This one was enjoyable. I do feel like there was a similar book published this year with a similar plot, but this was different enough. I think the middle was a little confusing, and this was a bit too long, but ultimately the ending was worth the wait.

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

You can't spend an entire book building up the plot of a fictional novel only for it to turn out to be something I guessed. It felt very much like this book was trying to create a Gone Girl-esque phenomenon and that went about as well as all of the books that have been touted as "the next Gone Girl."

Narration: New to me narrator (but once I looked him up I saw that he did narration for Gone Girl lol) and I'm not going out of my way to either listen to or avoid him.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for my copy to review.

A book about a book? Sign me up!

Jacob Finch Bonner is a published author who is teaching a college writing course while hoping to write his next novel. The problem is, he can’t come up with any good plot ideas. That is, until a student of his, Evan Parker, brings an idea to him for his own novel that he’s working on.

A few years later, Jake is still struggling with writing his next novel. When Jake discovers Evan is dead along with all of his family, he decided to use Evan’s plot for his book. After the success of the book, Jake starts getting called out for plagiarism from an anonymous source and decides to uncover who is behind the threats.

The Plot has such an interesting plot, and I really loved the idea of a book within a book. There are chapters of Jake’s book interspersed throughout which really helped to uncover who was behind the messages to Jake.

I did think the book started off a bit slow, but once Jake has published his book the pace picked up. Don’t go into this one expecting any big twists or shocking wow moments. It’s definitely not that kind of thriller, however I did enjoy the writing. Even though I figured out what was going on, I still enjoyed this overall.

I listened to the audiobook and although I enjoyed the narrator, Kirby Heyborne, I did need to speed it up since it was rather slow.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for a copy in exchange for me honest review.

When a mediocre, at best, author finds himself struggling to make ends meet. he follows the old adage, "Those that can, do, that's that can't, teach".

While teaching a creative writing course, Jacob Bonner stumbles across a plot that is sure to be the next best seller. There is only one draw back, it doesn't belong to him.

Evan Parker drips with arrogance and ego, telling Jacob that his Plot is not only sure to be a best seller, it is also sure to be adapted to film, with an A-list team all the way and his plot really is just that good.

When Jacob discovers that Evan has died, he investigates to see whatever happened with "The Plot" but it looks like Evan died before he ever got a chance to write it. Jacob seizes the opportunity and writes the next bestseller using the stolen plot and is launched into immediate stardom. but all that threatens to come crashes down around him as he begins to get anonymous messages. Someone, somewhere knows that the plot is stolen.

We follow Jacob as he tries to uncover who his blackmailer might be but the reader knows almost from the start. Good story, nice movement, good narration but the who is apparent and steals some of The Plot's thunder.

Loved this book! It's my top 5 books of the year!
Because I just can't give a better brief summary, here’s a short synopsis from the publisher:

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?

I was completely drawn into this story, and what a unique story it is! Loved how the author slowly leads/weaves you through the story. EXCELLENT writing, story and character development. Excellent narration by Kirby Heyborne, he was perfect for this book! And that ending… I didn’t see that ending coming!
I highly recommend the audio version to anyone who loves a good mystery/suspense novel.
A very special thank you for the advanced audio copy from Macmillian Audio production from Celadon Books via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

A great story, the original "plot" might not seem original, but the story as told by Jean Hanff Korelitz is definitely an original. Every story has more than one side, this one has several and each leads the reader on a different journey. A once successful writer who now finds himself teaching while he waits for his next great story, has a student, a young man with the potential to be a huge success. the young man dies too soon....yes we've seen this plot before, but stick with it, you will defnitely be surprised. I freaking loved this book, read it in one loooong sitting.

The narrator created an extra "sense" to this story. The emotions were there, just as if you were listening to the characters as they told the story. I'm loving the audio.......

The Plot is 5 Stars all the way!!!! It was one of my most anticipated thrillers and this book totally delivered! Fast paced, couldn’t stop listening mesmerizing kind of books! There was a twist near the end that I seen a mile away but that epilogue was OUTSTANDING!! Even though I guessed one of the twist ... it still was worth 5 stars in my opinion.

3.75 stars

The Plot is one of those books where your ability to guess the ending, as well as your perception of what a “mind-blowing plot” is will likely affect your overall enjoyment.

I enjoyed the story within a story narrative style and seeing how that developed as the book progressed. Even though this is a plot device used in other novels, I still found it to be the most inventive and engaging part of the novel. I wasn’t particularly blown away by the ending because I saw it coming a mile away, but it was still satisfying and worth the read.

The titular plot that our protagonist takes it upon himself to bring to fruition was a bit lackluster for me. While definitely an interesting premise, it was so overhyped as the most inventive plot ever to grace the pages of a novel, that once it was revealed I couldn’t help but think “that’s it?” I think that played into the book overall feeling a bit overhyped to me as well.

However, all that being said, I still found myself flying through the audiobook. It definitely kept me engaged and wanting to read more. The narrator did a good job overall creating different voices for each character, and kept an engaging flow throughout the novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a complimentary copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

🌟 "You’re only as successful as the last book you published, and you’re only as good as the next book you’re writing. So shut up and write." 🌟

As far as thrillers go, this was one of my most anticipated releases for 2021. Mostly because I’m a sucker for a good book about a book. There’s something about that trope that presses all the right buttons. But not only was The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz pitched as a book about a book, we’re told it’s a book about the perfect book. Or the perfect plot, anyway. No need to tell me more than that, because I’m already sold. Unfortunately, this is one where I found that the premise promised more than the book delivered. Though there were elements I found to be satisfying and enjoyable, I mostly found myself feeling disappointed and a little let down when I finally reached the end.

For what I liked: Unfortunately, I can’t actually talk about the most captivating part of the book without diving into spoiler territory. To keep things as vague as possible, I liked the message that was conveyed through the ending. Not necessarily the ending its self, but what (I think) the author was trying to say. I thought it was clever and timely. And had it been executed to its full potential, I think this really could have been a hit for me. Also, I enjoyed the cat-and-mouse like game between Jacob and the person taunting him. Is it sadistic to say I liked observing how our main character slowly went from writing off the threats to falling apart from anxiety over them? Probably. But that descent into madness was I thought was really well done. And finally, I enjoyed all the nods to being a writer and the publishing world at large. It was handled with kind of a dry humor, which is totally my cup of tea.

For what I didn’t like: I found the plot to be incredibly predictable. Within the first couple of chapters, I had pretty much figured out the big ‘whodunit.’ And I don’t think it’s because I’m some super sleuth. The foreshadowing was so heavy-handed that I think most anyone could easily figure it out. I also kind of hated every single character. I know, I know. Our main character, Jacob, was likely made to be unlikable. Which I normally don’t mind. But something about him really grated on my very last nerve and made the reading experience pretty unpleasant. Finally… I just didn’t find the plot of the novel that Jacob stole to be all that interesting. It’s supposed to be the best plot ever. The holy grail of plots, if you will. But I found it to be only mildly compelling. Something I might pick up at the library after it’s been out for a few years. Which made a lot of the events in the story highly unbelievable, to the point it pulled me out of the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Macmillan Audio, for sending me this book in exchange for an honest and fair review.

Admittedly, I have not read much in the way of thrillers. This was quite the page-turner though and certainly kept me hooked until the end. Overall, I was able to guess at a few events before they happened but that didn't stop me from wanting to see where events led. The character of Jacob was enjoyable and well-drawn and I feel like him as a character led to my increased investment due to my lit fic proclivities.

Although The Plot started off extremely slow for me (enough that I put it down for a couple months before trying again where I left off), it picked up about 1/4 of the way through. I quickly became intrigue and it became difficult to stop listening. There was a subtle amount of suspense that kept me wanting to know more. Although I had figured out the premise early on, it was interesting enough to hear how the author played it out.

This one has a slow start. After awhile it really started to pick up and I really started enjoying it. I thought it was very well written and I love a book about books.

Was unable to listen to this audiobook. Damaged my phone and had to get a new one. When I opened my netgalley app, I was unable to listen.

[Comments are from the book, not the audio book.]
I enjoyed Korelitz's “story within a story” rendition. It's a compelling read, and I raced through it. However, I was disappointed to find that I was able to predict the ending by page 120. It was still an engrossing tale, but the ending was no surprise.

I listened to the audio version of this book. Would I have loved it if my expectations were lower? Probably not, but it would have been an ok story with tidbits about the publishing industry and writing classes. The narration was good. The story was enjoyable but no real surprises.

I received an advanced copy of this audio version from Net Galley.

Did #FallonSummerReads make me do it? Absolutely.

I love a book within a book, and The Plot tells the story of a formerly successful author who seems to have lost his way. He resorts to teaching writing at a college and a student comedy to him with a brilliant idea. And this excerpt…

‘Evan sat forward. He took his Ripley water bottle and unscrewed the top, and he tipped it back into his mouth. Then he folded his arms again and said, almost with regret: “This story will be read by everybody. It will make a fortune. It will be made into a movie, probably by somebody really important, like an A-list director. It will get all the brass rings, you know what I mean?” Jake, now truly lost for words, feared that he did. “Like, Oprah will pick it for her book thing. It will be talked about on TV shows. TV shows where they don’t usually talk about books. Every book club. Every blogger. Every everything I don’t even know about. This book, there’s no way it can fail.” ‘

Insert @jimmyfallon for @oprah and that’s probably what will happen for The Plot. It can’t fail. I’m pretty slow when it comes to the twist in most thrillers, so I didn’t see it coming and I enjoyed this book. And, I hope it gets made in to a movie by an A-list director.

The “plot” wasn’t all the groundbreaking to make it something that would be an instant best seller. It was a good story and I didn’t figure out the twist right away.

I liked but didn’t love this one as much as I’d hoped. While it’s an interesting premise, it got a little overly dramatic and strange. It’s worth a try but not my favorite.

I was so excited to read this one. I absolutely loved the idea of it and wanted to read it so much. The Plot is a mystery novel about Jake who is a teacher, that steals the plot of his novel from a student. The student guaranteed that this idea would be a huge success. Jake receives an email, many years later calling him a thief. Could the student he stole from still be alive? While Jake is lying and trying to hide the truth, he uncovers more about Evan and where the story actually came from. The novel kept pulling me in and even though I had it figured out I still wanted to see what was going to happen. I had no idea how this one was going to play out until about halfway through the novel and then I was all "OHHHHHHHHHHHHH I got it now".

I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed the narrator. I also had a paper copy and ebook as well so I could switch formats. I did read this one in one sitting. It kept me fully entertained.

Jacob Finch Bonner wrote one great novel, but is struggling to find his muse again. While he awaits inspiration, he teaches a graduate level class to aspiring authors. One of his students rebuffs Bonner's offers of help, saying he's got a solid idea for a book -- one so perfect that every the dullest writer couldn't screw it up.

Bonner hears the idea, waits for its inevitable release as a bona fide bestseller -- but years have passed, and nothing has materialized. The student with the brilliant idea, it turns out, has died. So Bonner writes the book with his student's sure-fire idea and, of course, it's an instant hit. Bonner's life of prestige and comfort is interrupted when a stranger starts writing him saying, essentially, "I know what you've done."

It's a really interesting story, with a few fun twists. The ending was solid as well. One nit with the audiobook: As a person who grew up in Central New York -- where the book is based -- the pronunciations of a few local towns are not very good (or consistent).