Jean Hanff Korelitz has written a intricate storyline in her new novel "The Plot", which follows Jacob Finch Bonner down the psychological rabbit hole beginning with the flawed decision to publish his dead student's novel. This twisty book about a book is sure to be a fun summer beach read.

'The Plot' by Jean Hanff Korelitz was one I was greatly anticipating as my summer thriller, and it did not disappoint. As a former teacher, an avid reader, and wannabe writer, the idea of stealing a former student's plot once they have passed away was beyond intriguing.

Author Jacob "Jake" Finch Bonner is in quite a rut after the acclaim of his one major "hit" starts wearing off. But could he stoop so low as to steal the storyline of a deceased student...a plot that very few people even knew about? Maybe even just he and said student...?

But someone else must know since his new fame is being questioned by an anonymous social media poster as he/she starts outing Jake online.

I figured out most of the twists and turns of THIS story's plot, but was still incredibly impressed with how it was all planned out and presented. This was a solid 4.5 star read for me. It could have been a 5 star, but dropped down a smidge since I had figured out the "surprises" early on... But it was still an incredible ride.

A HUGE thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to read and review this page-turning read.

Jacob Finch Bonner was a well respected novelist after just one book. However, for his sophomore title, he is hit with a hard case of writer's block. To make ends meet, he is teaching a program for aspiring writers, although it has been years since he has published. When someone taking the class, Evan Parker, tells Jacob of a plot for a book, Jacob is intrigued. Then, Jacob discovers that Evan has died, so Jacob takes on Evan's plot as his own and writes a bestselling book. The book has done so good that Jacob rises immediately to the top - including an offer from Stephen Spielberg for a feature film. He is a book thief, but who's to know?

Now, wealthy beyond belief, traveling far and wide, Jacob's success almost comes to a screeching halt - and it starts with a single email - You are a thief. That is all it says. Jacob perhaps should have given the idea of Evan's plot some serious thought. Actually, Evan felt it was a sure thing. If Evan had not died, would he have achieved the very success that Jacob is experiencing?

Who knows of Jacob's actions? Jacob now starts to dig deeper into Evan's life. Now he needs to know how Evan came up with the plot, and whether or not it had anything to do with his death. What was the plot based on, who was really behind it and who is sure to expose Jacob?

That one email becomes many. Then there are the texts. But, it doesn't stop there. Threats are coming fast and hard, giving Jacob pause. However, the train has left the station and Jacob can do no less than to try and sort things out so that he never becomes exposed.

Although I loved this thrilling story, there was a point I pretty much figured it out. Even though that part of the mystery fell flat, I was eager to see the journey ahead of Jacob so that the many questions and fears facing him would be resolved. The book definitely was intriguing, enough that I pretty much read it from cover to cover in one sitting. Having an idea who was threatening Jacob did not take away my enjoyment of the story. In fact, what it did was to keep me even more riveted to the events as they unfolded. I ended up loving this book and have already recommended it countless times.

Although I received a print ARC of The Plot, I also got an audiobook review copy. I did have to speed up the book in order to feel a bit more engaged with the story. This is not the first time I have listened to this narrator. In fact, two of the books I have listened to were Gone Girl and The Wife Upstairs. Once I got deeper into the story, I was able to relax into the narration, and thus also have been recommending the audiobook to fellow readers.

Many thanks to Celadon Books and NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

I can't evaluate this title because the audiobook disappeared from my NetGalley shelf before I could listen to it, I only had it for a few weeks, which seems like a very short period of time to review it.

Jacob Bonner Finch was once a promising young novelist who planned to be the next big thing. His first book was critically acclaimed and he had a high opinion of himself. After his second, third and fourth efforts went unnoticed, he was hit rock bottom. He took a position teaching at a third rate MFA program to pay the bills and spent a lot of time feeling sorry for himself. He had given up on his dreams. One of his mentioned to him the plot of a story that he planned to write - and it was magical. A sure hit. Jacob jealously braces himself for the publication of his student's book - he's pissed that Evan Parker will be the next big thing and not him. But it never happens. Eventually, he discovers that Evan Parker has died without ever publishing the great American novel that they discussed. Now what are the ethics on that story idea, left behind by a dead man?

I'm going to be honest with you, I read the first few chapters of this book on the website Bookish Firsts, and I didn't think I wanted to read the rest of it. Jacob Bonner Finch was not a likable character, in fact he was a self indulgent asshole. I didn't think I wanted to read a whole book of him whining about his poor luck. I read a lot of mixed reviews on the book, some very positive and some very negative, and that made me curious enough to give it a try. I was so wrong! I thought this was a fantastic book! I really enjoyed it! The narrative flipped back and forth between Jacob's life and the mysterious novel. I was so interested in that novel that I couldn't wait for the narrative to flip back to it, to give me another little tidbit of what this book was about. I thought the stories were masterfully blended, and I was in suspense trying to figure out exactly what was happening, and how the two stories related, until the very end. It was a long, slow burn. It really held me breathless.

This book was a dual read for me, I switched back and forth between the physical book and the audiobook. The audiobook was fantastic. The narration was so smooth and blended so well into the story - at times I forgot that I was listening to a narrator read. There was nothing about the narration that was distracting or bothersome that distracted from the story at all. Thank you to @macmillian.audio and @netgalley for providing me with the audiobook. And thank you to @celadonbooks for providing me with a copy of the physical books, plus an extra that I was able to donate to my local Little Free Library for part of the LFL book drop promotion.

This was a highly anticipated read for me as soon as I read the blurb. I was so intrigued by the concept of a teacher "stealing" a story idea from a student, and really enjoyed the book within a book aspect that slowly revealed the titled story idea. While I feel like I could gleam a bit of where it was going once I got into the story, the way the story played out and how it all came together was both exciting and satisfying. I liked Jake as a character, and how self-critical and morally gray he was, and I appreciated getting the opportunity to listen to his inner unravelings alongside seeing his outward actions and reactions. I read the second half of the book compulsively and couldn't wait to see how it all turned out. This was a great introduction to this veteran author for me and I'm looking forward to reading her previous works.

Absolutely not what I expected. Like not at all. Good slow burn. I think readers will be surprised by this one.

In The Plot, our main character Jacob Finch Bonner is basically a failed writer making ends meet by teaching at an MFA program. Then one of his students, Evan Parker tells Jacob he doesn't need his help, and that he has a plot of a book that will become an instant best seller. He then tells Jacob of the plot of his new book.

Then suddenly, Evan is found dead - but the plot is too good for Jacob to just let it go. He publishes it under his own name. But then, really strange things start happening.

I didn't know that a thriller can surprise me as much as this one did. The Plot is simply an excellent book for readers like me who feel that they've seen it all. Let me tell ya, you didn't! Also, as I listened to this novel via audiobook, I fell in love with the story even more. The narration is performed in such a realistic and gripping way that I truly got lost in the story. Highly recommend this gem.

I had problems downloading this book. Each time I tried, the NetGalley app crashed. I really wanted to listen to this book and hope there is still a way to do so.

The audiobook was well produced. The narrator, Kirby Heyborne, is well known and does a stellar job.

Thank you to netgalley for the arc of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review. This book about a book was interesting but it took a while to get going. We meet Jake a one time novelist who now teaches other wannabe novelists at a graduate school that was once good. I don’t want to ruin the plot but there are twists to the story and plagiarism is involved in the overall story that you learn of in the first quarter of the book. I enjoyed the audiobook and the narrator did a great job.

This book reminded me of The Body Lies by Jo Baker. They had similar themes with the truth being woven into fiction. Excellent turn of events with a great surprise ending.

I posted a review on my instagram page, The Literary Vagabond, linked below.

You may not be old enough to remember Video Archives on PCH in Manhattan Beach. That’s the place in the late-80s where store clerks Quentin Tarantino, Roger Avery and Daniel Snyder hashed out script ideas. (Quentin, in my memory, was the most ebullient and passionate—he once grabbed 10 videos for me to watch when I mentioned my interest in the French New Wave.) Who should get credit for the early Tarantino movies when everyone is chiming in?
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That premise is germane to the first big summer buzz book: The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz. Part Gone Girl-thriller, Stephen King Misery, and writer’s block revenge, it held my attention throughout, even though I guessed the major plot twist early on—and I’m usually bad at sus predicting.
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Jake, a novelist and a small college creative writing teacher, steals a plot idea from one of his students. The book becomes a massive bestseller. He thinks he’s in the clear when the student dies, accidentally. But he’s not. A larger question: is it really stealing? Who owns the story? Ask Shakespeare, the greatest story thief of all-time. I liked the crisp dialogue, the literary references—even Maryanne Robinson’s Housekeeping! —and other meta-tropes. At times, Jake is a bit wimpy, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this book appears in numerous beach bags. If summer ever comes.
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Thanks to @netgalley @netgalleyreads @macmillan.audio @bookstagram @bookthrillers
1w

The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz
Narrated by Kirby Heyborne
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Genre: Mystery & Thrillers
Publication Date: May 11, 2021

The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz is standalone mystery. Unfortunately, this book didn't really work for me. I found it to be predictable and the mystery was very obvious.

I did like the story in the story concept, especially as we dive deeper into the mystery. I did find the story to be interesting with multiple layers. I just wish it wasn't so obvious!

The narration by Kirby Heyborne was incredible! He did a great job bringing the story to life, especially since he was narrating several books within!

I'm so grateful to Jean Hanff Korelitz, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this ARC audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to MacMillan Audil for the gifted audiobook. I enjoyed this book at the time but I fear it’s one that won’t stick with me.

Things I loved:
-my friend described this book as clever and I can’t think of a more perfect word to describe it
-book about a book. I don’t often like when a character that is an author has passages of their own book without the book, but I loved it in this one
-the narrator was good and I don’t know if I would have like it as much reading it

Things that weren’t my favourite:
-super slow start. It took until over 15% before I was into it at all
-I had suspicions about the ending pretty early on and I mostly had it figured out properly


A unique thriller about a thriller book!
3.5 stars rounded up

Unfortunately, The Plot didn’t work for me as I hoped. I’m the ultimate mood reader, and maybe it was just too much of a slow burn for me. I know a few of my book loving friends really enjoyed the slow burn pace of this one though.

I thought the concept was great, and the narrator really brought the story to life!

*many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the gifted ALC and book.

This story, of a novelist being accused of plagiarism, was certainly enjoyable, and held my interest. But in the end I found it so unbelievable that I couldn't fully enjoy it. The author's description of his life as a failed writer was wonderful, but the plot of the story that pulled him into mega-bestsellerdom was so mediocre and unoriginal. And that he could KNOW this mediocre idea would be a mega-bestseller even before it was written? Yeah, no.

But again, overall the read was enjoyable, and the writing and characterization were decent, so I'm not sorry I read it. Thank you to Netgalley for a chance to review the ARC.

I listened to the audiobook version of The Plot, written by by Jean Hanff Korelitz and narrated by Kirby Heyborne. This is my first book by this author, and it won't be my last. This is one of those books where I can honestly say I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING!

Writer Jacob Finch Bonner had a respectable first go as a young writer. His second book? Not so much. And now, he hasn't written or published anything decent in years. He's now teaching writing at a third-rate MFA program. One student, Evan Parker, arrogantly tells Jake that he doesn't need his help; the book he's writing has a plot so amazing that his book will be a sure success. Sure, it will...but then Jake hears the plot. Over time Jake's career continues its downward spiral, until he hears that Evan Parker has died. His book has never been released, and Jake thinks it's a sin to let a plot that amazing just fade away. So he takes Evan's idea and writes a novel that becomes a huge hit. Jake's book is being made into a movie, he marries lovely Anna Williams and is doing book tours. But then, he receives an anonymous email stating "You are a thief", which is just the beginning of the messages he continues to receive. He begins to investigate Evan's life to determine where he got the idea for the plot. And what he finds is pretty terrifying...

The first part of this book was rather slow, and I started to get bored. It detailed Jake's life when he really started to go downhill as a writer. I understand this was necessary to work up to why Jake took Evan's idea as his own. However, once Jake's novel "Crib" is a success, the story began to pick up. I loved that Jake's story was interspersed with excerpts of "Crib"; those were some of my favorite parts of the story. He met Anna in Washington, and she soon moved to New York and they marry. His book is being made into a movie. Everything seems to be going great for Jake, but then the emails start, then they receive actual letters, and after that Jake's publisher is contacted. When Jake begins to find out where Evan got his ideas for the plot, the story becomes riveting. And when I got to the part that I did not see coming, I almost drove off the road as I was listening! The big reveal made it all worthwhile for me. Kirby Heyborne did a credible job with narration, though he didn't have a lot of range. This is definitely a thriller worth checking out.

I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the publisher, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley. I received no compensation for my review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own.

I think I may need to break up with the big must-read books of the summer. Take this year’s entry, “The Plot,” by Jean Hanff Korelitz. As might be expected from a book called “The Plot,” Korelitz’ story idea is interesting: A down-on-his-luck writing teacher named Jacob Finch Bonner, trying to recapture the acclaim he had after his first book, lifts a plot idea from a deceased former student and writes what turns out to be a best-seller—only to start receiving threatening emails from someone using the name “Talented Tom” who claims he’s a thief. In the telling, however, the story’s stakes seem artificially trumped up; Jake’s crime is simply reworking a plot idea into his own book, hardly unusual in publishing and certainly not something that would be as ruinous as we’re led to believe. And the plot he “stole” itself, which is doled out in dribs and drabs through excerpts from Jake’s book, doesn’t seem all that unique or revolutionary, problematic in a book predicated on the assumption that it is both to such a degree that someone would engage in a full-on vendetta against it. Most disappointing, however, was the fact that the book doesn’t really get going until about a quarter of the way in, and I had it all figured out by the halfway point. I kept reading on (even through Jake’s cringingly inept and uncomfortable attempts to investigate Talented Tom’s identity), waiting for the much vaunted twist, but it never came, and “The Plot” ended with barely a whimper. Lots of praise out there for this book, so I find myself in the minority. Maybe I’m just not cut out for the big summer read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with an ARC of this audiobook in return for my honest review.

It was very slow to start and it took a lot of stop and start for me to really get into the story. Being inside Jake’s head was monotonous. There was just so much merry-go-round thinking without any actual plot progress being made. He wasn’t likeable in any way so I felt myself feeling apathetic on the whole.

It wasn’t a horrible book but I grew bored often. I also guessed much of the plot and reveal early on. There was a serious lack of options and permanent characters, leaving obvious conclusions to be made. I craved some red herrings.

The audiobook narrator did a steady job, maintaining the tone and feel of the main character from beginning to end.

* I received a free audio copy from the publisher via netgalley.

This is a book better in audio than print due to the superb narration by Kirby Heybourne whose low-key voice and delivery is perfect for the main character, a sort of wimpy writer who struggles along on the success of his first novel. The book isn't without flaws, and starts out very slow, but, thanks to Heybourne, held my attention pretty much non-stop. I think had I been eye reading, I might have dropped it after 50 pages, well before any surprises came along, and there are plenty of those.