Jacob Finch Bonner had fallen on hard times. His first book was a moderate success, but book two was a flop and books three and four can’t even get published. He’s been reduced to teaching at a third rate MFA writing program. There, he encounters Evan Parker, the most obnoxious person anyone could have as a student. Evan is convinced he’s got the next best seller, on a par with Gone, Girl. When he dies later, never having published his supposed masterpiece, Jake steals the idea. And sure enough, the book is a colossal success. Then, the emails from Talented Tom start coming, accusing him of being a thief and a fraud.
The theme of the book is who owns a story. This idea has been tackled before, even Mark Twain said there’s no such thing as an original idea. I liked that the book paints a very ambiguous story. This wasn’t a case of out and out plagiarism. Jake ties himself in knots explaining his own actions to himself.
The book starts off slow and takes a while to really get going. The chapters interlace Jake’s life with chapters from his best seller. It would never be called fast paced. But there’s a nice underlying tension throughout and I was really curious to see how both stories would play out. I had a pretty good idea early on who Talented Tom but it didn’t dampen my enjoyment to be proven right.
I was really impressed with Kirby Hewborne as the narrator.
My thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advance copy of this book.

I was really excited to read this book and was granted an ARC in audio format. I had actually pre-ordered the book as well.

This novel moved very slowly. It felt almost "whiney" in some places. The main character was not likable to me and his journey was one that I found fairly improbable. Although there was one element to the mystery that surprised me, I figured out the main part of this early on.

This book was just "ok" for me.

#netgalley

#ThePlot

This book is a story of a writer, Jake, who was also a writing teacher. He was a NYT Best Seller for his first novel and his subsequent books have fell short. In comes a cocky student, Parker, exclaiming he has an idea of a book that will be read by all. Jake is rather dismayed and doesn’t give it much thought especially only given the first few chapters of the book, Parker thought would make World status. Parker then explains the plot to Jake, which is untold to the reader, and Jake knew without a doubt that this plot would indeed reach best seller status and everyone in the world would be talking about it. Forward a couple years, Jake found an obituary notice for Parker, and realized his book was never published.

Jake went on to write the book with the plot that was given from his student and it did indeed reach people far and wide. The only problem is that someone on the internet has began spreading rumors that Jake’s book was plagiarized and it wasn’t his story to tell. Who is doing it and what happens when Jake discovers the truth?

For me, this was a really slow burn. The twist at the end wasn’t as nearly shocking as I was hoping it would be. I did enjoy reading more about the publishing world, but all in all only 2.5 stars for me.

Thank you to Celadon books for the gifted copy.

I read the book and did the audio for this one as well! Both were very good and well done! The audio felt like the emotions and everything with the story line was done very well! I liked this one a lot and would recommend it to other colleagues and students.

Wow! I was able to read a sample of this book a few months ago, so when this popped up in NetGalley, I snatched it up as quick as I could. The Plot is narrated by Jacob Finch Bonner, a once-shining-star writer who now teaches for a second-rate MFA program after his second book didn't even sell a thousand copies. What immediately captured me was Jacob's voice. He carries an old leather satchel with him (so that when he makes it "big" he can talk about how he's carried it around with him since grad school.) He doesn't like poetry and doesn't even wish he liked poetry, but he WISHES he wished he liked poetry. Korelitz paints this fantastic picture of a man who has grandiose thinking but does nothing to back it up, who just wants to make it as a writer, but feels like he's falling further and further behind. And it's into this space that a student--an obnoxious, unlikable student--tells him a plot that Jacob knows is going to be huge. Fast forward a few years later, Jacob (still unhappily plodding away at his 3rd novel that always seems out of reach) remembers this student and realizes that he never heard anything about the book. After some internet searching, he realizes that this student died only a few months after leaving the grad program... which means the amazing, sure-fire, incredible plot is up for grabs. What's a desperate writer to do?

I listened to this book in just a couple of days. Jacob isn't necessarily a likeable character--but he's not exactly unlikable either. I rolled my eyes at him so many times (Finch was a self-given middle name. Every single time he shows false modesty) and yet I couldn't help rooting for him to solve the mystery of who is stalking him. Also, I did not see that ending coming. This is one people are going to want to talk about. I know I was searching for someone who had also read this book so we could discuss it.

I listened to the audio of this book . The narrator did a fantastic job of giving Jacob Finch Bonner a voice. I felt like I was listening to a movie the entire time I listened to this book.

This is another wonderful book by Jean Hanff Korelitz. The Plot is most definitely a thriller and the suspense is maintained throughout most of the book. I enjoyed the protagonist, Jake, and other strong characters as well as the vivid scenes created by the author. I can recommend this book highly to readers who enjoy long mysteries/thrillers with twisting subplots a la Stephen King. My personal preference is for more compact books with fewer subplots but I'm in the minority. The Plot features a book within a book, (within a book?) and within each a family with almost identical experiences. I found myself wishing that Jake would hire a detective, whom he could now afford, but that wouldn't be as suspenseful as causing the reader to worry about the choices Jake is making. I did get a hint of the book's final twist about a quarter of the way through when I asked myself, "Is this turn of events too good to be true?". When I start wondering that while reading a mystery, it often turns out to be the key to the twist.
The Plot reminds me a lot of a 2013 film, The Words, starring Bradley Cooper, in which an unsuccessful writer gets a job in a literary agency in NYC. He finds a brilliant manuscript in an antique briefcase which then becomes "his" brilliant and wildly successful novel. He meets his girlfriend (later wife) at an event to promote "his" novel, and things start coming off the spool. The Plot takes similar situations to deeper and darker places.
I enjoyed the reading by the always-wonderful Kirby Heyborne very much. He is equally adept at men's and women's voices which isn't always true in audiobooks.
In summary, this is a terrific and well-produced thriller that will attract many very happy readers.

A once-promising novelist has turned to teaching writing in a third-rate program in Vermont, where he has a student who relates an amazing plot to him. A number of years later, he finds out the student died without having published that amazing story. So he takes what he remembers and creates a huge bestseller. And then he gets threatening notes, which is when his life starts to fall apart.

This audiobook totally kept my husband and I glued during a long day of driving! The two of us kept exchanging ideas about what we thought might happen next. The ending took us both by surprise. Kirby Heyborne’s narration was excellent.

My only complaint - the very earliest part of the book said the words “Richard Peng Hall” so many times that we almost turned off the book. So glad we stuck with it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to an advance copy of this audiobook. All opinions are my own.

Many reviews about this book said to read it even if just for the ending. I’m afraid to say that I saw it coming. It was still an enjoyable story about Jacob, a writer who takes an idea from a failed, dead writer and it comes back to bite him. Jacob is not a likable character but I was still rooting for him. The book alternates his story with chapters from the novel that he allegedly stole (he wrote every word but based on his student’s idea). This book within a book is also good even if I failed to see how all the fictitious readers had gone “Gone Girl” crazy over its plot. What I really loved was the excellent audiobook narration by Kirby Heyborne, whose pacing makes the novel even most suspenseful.
I chose to listen to this audiobook and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Macmillan Audio!

I can't say I'm disappointed by The Plot, but I can't say it surpassed my expectations either. It's that weird in between of books I enjoyed, would recommend, but won't stick with me.

We follow Jacob Finch Bonner, an author whose career is on the decline and he's regulated to a bottom-tier creative writing program filled with young, up and comers all to ready to take Bonner's place. When arrogant Evan Peters reluctantly shares the "sure thing" plot for the book he is writing, Jacob waits for Evan's story to take over the world. But years pass, and nothing comes of Evan's revolutionary idea. After Jacob learns of Evan's passing, he brings the story to life and becomes a sensation. An acclaimed author with endless praise heaped upon him, but after about a year - Jacob starts receiving anonymous messages accusing him of plagiarism and he discovers he might be on a downward spiral once more.

I liked that this story discussed writing and ownership. It was kind of a cool and unique through line in a story about writing. I also thought the audiobook was excellent and I appreciated getting little excerpts of Jacob's written novel 'Crib.' But I do have to say I was a bit disappointed as well. I was able to pinpoint a characters involvement pretty early on in the story - and while I didn't know everything, I definitely knew something. I also thought the end got a little monologue-y for my taste.

The Plot does have a bit of a slow start, but the story builds very well and keeps you engaged with both Bonner's narration and the samples of Crib included. We learn information as Jacob does and that's always a fun device in mystery stories. It does have academia-vibes because of the writing angle, so I automatically associate it with fall, but I feel like this would be a perfect transition book between late summer and fall or something that will put you in a mood for mysteries!

I received an advanced audiobook copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The audio quality is so poor on Netgalley, I couldn’t listen to this without a weird, echo-y sound. Will wait for the real thing.

The Plot follows an author named Jake who has fond himself teaching writing after being unable to write a follow up to his debut hit. One of his students, Evan, arrogantly approaches him with the plot of his own book and tells Jake that this is going to be the next great American novel that nobody would find fault in. Jake is astounded by his hubris, but can't help but agree that this plot will be a hit. Several years later, Jake is reminded of Evan and while searching for him to see what became of his career, he finds out Evan is dead. Jake rewrites Evan's original plot, soaks in the fame, and begins writing his next book when he begins to receive threats about his "stolen work."

I knew to expect The Plot to be a slow burn based on other reviews I had seen. However, I found myself to be let down by it through the end. I don't mind a slow burn when it takes off at the end and makes my head spin but this just wasn't the experience I had with this book. I found it to be, for lack of a better phrase, a predictable plot. I guessed early on what the twist might look like but kept hoping I was wrong. I also felt like this story was overly descriptive and repetitive at some points.

All that being said, this book was not for me BUT I think it has a place on the shelves of many readers. The problems I had with this book come from being very picky with my thrillers and my own personal taste of writing style. I think this book will be a headspinner for anyone that is new to thriller or readers who enjoy authors like Peter Swanson, Stephen King, Scott Thomas, and Megan Miranda.

If you enjoy a very slow burn, an extremely complex plot and strong character development ... pick up The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz! This novel is a story within a story, a book within a book, and a plot within a plot that you will definitely have to pay very close attention to. The problem for me was that it moved so slowly that I had a hard time keeping that close attention. The plot (pun intended) definitely thickens with every chapter and every detail uncovered! It's a really interesting story but you cannot expect it to grip you. If it had been executed more like a thriller with a fasted paced edge and quickening to it, I would have enjoyed it so much more. But that's just me. Some readers LOVE slow burns and if that's you -- ENJOY!

Thank you, Celadon Books, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley, for a copy of this book for review!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read this book. I truly was hoping after reading reviews of this book myself that it would resonate with me, but I had so much trouble getting into it. I honestly think a large part of that was the narrator of the audiobook version. There was almost no inflection in his voice. Maybe if I had read this in print version and used my own internal voice to narrate this book that it would have gone over better. I really wanted to like this one based on the premise but it just did not do it for me. I also struggle when it takes a long time for a book to get going - I need some action up front to hook me so that I can power through the rest of it.

This book had a lot of hype with it, but I thought it was just okay. The idea was good, but since I listened to it over audiobook I kept getting confused when I would pick backup.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for a copy to honestly review.

Thank you to Celadon Books, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for an ALC of Jean Hanff Koerlitz’s latest novel, The Plot.

Unfortunately this one just didn’t work for me. First, I was not a fan of the audiobook. The narrator was boring to me and made an already slow-burn, even slower. Because this one was moving so slow I was listening to it on 2.0 speed and the narration was super warped, more so than when I listen on any other app. Maybe that’s a NatGalley thing, it was just really annoying.

The book was a slow burn but the plot was engaging enough for me to keep reading. I had my suspicions early on who was harassing Jake over the internet and I was curious to find out if I was right. I thought the ‘book within a book’ aspect was a nice addition and the plot of Crib (the book within the book) sounded like a something m I would have enjoyed more than The Plot...

The Plot felt very repetitive to me and information was stated over and over again. Jake mauled over his decision to take over Evan Parker’s story throughout the whole book and it just became redundant. Maybe this was another case of the synopsis telling the reader what’s going to happen in the book, and that made the pacing feel clunky. For me, the epilogue “saved” this book. I thought it was chilling and interesting and would have loved to see more from Anna’s POV throughout the book.

Overall the writing was wordy yet engaging but that didn’t save the predictability and redundancy of The Plot for me. I’ve seen a lot of positive reviews for this one so don’t let my experience deter you from picking this one up, May 11th.

Audiobook: ⭐️⭐️
Actual book: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was a miss for me. The narrator was pretty good, he differentiated the characters well and kept a steady pace though jut. I did find him a tiny bit monotone. I felt like this book was very slow paced and really predictable. I feel like I had it figured out really quickly. It took 60% into the book before any kind of action happened. It just wasn’t for me. If you like slow burn thrillers, this may appeal to you.

Thank you NetGalley and Celadon for the opportunity to listen to this book on audio.

This was a good book. Completely unexpected and as I've seen others say, it's a slow burn until it's not.

This book is a book about a book and a very specific Plot. You see, Jacob Finch Bonner is a writing teacher and the author of a one-hit-wonder trying very hard to write another successful book and despite his efforts none of his books, after his first one, is taking off.

Then he meets his student, Evan Parker. Evan is certain that he is writing a book that will fly off the shelves, no questions asked. He's really pretty full of himself and Jacob Bonner has a hard time with his confidence.

Fast forward ... Jacob hasn't seen or heard from Evan in years so he starts investigating, I mean surely his book should be #1 on the NY Times Bestseller list by now, right?

What he finds in his research of Evan Parker and what happens next is what this book is all about.
Go get a copy and see for yourself!!

Jacob (Jake) Finch Bonner is a writer and published novelist whose first book reached critical acclaim but not the commercial success he’d dreamed about. His second book didn’t reach the level of the first and so he began teaching in an MFA program at Vermont’s Ripley College that even he knew wasn’t highly regarded. Jake was also struggling the past few years to find inspiration for his next book when one of his students, an arrogant and narcissistic young man named Evan Parker, declares he doesn’t need his or anyone’s help because the plot of his book is so compelling, it will become an immediate bestseller on its own. Evan won’t share more than a couple of pages with Jake but it’s enough that he becomes highly intrigued with the beginnings of the plot.

A few years later, another student with Evan’s personality traits triggers Jake’s memory and he searches to see if that much touted story ever got published. When he discovers that Evan died a few weeks after he left Ripley, Jake ultimately convinces himself that he can pursue writing the story himself. It does become that predicted commercial and financial success and Jake's name is right up there with the well known authors of the day. But as he’s enjoying all that comes with fame and critical acclaim, he receives the first of many messages to come from an anonymous sender called “Talented Tom” who simply states, “you are a thief.” Jake’s private search sends him on a journey into Evan Parker’s past that produces astonishing results.

Let me first warn you that this story requires your patience as it takes some time to develop but there is a payoff for your efforts. When it finally takes a turn to the point where it’s hard to stop reading (or in my case, listening), the foundation that was created provides that insight into the characters you’ll need to keep up. To make matters more interesting, the story transitions between Jake’s present day movements and excerpts of his book. Those transitions were well crafted as they become more meaningful as Jake delves deeper into Evan’s life. But the most compelling aspect of the story is the question it raises about the ownership of an idea. Jake had only a fragment of Evan’s story premise but was it enough to be considered a theft of someone else’s story? You’ll be left to decide that for yourself.

I listened to the story and it took me a moment to adjust to the narrator because he was so low key. But, after a bit I realized he was just being Jake who consumes most of the beginning of the book and he did that very well. When other characters emerged, there was quite a distinction. I’m really glad I chose to listen versus read because he helped build the excitement and intrigue, especially that twisty ending. I also have to admit to having guessed the surprise revelation but not the ending. I enjoyed this slow burn novel with the provocative proposition about what constitutes theft in the writing arena. You’ll have to consider decide for yourself. And, the journey to get there was delicious.

What an amazing thriller!
This book publishes in May and I hope it gets the buzz it deserves.
This book opened up with a real life application of a moral dilemma--who owns the rights to creative idea?
A creative writing teacher is struggling with writer's block and the pressure to deliver his next book. Normally, his student do not deliver inspiring work, but surprisingly one big-headed young writer surprises Jake with an incredible plot line,

Time goes by and Jack realized that book that sounded so promising was never written. His student died, and he never finished his book. So, Jack takes the idea and writes a best selling novel out of it.

While this is a very morally heavy subject, the story itself kept a thriller pace. I found myself listening to this story every moment I could to see what happened next.
Jake faces some serious consequences for his idea "theft." Slowly but surely, he realizes the issue isn't did he steal a plot idea, but whose true life story did he tell?
The ending was a crazy twist for me! I did not expect Jake's book THE CRIBE to be a real life tale. And the person who comes after him totally took me by surprise. Also, the ending was freak phenomenal. I was so happy to finally read a thriller where the main characters doesn't make it out of the nightmare. It makes your investment in the novel so much more real.

You have to pick this up. And when you do, please message me to discuss the ending.

“Good writers borrow. Great writers steal." - T.S. Eliot (or maybe someone he stole it from - who knows?)

Jacob Fitch Bonner has always wanted to be a writer, and he succeeded...kind of. After a successful first novel, his later works underwhelm, and he finds himself teaching. One of his students shares the idea for a "perfect plot" - the kind of book that will sell millions of copies, be an Oprah's book club pick, and end up as a Spielberg movie. When he finds out the student has died, Bonner borrows the plot for his book Crib, setting himself on a course to stardom. But someone knows his secret...and they're going to tell.

Thank you to Celadon Books for providing an ARC and Macmillan Audio for providing an ALC, both on NetGalley!

Genre: thriller
Rating: 4.5 (rounded to 5 for Goodreads)
Pub date: May 11

Wow. This is going to be a short review because I don't want to give too much away! I love dark academia and books about books, so this was right up my alley. As one would hope with a book called The Plot, this one is expertly plotted, with tension that ratchets up slowly but deliberately.

Korelitz's writing flows so beautifully, and her long sentences lend themselves well to audio. I loved how the narrator Kirby Heyborne conveyed Jacob's dismay at being discovered - I could feel his tension and disquiet. Whether you read or listen, you can't go wrong. This book is begging to be adapted into a movie or miniseries (just like the fictional Crib!) If you like a taut thriller, definitely pick this one up!

Review posted to Instagram 5/1/21 and Goodreads 5/2/21.