a solid read. it picks up where THE PLOT left off- tough to share details w/o spoilers. Anna Bonner is not the most compelling villain- I’d enjoy greater depth of social commentary from a killer that we’re supposed to find compelling. details from publishing industry were my favorite part, & overall THE SEQUEL was a quick read via audio.

I am not sure how to even review The Sequel by Jean Hanff Korelitz. I don’t want to give away any spoilers for this book and The Plot (of which The Sequel is, well, a sequel). I’ll just say a couple things. The Sequel is not a standalone novel. You absolutely cannot read this book without finishing The Plot (and it’s best to read the two books back to back). And not much happens in The Sequel that hasn’t already happened in The Plot. Honestly, I think the book was an unnecessary sequel.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishing company for this Advanced Readers Copy of The Sequel by Jean Hanff Korelitz!

When I read Jean Hanff Korelitz’s The Plot a few years back, I was thrilled by the ending which was one of the best I’ve ever read. While there were some loose ends, I wasn’t clamoring for a sequel…the book was perfect! So I was VERY suspicious when The Plot’s sequel, The Sequel, was announced, and if I’m being honest, I had very low expectations…

While I maintain that The Plot didn’t need a sequel, what we got wasn’t half bad! It picks up pretty soon after the events of The Plot and through the exposition does a good job catching the reader up on what happened in the first book (though I 100% recommend reading The Plot before The Sequel). I’m not sure if it’s because I’m paying more attention to bookish news now compared to three years ago, but I felt like there were more allusions to real world publishing drama in The Sequel compared to its predecessor, which added a timely feel to the story.

The Sequel lands squarely in the literary thriller genre, but its pacing is much faster than most literary thrillers I’ve read. The story is captivating and quick and is easy to get lost in. The ending once again has an element of open-endedness and while I’m quick to say we don’t need another sequel, anything could happen these days!

The Sequel is out now. Thanks to Celadon and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Smartly written and well executed dare I say I enjoyed the sequel more then book one? I loved how it wrapped up some thoughts and unanswered questions from book one in a realistic way

The Sequel is literally the sequel to the best-selling thriller The Plot. Not only does it answer all those unanswered questions, but we get a glimpse into what an actual psychopath's mind looks like. And honestly, her mind is pretty messed up! While picking up where The Plot left off, we now delve into the devious secret past of the late Jacob Finch Bonner's widow, and quite frankly her life as a mastermind. The story is smart and undeniably shocking!

Anna Williams-Bonner, the widow of best-selling author and perhaps plagiarist Jacob Finch Bonner whose own life included many demons, has decided she will now write her own book. Afterall, how hard could it be? Although living she is living off her late husband's royalites, she is quite bored.

And Anna does write a book called The Afterward and lucks out because her publisher is the same as her late husband's. They were, of course excited to have her.

As she begins her first book tour, some strange things begin to happen. A person comes to one of her book signings and is a bit off to say the least. He seems to know a bit too much about her. Coincidence? Maybe. But when she begins to receive excerpts from a story written long ago in which she thought she had purged every copy of and taken care of the person who wrote it, she realizes there is still a copy out there and she needs to find it and make it and whoever has it go away.

You see, if someone exposes her secret backstory her beloved lifestyle will cease to exist. And she can't have that! So, she goes on a hunt to find who this person is and make sure she destroys both them and the copy. She believes she has solved the problem, but when another excerpt is sent to her late husband's parents, well ...all bets are off!

Now she knows time is running out and after failing once, she decides she must revisit her sick disgusting past because clearly that's where the threat is coming from. She is not afraid of killing to keep her secrets ...never has been!

As the reader goes on the ride of a lifetime with a true psychopath who feels nothing and cares about no one but herself, we learn her jaw dropping backstory as she tries desperately to justify her life. Who has the last copy and why now are they trying to hurt her?

The Sequel is an entertaining, imaginative, off-putting psychological thriller with shocking turns of events in the life of one very flawed yet happy widow.

Thank you #NetGalley #CaladonBooks #JeanHanffKorelitz #TheSequel for the advanced copy.

The Sequel by Jean Hanff Korelitz is a sharp and engaging exploration of ambition, secrets, and the unexpected consequences of literary fame. The novel follows Anna Williams-Bonner, who, after the death of her famous husband, bestselling novelist Jacob Finch Bonner, has settled into a comfortable life, basking in his legacy and enjoying his royalties. But when Anna releases her own debut novel, The Afterword, she becomes embroiled in a dangerous game that threatens her carefully crafted existence.

What begins as a personal triumph quickly spirals into a thrilling mystery as Anna begins receiving excerpts from a novel she never expected to see again, one that brings up troubling connections to her late brother and husband. With suspense building around her, Anna must confront her past and the unsettling realization that someone knows far too much about her life. The stakes are high—her story, her identity, and her future are all on the line.

Korelitz deftly blends wit, suspense, and satire as she takes readers on a wild ride through the world of publishing and personal reinvention. Anna, a complex and sometimes unsympathetic protagonist, is a master storyteller in her own right, and readers can't help but root for her as she fights to control her narrative. The novel’s biting commentary on the literary world, combined with its page-turning plot, makes The Sequel a must-read for fans of both literary fiction and psychological thrillers.

TL;DR: I didn't love THE PLOT. I loved (LOVED) THE SEQUEL. It's a darkly twisted skewering of the publishing industry and a fantastic cat-and-mouse suspense story. I couldn't put it down.

This novel grew on me. The first 25% of the book was a trudge: I kept anticipating when it would capture my interest, it took a while but it was worth the wait.
Anna was a fascinating sociopathic character. The entitlement she felt that was due her was what kept her goal oriented. The fact that murder and deception was the path to her target didn't trouble her in the least: even if family members were involved.
The author gave her such interesting qualities: quick thinking, foresight, cleverness, physical strength: the job description of a spy. Did I like her persona or was I just admiring her adeptness to fulfill her ambition?
More interesting was the various other characters that were as shady and despicable as she was and their own personal greed and vendettas and how she handled them in her usual personal style.
A thought provoking ending leads the reader to wonder whether Anna is assured all the loose ends are tied up and can move on without looking back. She thought her old life was all the past before and was wrong.
An enjoyable story.

I was excited about The Sequel. I re-read The Plot in anticipation of this book. Although The Plot was a slow thriller, it was good and kept me interested throughout the book. The Sequel is also slow, but unlike The Plot, The Sequel was just boring; I waited until the end of this book for something exciting to happen, and it never did. If you are considering reading this book, read The Plot first since it gives insight into the characters mentioned in The Sequel.
Thank you, NetGalley and Celadon Books, for the e-book in exchange for my honest review.
#Netgalley #Celadonbooks #happilyaddictedtobooks #Thesequel #Jeanhanffkorelitz #Thriller

The Plot was an absolute banger for me. An easy 4 stars. The Sequel... not so much. I was pulled in pretty quickly, but then I lost steam at about 75% of the way in. To be fair, my city did catch on fire at right about that time, so perhaps that made it harder for me to read. The book moved along too slowly. Overall, it was too much of an echo of the first book for me. Too repetitive. Especially when you have such unlikable main characters, it's a tough sell to have two of this type of book in a series. Sorry to this book. Looking forward to her next.

THE SEQUEL by Jean Hanff Korelitz continues the story started in THE PLOT. Where THE PLOT was unique and surprising, THE SEQUEL faltered. I felt like this book relied too much on the same tricks as the first. It was entertaining, but less of a memorable read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC - THE SEQUEL is out now!

Seems like I may be in the minority here, but I liked this one a lot better than I liked the first.

Yes, the general underlying idea is somewhat repetitive, with both Jacob and Anna being threatened by unknown stalkers who are somehow privy to the knowledge that Jacob stole the idea for his best-selling novel from a dead man. But I think this one worked better for me because we really got to understand Anna’s motivations and why she makes many of the choices that she does. Her shift from antagonist to protagonist made for a more engaging story.

It was interesting watching everything unfold through Anna’s eyes and living in her head as both the killer and a victim. We really got to know her and to see how her mind worked and how she viewed the world, which was one of the big positives for me. We got such a deep dive into her thought processes that I found myself conflicted. She made all of her thoughts and actions seem logical and rational even when they were very obviously the opposite. I wasn’t sure if I should be rooting for her or hoping for her to get caught, and I had no idea which way it was going to go. Because of that push and pull I’m still not sure how I feel about the ending.

In reading this you do have to suspend disbelief because there are a few coincidences and some connections that were too easily made, but I ultimately thought it all worked for the story. It was a fun read that kept me turning the pages anxious to see where the story went next.

If you do pick this one up I do recommend giving The Plot a quick skim first to refresh yourself on what happened because some of the characters in there do make an appearance in this one.

Thanks NetGally and Celadon Books for the advanced copy.

The Sequel is a fantastic meta take on publishing and sequels with a main character you love to hate. It leaves off right where The Plot ended and is is a clever (the chapter titles!) and sarcastic ("You mean, like...a sequel? Is that really a good idea?...But they're never as good as the first book, are they?") romp I couldn't put down. I have no idea where a third book would go but after what the author did with this one, I'd read it in a heartbeat. One of my favorite books of 2024.

Thanks to Celadon for the copy to review.

This was fun but unnecessary. Korelitz clearly knew this sequel wasn't needed, but I did enjoy the twists and turns here. The Plot, the first book in this series, was more compelling than this one, but I had a good time.

3.75
fun!!! definitely an unnecessary sequel but it felt like the author was very self-aware about that and I will never fault a good writer for giving us an extended adventure.
she rehashes a lot of the first book in here, so I wouldn't necessarily urge you to read them super back to back, but if you liked the first one you'll probably enjoy this romp as well! I had a few gripes (where it felt like things from the first book were twisted/changed for the sake of a second), but it didn't at all taint my love of the first and has affirmed that I need to pick up more from this author.

This wasn’t as incredible as The Plot, but that book set an impossibly high bar, so The Sequel is still excellent! Anna was a fascinating character whose brilliant and sinister nature wasn’t fully revealed until the end of The Plot, and I was thrilled to have an entire book written from her perspective. The book begins with Anna enjoying success after getting away with her actions at the end of The Plot, but several loose ends soon threaten to disrupt her happy ending, and seeing how she handles minor snags as well as situations that don’t seem to offer a way out made this book unputdownable!

Thank you for the opportunity to review this advanced reader's edition. Unfortunately, I will not be able to give it the time required to write a thorough review and will be unable to read it for this purpose.

While I liked this book, it didn’t have as much magic as its predecessor, “The Plot.” I didn’t have as much connection to the protagonist in this one and the story seemed a bit scattered. This was a solid follow-up, but not one of my favorites. 3 stars ⭐️. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the advanced copy for review.

While I loved The Plot, The Sequel not so much. The Plot moved swiftly and kept me on my toes. It sucked me in and I couldn’t put it down. The Sequel felt like a very different book to me. Slower, more convoluted, and not as true to life as the previous book. While this one wasn’t for me, I’m sure I’ll read the next book this author publishes next. 2.5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.