrection of his career. And then he receives a message accusing him of theft and threatening to make the accusation public.

Korelitz has developed a very compelling plot and interesting characters, interspersing the narrative with short selections from Jake's novel. She managed to keep the suspense going until the very end, though I'll admit to having some suspicions about the history of this story that were eventually confirmed. No spoilers here, but I'm certain other mystery lovers will enjoy this ride as much as I did.

Jacob Finch Bonner was once an up-and-coming novelist with a bestselling book. Too bad his second book was such a flop. Now he's a down-and-out professor with a fourth book he'll probably never finish and students he despises. There is one student that has particularly incensed him: Evan Parker. Evan is arrogant enough to think he doesn't need Jacob's help or his lackadaisical teaching. When Jacob hears the plot of Evan's novel, he realizes that Evan is completely right. That plot is a winner, which sends Jacob into an even further downward spiral of self loathing. Only, the book never gets published and Evan ends up dead. As Jacob sees it, there's no sense letting a perfect plot go to waste. So he steals it for himself and is catapulted to fame. The only problem is: Someone knows he stole the plot and is hellbent on making him pay.

This book was a chore to read. The main character was dull as dirt, as was much of the story.
As others have mentioned, this is a slow burn. A very slow burn. And not the good kind of slow burn that builds tension and suspense. The "Good lord will something happen already?" kind of slow burn. Because nothing of note happens until Part Three. Even then, I didn't find it to be a fast-paced read.

That being said, I did like the twist at the end. It was very well done and unexpected. It was just the getting there part that I found quite tedious. And, honestly, that could be in part due to me rather than the writer. I simply didn't enjoy Jean Hanff Korelitz's writing style and didn't find it engaging. Other people may love it, so I do recommend trying this book out for yourself.
I do recommend this book to anyone who enjoys academia literature, stories of writers and slow burn thrillers.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In a novel titled, “The Plot” one would naturally expect it to have a good one. But this book really contains plots within the plot which are strengthened by the excellent character development. Plagiarism, copying, adapting, paraphrasing, and inspiration can all be used by writers as they write, but Jake Bonner feels guilt as a result of meteoritic rise to the top of the best seller charts. Dealing with the guilt makes for a great read.

Definitely a Suspenseful Book! This was really interesting, a book within a book. I person actually steals the plot of a book. Where will that lead? It left me guessing many times. The premise of the book was so unusual, but the intrigue it presents was terrific.

Thank you, NetGalley, Jean Hanff Korelitz for an ARC of this book.

This book was AMAZING! Even from the brief description, I knew it was a must read for me. Who can resist a book within a book? Not me and I was not disappointed.

Jake Bonner was at times sad and pathetic, but once he set out on a mission to find his virtual nemesis he was a dog with a bone.

This was such an interesting premise (the theft of a plot) and the consequences of writing someone’s life story, who by all accounts was dead! It had twists and turns galore. It keep me reading and thinking until the very last sentence.

Early in the book I thought I had figured out who Jake’s harasser might be, but I discounted my suspicion. The same thing happened at the end - I keep turning the remaining few pages thinking “this is not going to end like this”, but you’ve got to read and chew on it yourself. You will not be disappointed.

A big thank you to Net Galley for offering me this opportunity.

It's been a while since I've stayed up late to finish a book, but I had to know how Jean Hanff Korelitz's "The Plot" ended before I closed my eyes last night!

Not having published anything worthy since his successful first novel, Jake Finch Bonner has been reduced to teaching a low-residency MFA program at a rural Vermont college teaching creative writing.His first year he encounters Evan Parker, an arrogant young man, who claims to have conceived a plot that can't help but to be the best selling book of all time and shares the plot with his instructor. Several years later, Jake unexpectedly finds an obituary for Evan and decides to write the book himself.

"Crib" becomes an enormous success and Jake is busy touring the country enjoying his new found celebrity when anonymous messages begin to arrive. Someone knows.

Our disingenuous hero thinks he can keep his guilty secret which only undermines everything he has achieved. When he finally decides to track down the person who is threatening him with exposure, the twists and turns tighten.

"The Plot" is devilishly clever. Inserted sections from "Crib" add to the overall arc of the story. Interesting characters, sophisticated writing, a glimpse into world of publishing and writers, plus a fascinating plot makes for a must-read book in 2021.

BOTTOM LINE: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

DISCLAIMER: A copy of was provided to me by Celadon Books /Net Galley for an honest review.

4.5 stars
Do writers own their words? Of course. But do writers own a plot or an idea? Of course not, right? Most of us would consider it ludicrous to think a writer owns a plot. But what if someone does not? What if they feel wronged? How far will they go?

Writer Jacob Finch Bonner is a sad sack. He was a one-hit wonder, but now finds himself struggling to write anything and teaching at a third rate MFA program. Then his luck turns. Jake seizes the opportunity to take (‘steal”?) a plot as his own, a plot so daring and different that it is certain to be a hit. He writes his book, and as predicted, it becomes a huge bestseller. Life is finally looking good for Jake.

However, despite the fact that every word of the novel was his own, he lives in constant guilt and fear that his secret will be discovered. And indeed, someone does know. The anonymous “Talented Tom” (very clever play on words, as the reader discovers), who begins to send him threatening messages. The threats eventually escalate, risking Jake’s career and future.

The cat and mouse games begin as Jake begins to investigate on his own to discover the identity of the person sending him the letters. What follows is a wild ride that ends at a shocking conclusion. Truth really is often stranger than fiction. I enjoyed the plot within the plot with chapters from Jake’s book. Each entry gets us closer to the truth.

As an aside, I didn’t find “the plot” to be that daring or different, but maybe that is a bit of humor from the author? Maybe all authors think THEIR plot is revolutionary, when it is not? As in this book, it’s not the plot, but the way it is told that makes for a terrific read.

This was a slow start, but the payoff was worth it. As a buddy read, Marialyce and I enjoyed the author’s sly commentary on a writer’s life and the publishing world. Who owns a story? Who has a right to tell it? It’s certainly a timely topic that begs discussion.

Most readers will guess the revelations to come and will wonder why Jake is such a dimwit. The journey itself is the fun of this novel within a novel. But just wait, the final scenes are jaw-dropping!