We jump right into it with the Sequel where the plot left off. Identifying the wickedness here was insane fun. Extreme suspense, maybe a touch of surrealism. I thought The Plot was tightly written, just wait as you finish this novel. Wicked good

This delightfully devious satire picks up where The Plot left off. I’m sorry to say: this is a winner, but you MUSt read The Plot first!

Another crazy and bizarre ride to follow up The Plot! It is hard to say much without giving away any spoilers, to be honest. This next installment follows the unlikely main character that we are left with at the end of the first book. Some of the plot points felt similar to the first book, but I was still kept on my toes to figure out what in the world was going on. The main character is not the most likable, to say the least, but somehow that manages not to get too much in the way of the reading experience. Enjoyed this page turner!

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the ARC of this novel!

Ok I can already tell that I am going to be in the minority for this one. I know that writing a book is a long, arduous task and takes a lot of blood and sweat. And I never give books a low rating, but in this case I requested a book in exchange for writing a review and I feel compelled to be honest.

This book was absolutely not for me.

I read the first one and even though I found the characters despicable, the pacing and the plot of the first book made it so that it was not possible to put it down.

Not so much with this one. The plot feels like a rerun. The characters are just as despicable if not more and the pacing was just not there for me. I know others will love it so please do not make your decision based on my review. And I've read other books by this author and loved them so I will read whatever comes next.

with gratitude to netgalley and Celadon Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

The Sequel is as much fun for voracious readers as The Plot. Sprinkled throughout a solid mystery thriller, Hanff Korelitz slyly winks to the peculiarities of the book business. She saves her sharpest knives for book signings, the idea of sequels, agents and editors, book festivals, and those deluded souls who read the Goldfinch and decided they too can write a novel about a boy who was in a museum explosion and hung onto a priceless painting. But this is only back drop to the real mystery - which is how is Anna, the widow of author Jacob Finch Bonner, going to extricate herself from clutches of someone (or someones) who know her real identify and deepest darkest secrets.

Remarkably, Hanff Korelitz (sort of) makes you root for Anna, despite the body count piling up in this novel. This is not a spoiler. If you read The Sequel as a sequel to The Plot, you know you are in for some dastardly and unexpected twists and turns. The Sequel does not necessarily have to be read after The Plot because Hanff Korelitz gives us lots of sign posts and information and reminders about how Anna has found herself the widow of a famous author in the first place, but it is a much better book read as a sequel. Highly recommend and thanks to Celadon Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

It was very slow to get through and didn't really pick up until the halfway point. It just felt like not much happened before then, so even when the reveal happened and the earlier stuff became relevant, I pretty much forgot about it. But after that, it definitely had a lot more punch to it and was more interesting. I appreciate the way it ended and all the allusions to being a writer as well as some fun little meta aspects.

The Sequel is just as clever as The Plot. Loved all the sequel book references. I love a good pun. And if it has been awhile and like me you forget stuff shockingly easily, read a plot summary of the first book before you start the sequel. I started this one without doing that and I just kept feeling like I was missing something (and I was definitely missing something!) I went from "poor sweet hearted widow Anna" to a knowingly wide eyed, "ohhhhh Annnnnnnnnnnnna," very quickly.

I raced through it, almost as quickly as these victims hit the floor or ground or landing. Bam, bam, BAM. Another one bites the dust and yikes, was I rooting for her in the end? Okay okay I was, but I could not help it so credit must be given to the writer because if there was ever a non-redeemable, sociopath, Anna's author page photograph would be there, smiling like a freaking lunatic.

I received an e-arc from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Ok! Wow! It had been over 3 years since I read The Plot and it all came back to me!
This book was so good - so many twists and turns! Certainly kept me on my toes and I couldn’t put it down.
Thank you to NetGalley- excellent job, Jean! Look forward to your next book!

Another excellent literary/suspense by Jean Hanff Korelitz. This is a sequel to the Plot. Anna is a widow and coming to terms with the death of her author husband. At the same time, she has become an author in her own right. However, someone from her past knows her secrets and is clearly out to get her. This is a complexly written page-turner that will keep readers guessing right up to the shocking conclusion.

I was a big fan of The Plot, Jean Hanff Korelitz's best seller from a few years ago, and when I learned she had written a sequel, called appropriately The Sequel, naturally I had to read it. It's hard to say much about this book without revealing spoilers from the first novel, and I strongly suggest reading them in order if you want it to make sense. I was fuzzy on some of the details from the original novel because it had been a few years since I'd read it. I had to read some of the reviews on Goodreads to refresh my memory; otherwise, The Sequel wouldn't have made any sense to me. But I'm certainly glad to have read this book. It's part thriller, part satire on the publishing and writing industry, and part character study about a sociopath who isn't entirely unsympathetic. Anna is a survivor, first and foremost. And she'll do anything to protect herself. Now that her husband, the famous novelist Jake Robson is dead, she's a wealthy widow living on the royalties of his famous book. When she writes a book of her own, she think she has it made. But then she gets a letter, not unlike the letter her husband got before he died, threatening to reveal a secret that she'll do anything to keep buried.

Like most thrillers, this one has some over-the-top moments. But one of the tropes about sequels is they have to be even bigger and bolder than their first installment. This one is no exception, and is all the more fun for it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced reader's copy in exchange for my opinions.

It takes a talented writer to make you strongly dislike a character in one book, then turn around and make you root for them in another - and Jean Hanff Korelitz is highly talented, to say the least. What a great antihero she's created in Anna.

As Anna says in the first few pages, not many sequels are better than the originals - but of course she says this with full confidence that her story is better than Jake's. I really, really disliked Anna in <i>The Plot</i>, but I have to admit that she was right about <i>The Sequel</i> - it really is even better. Not only that, but I'd even say that <i>The Sequel</i> serves to elevate the story in <i>The Plot</i> (the two books together are even better than either one as a standalone novel).

Thank you to Netgalley, and to the publisher, for an advanced copy in exchange for review.

I was super excited for this one after loving 'The Plot,' and it was a great follow-up, considering sequels are often disappointing. It has plenty of twists, and while it does require a bit of suspension of disbelief — yes, perhaps even more than The Plot — it was still a satisfying read.

A very interesting and candid take on the publishing world. Throw in a little blackmail and murder and you have a very entertaining read.

Thank you for allowing me to review this novel. I will post on my social meffia accounts few days before the drop.


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Scott Lovelace
33 Lovelace Ln
Humboldt TN 38343

3.5 rounded up

Thank you to celadon and Netgalley.

I loved The Plot. So I was kind of shocked to see a sequel, but was also thrilled to get an early read.

There were parts of this book I loved and there were some that I just couldn’t let go of that much belief. At times the writing just felt like unlimited inner dialogue from Anna.

Overall, I flew through thjs one. And I def recommend for those who enjoyed The Plot! I do think you must read that one first.

Thank you to Net Galley and Macmillan Publishing for an early copy of The Sequel by Jean Hanff Korelitz

Readers, get your hands on a copy of The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz before tackling this "can't put it down" sequel appropriately titled The Sequel. Knowing the back story of Anna and Jake will add immeasurably to your "enjoyment" of this latest breathtaking installment of the writing and publishing world along with the diabolical need to justify one's actions.

Anna Williams Bonner is both the protagonist and antagonist of her own story as she attempts to track down threatening messages that once again point to her dead husband Jacob Finch Bonner as a plagiarist. There are no lengths that Anna will not go to to protect her own life as a best-selling author.

Readers will come to better understand Anna's motivations as the tragedies of her childhood and young adult life haunt her and drive her to on a crime spree that cannot really make up for all she has suffered. While maneuvering book signings, meetings with editors and speaking engagements, she is never free of circumstances.

Readers may feel a denouement is reached, but not so fast! Anna Williams Bonner has more in store for us!

Loved this one! Great and fun read. Highly recommend.
Many thanks to the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for my ARC.

The Sequel follows the book The Plot. In The Plot a writer is falsely accused of plagiarism. In the Sequel we find he has died and his wife, Anna, takes center stage for this book.
Anna is adjusting to life as a widow and contacts her husbands agent to suggest a book she is thinking about writing. He greenlights it and she writes a book that becomes a best-seller.
Enter someone sending Anna excerpts from what should be her autobiography which reveals secrets about herself and her family.

This writer creates characters with depth and breaks ground with her gift for language and original plots. You cannot go wrong with Korelitz.

This was a tough slog, which is a shame, because I enjoyed THE PLOT and loved THE LATECOMER. But, THE SEQUEL, which picks up shortly after THE PLOT ends, is a misfire. The book continues the story of Anna Williams Bonner, widow ( and killer) of the celebrated author Jacob Finch Bonner. First, it’s absolutely recommended to look over a summary of THE PLOT, because unless you remember the first book in detail, you might be a bit lost. However, the bigger problem with THE SEQUEL is that Anna is a completely despicable character. She becomes a successful author in her own right, penning a novel about her husband’s “suicide”, which is bad enough, but this entire novel is her continued effort to cover her tracks about all the evil she has done, which only results in more crime. Nothing in Anna’s troubled past justifies her actions. She’s a psychopath who doesn’t even get her comeuppance in the end. Maybe some readers won’t mind spending time with such a hateful character, but I did not enjoy it. If there is a third book, I won’t be reading it.

This book has fantastic plot (ha!) just like the first one and it's full of Easter eggs for fans (eg honeymelons make a comeback here)
It's an entertaining mystery but also a dissection of what it means to be a writer. Brilliant writing. Couldn't put it down.

The Sequel, by Jean Hanff Korelitz, is a pitch perfect sequel to The Plot-which I loved so much that I was a little worried that The Sequel wouldn't live up to The Plot and somehow diminish my feelings about it. But, not the case at all! Korelitz has done it again—written an absolutely brilliant novel I've been screaming about to everyone I know. Highly recommend!!!!