Thanks to NetGalley for the free advance copy of The Sequel by Jean Hanff Korelitz in exchange for an honest review.

The Sequel picks up where its precursor, The Plot, left off, with Anna Williams Bonner, widow of writer Jacob Finch Bonner, touring the country representing her late husband’s literary estate, turning his runaway bestseller into a film, and writing her own book to boot. Unfortunately for Anna, the charges of plagiarism that dogged Jacob haven’t gone away - and now, she’s at risk of being exposed for past misdeeds as well.

Korelitz’ second book in this series is as witty and cutting as the first, and I couldn’t help but root for Anna, despite her villainous persona. And the audiobook, narrated by the incomparable Julia Whelan, is terrific.

Four stars for the book; five for the audio narration.

Anna Williams-Bonner, widow to a highly successful novelist, Jacob Finch Bonner from The Plot, has decided to write a best seller. How hard could it be? Turns out writing the novel is a breeze, far easier than all the pesky people from her past that are trying to destroy her future.

The Sequel has so much inside baseball and tongue in cheek sarcasm about the publishing world that readers are now in the know. The chapter titles are a chef’s kiss to famous literary sequels.

The mystery is captivating too. I actually felt sorry for our literary psychopath. The reader doesn’t necessarily need to have read The Plot to enjoy this one but I definitely recommend it.

I really enjoyed this book, and I am excited to recommend it to other mystery readers!

While it isn't entirely necessary for readers to have already read The Plot, I think they might enjoy this story more if they have. Also, The Plot is just a really fun read.

This story is full of twists and turns that will keep readers guessing, but the author doesn't make the mistake of going to far and making the story unbelievable. Despite the fact the characters are all pretty unlikeable, I couldn't put this book down. I had to know what would happen!

As a book nerd, I loved all the bookish elements in this story. I loved the peek inside the publishing world and the book references throughout hidden like little Easter eggs.

Overall, this sequel did not disappoint whatsoever. I can't wait to read more by this author!

Surprised the rating is so high on this. I thought it was fine as a sequel. Seemed like some of the plot points seemed implausible, and there were no redeeming characters to root for. I felt like the book ended abruptly.

Her famous husband Jacob Finch Bonner is dead. Now Anna Williams-Bonner surprisingly finds herself on a literary tour of her own, signing hundreds of books and answering questions about Jake’s suicide. She never desired fame and could have happily lived as the financially secure grieving widow everyone made her out to be. But there must be a touch of desire hidden in us all. When Anna is given the opportunity to attend a writers retreat, she cannot resist. In this coveted cabin in the woods a novel pours out of her and the publishers (Jake’s publishers) could not be happier to throw Anna on their gravy train. A great plan until Anna begins to receive excerpts from a novel she thought was destroyed. A story that could ruin them all. To make matters worse, these excerpts include backhanded threatening messages. Her brother is long gone and so is her husband. Anna’s past has been completely transformed. As the correspondence becomes unmanageable Anna sets out to learn who is behind this laser focused torment. Aptly named, this sequel to The Plot is a thriller like no other. Exceptionally well written - a book within a book within a book - it is filled with thrilling twists and turns as this mysterious woman uncovers the many layers of deception. It is a strange and wild ride to find yourself rooting for the villain. Note: You can absolutely read this sequel as a stand alone but most enjoyable to read The Plot first!!

I received an ARC of this novel, a sequel to The Plot, through NetGalley.

I had very high expectations for this book. I loved The Plot and gave it a 5-star rating. But I wasn't taken in by The Sequel in the same way at all. Why? I think the plot in The Sequel was less credible. The main character (Anna) was very unlikable. And the twists, which occur in both books, were less surprising the second time around. This is still a good read, but not as great as I thought The Plot was.

The Sequel is about Anna's book, which comes out soon after her author-husband's death. Anna is an evil woman and has more than a few skeletons in her closet, all of which she is trying to hide and/or eradicate. As she goes on book tours, she learns of clues that are out there that would expose her sordid past. The book is much about how Anna deals with these threats to her desire to live the good life.

I didn’t read The Plot (yet!) and that did not take away from my enjoyment of The Sequel.

The beginning of the book were introduced to Anna, a grieving widow of a best selling author. She goes on the road promoting her dead husband’s latest novel. We learn he ended his life, from Anna, and that he was accused of plagiarism.

Anna decides to write her own book and thus is when The Sequel becomes absolutely irresistible. I could not put this one down and I had to know who had been tormenting Jacob. Plus, there seemed to be more than meets the eye with Anna and I was right! Jean Hanff Korelitz has done it again and I, for sure, will read The Plot ASAP!

Advance reader copy provided by Celadon Books and NetGalley but all opinions are my own.

Sometimes it’s fun to root for the antihero, no matter how diabolical they may be. I really enjoyed this “sequel,” and wonder if a part 3 may be coming? Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Oh I LOVED this! I really liked the Plot but the The Sequel is just so much MORE. So dark and devous!! I was lucky enough to be approved for both the e book and audio book version ..and both are outstanding!
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

I recommend reading JHK's The Plot before you read The Sequel. Both books are excellent cliffhangers. Additionally, the new novel discusses the world of writers, editors, and publishers. JHK takes several shots at writers and readers, but I still enjoyed her excellent storytelling!

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book, which will be published on October 1.

Oh my. I must admit that I read this one before book number one but it was such a great book based on writers who steal others works. Anne's husband is dead and she must live on, so she writes about what she knows, being married to an author and then living after his suicide. Although t the book was like the first, it was still a quick read that left me hoping for more. The way Anne investigates messages that make her feel that her dead brother is back, you can feel her frustration and at times fear. She has to relive her childhood and her adulthood. Since she is such a horrible person you really do want her to fail. Well written, many horrible characters but such a great story. Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC.

3.5 ⭐️s rounded up

100% you should read “The Plot” before reading “The Sequel.” If you’re even considering reading “The Plot,” STOP reading my review. DON’T read the blurb or book jacket. TRUST ME, you don’t want to know what this book is about until AFTER you’ve read “The Plot.”

What you need to know if read “The Plot” but forgot stuff:

Anna’s late-husband, Jake, stole the idea for his bestselling novel from his former student, Evan, who never published his book because his sister Dianna/Anna killed him and made it look like a suicide because Evan’s plot was really true crime based on Anna killing her daughter, Rose, and then assuming Rose’s identity as a college student. Oh yeah, and Anna was the one who anonymously threatened to dox Jake over his plagiarized plot and then staged his murder as suicide. Got all that?

Onto “The Sequel”…

Just when Anna thinks she’s gotten away with multiple murders, she receives her own anonymous threat to unearth the skeletons of her past. She’d destroyed Evan’s original manuscript, didn’t she? So how is it coming back to haunt her?

If you thought “The Plot” was a tangled tale of twisty threads… “The Sequel” is a set of Russian nesting dolls made of Silly String. To disentangle and separate the individual strands of this “3-stories-in-one” novel, set your thinking cap to maximum power. Or, just look at my spoiler-free cheat sheet.

Anna’s Identity Guide:
• Anna = Jake’s widow/main character
• Dianna = Anna’s real name/Evan’s sister
• Samantha = Her character’s name in Jake’s novel
• Diandra = Her character’s name in Evan’s manuscript

Rose’s Identity Guide:
• Rose = Anna/Dianna’s daughter
• Maria = Her character in Jake’s novel
• Ruby = Her character in Evan’s manuscript

Anna, Jake’s novel, and Evan’s manuscript each tell a different version of events… I feel almost like I had to set up a Venn Diagram to get to the truth.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for this ARC.

I loved THE PLOT but THE SEQUEL didn’t hit me quite the same way. This felt more like a thriller where the literary aspect was secondary whereas THE PLOT was the opposite. Here, Anna is trying to stay secure in her post-Jake life and ensure all her (many) secrets are safe, but I was letting wanting to know more about what Anna wanted once she did so. It was a lot easier to care about Jake and his thirst for success than Anna and her thirst for…something. That said, the book is well-written and moves fast, it just left me wanting more.

(4.5 stars)

Well, that was twisty! The Sequel could be read as a standalone, but If you haven’t read The Plot already, I’d advise you to do so, for maximum enjoyment of this book.

I don’t want to give much away so I won’t go into details about the plot of this excellent book. There’s a lot to love about it for book lovers, a sort of “inside baseball” look at publishing today, including book tours, book signings and more. In the future, I’ll make sure not to behave like some of the people at book signings do in this story!

The main character(s) in The Sequel are rather unlikeable, and yet somehow, I wound up rooting for Anna somewhat. It felt odd to do so since she was a pretty terrible person.

I loved how each chapter is the title of a well-known sequel, such as: The Testaments, sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale, or Bring Up The Bodies, sequel to Wolf Hall. That was a fun touch.

I bounced between the audiobook and the ebook for this title, which was very convenient, and allowed me to continue with the story even when I could not sit down and read - or when I could not listen. I wound up mostly listening, because Julia Whelan is such a fabulous narrator.

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

Thank you to NetGalley, Celadon Books, and author Jean Hanff Korelitz for this ARC of The Sequel, a psychological thriller.

The first novel of this series, The Plot, was a favorite for me so this was an automatic NetGalley request.

I love the snarky personality of this main character, Anna, the widow of Jake, the late author of the wildly successful book, The Crib, in the first novel.
Though she is not an obvious sympathetic character, I relished being inside her sociopathic (but often rational) mind, as the book contains a stream of her thoughts. She sees through BS, of which there was much around her.

The chapter titles are both indicative of the upcoming plot point as well as the names of famous sequel novels, referenced at the end of the book.
Like the first book, the writing is complex. It’s a book through which one cannot likely mentally coast.

I enjoyed learning - and sympathizing about - how Anna came to be so dark. All she’d ever wanted was peace, and certain men had stolen that from her literally and figuratively. She had only ever wanted to own her own life story.

Anna pokes silent fun at the pretentious publishing industry even as she enjoys its benefits from her late husband Jake’s royalties, from her role as his executor, and from her status of “celebrated literary widow.”

Anna then endeavors to write her own novel, the path pre-paved for her due to her husband’s literary connections. She thus easily navigates the fickle and privileged literary world that she deigns to inhabit.

We get a front-row experience of what business duty entails that of a successful, published author and the tedious requirements of literary fame.

At some such public book signing one fateful day Anna receives a disturbing post-it note: one from her sordid past.
This kicks off the action of the story, propelling it into a (still literary) thriller.

I found myself rooting for Anna, especially at the end of the story. She is clever (whereas many other characters are not), sarcastic, and with secrets to protect. She knew her crimes were unpleasant, but they were each the only plan she’d ever had.

The ending is left ambiguous, hinting at more of this series. Yes, please.

Thoroughly entertaining!
Four stars.

Spoilers ahead about “The Plot,” but no spoilers for “The Sequel.”

I’m supposing most people would read the “The Plot” before picking up “The Sequel” (truly a sequel), but I was listening closely at the beginning and a standalone reader won’t find out until chapter nine that our main character, Anna, might not be the grieving widow of a bestselling author, Jacob Finch Bonner, who was supposedly driven to suicide by claims of plagiarism, but that she is the serial killer of at least her parents, brother, daughter, daughter’s friend and her truly plagiaristic husband. “The Plot” was very twisty and twisted and it ended with the wisdom “be careful what you plagiarize (!)” and the fact that Anna/Samantha/Diandra/Diane (who is actually the real main character of her dead brother’s stolen book) has gotten away with it all.

In “The Sequel” we discover “grieving” widow Anna just can’t stay satisfied living off her husband’s estate and royalties, and decides to write her own book “The Afterword” (I will not be surprised if author Korelitz titles a third book exactly that). Surprise! It’s not plagiarized and Anna is apparently a decent debut writer. But her new found fame stirs up a hornet’s nest not unlike the one that Jacob experienced. Except it’s not Anna doing the haunting; she’s the one being haunted. Trying to finally settle into a bestseller writer’s life means that she must still clean up the questions that Jacob was investigating when he went too far digging into the life of the real author, Evan Parker.

We get a multi-layered portrayal of a morally corrupt lead character, but the author, and especially superstar narrator Julia Whelan of the audiobook, allow us to actually sort of root for her. But will Anna get away again? Korelitz also takes more wry digs at the inner world of novel writing and publishing (I’m assuming she has a really good relationship with her agent and editor). This sequel is just as good as the original — 5 stars! I recommend that you listen to Julie Whelan’s narration — she totally brings Anna to life!

Thank you to Celadon for an advanced reader copy and to Macmillan Audio for the advanced audio copy!

As much as I loved The Plot, I was somewhat disappointed in The Sequel. Maybe I was expecting too much given how absorbed I was in The Plot, but this one felt a bit flat. The main character was as chilling as one would expect, but the narrative did not move at the same pace, and it was not as full of twists and surprises as the original. I will continue to read all the author writes, as I think she is fabulous, but this one was not one of my favorites.

This novel is a sequel both in story and reality, but it stands on its own as an equally compelling original. The wife of a famous author (a suicide) decides to write a novel of her own experience as his wife and the aftermath, and it only becomes clear (though there are intriguing clues) that the narrator is unreliable as the story proceeds. Many plot twists keep the reader guessing and wondering just who to root for as the story unfolds, and the detailed plot and character studies make the novel a pleasure to come back to.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from The Sequel. I had read The Plot, but where could that story go next? I really enjoyed following Anna. She’s unlikable and always scheming. You’re always trying to figure out how she can escape her problems. I did think the first half of the book was slow, but by the end I couldn’t put it down. Do a quick refresh of The Plot, then enjoy this one. Thanks to Celadon Books for the ARC through NetGallery.

And she's back! Anna Williams Bonner has done what she has to do to keep her secret (this is the story of The Plot). She's also written a successful book on her own terms. But just when she thought she was safe, Anna receives a letter that lets her know someone out there knows who she is and what she has done.

This was another wild ride. Anna is a very unlikeable character, but she is so good at being bad that you can't stop reading. I enjoyed this story.