Stay alert throughout the early chapters of the book. Korelitz has brilliantly crafted this suspense novel. All the pieces of the puzzle come perfectly together by the end which will keep you flipping the pages. I eagerly await the sequel to The Sequel. What more can be said!

The Sequel is not as compelling as the first book, and that has a lot to do with the fact that Jake, for all his flaws, was a more sympathetic and relatable main character than Anna. Although she’s been through a lot of hardship and trauma in her life, she also seems to be some variety of psychopath (not that the ending of the first book left that in much doubt but I felt like it was confirmed by having her thought processes in full view.) The plot is also pretty same-y when you come down to it, and the twists don’t hit nearly as hard. Overall it just felt like a weaker rehash of the first book. It’s well written, so if it weren’t a sequel it would get a higher rating, but it pales in comparison to The Plot.

I loved this and hated it equally. She is such a BAD person but watching her scandalous behavior was fun. Looking forward to more books by her but I hope I like the characters better.

In a worthy follow-up to The Plot, this book picks up Anna Williams-Bonner’s story following the death of her husband, Jacob Finch Bonner. She has secured Jacob’s legacy and is enjoying the royalty checks that resulted from his posthumous literary success. And she has written her own novel, which has received both acclaim and has been embraced by readers.

But just as she is riding high, she receives, through various sources, excerpts from a novel draft that should have long since disappeared. These unwelcome arrivals mean there is someone out there who knows too much about her late brother and late husband — and the truth of Anna’s own complicated history. As Anna tries to find out who is behind it, she feels her control over her own story may be slipping away.

This is a well written, thought-provoking novel. It explores interesting themes around identity, authorship, and success in the world of publishing, and what makes a good sequel, all within a compelling mystery.

Highly recommended!

Unfortunately this was a DNF for me. I really liked the first book and had high hopes for the second but it just didn’t do it for me. It’s probably me and not the book but I just couldn’t keep going to find out.

I really did not know what to expect with The Sequel after everything The Plot served us. I was pleasantly surprised! I ended up listening to the audiobook and it was wonderful, per usual. I loved that we had a strong, morally corrupt female lead. I felt guilty rooting for her, which is always a fun concept when reading a story.

I enjoyed The Plot and was satisfied with the ending, so I was not even expecting a sequel. Did the story really need to keep going? I don't think so, I think it would have been fine to stop after The Plot. But I stil find The Sequel to be a fairly enjoyable story, and I did want to keep reading to see what would happen.

The Sequel focuses on Anna Williams-Bonner. After her husband's death (as described in The Plot), she is moving on and writing her own novel. She publishes a novel and becomes a best-selling author herself. But her success is short-lived when she starts receiving threatening notes from someone who seems to know all the secrets she has spent her whole life trying to hide.

I liked learning more about Anna's backstory. At times it felt like she was a real human and almost likeable, and I think it added depth to her character to learn more about what she has been through.

I did think this story was more of a slow burn, and it ended up feeling too similar to the first book-- rehashing the original story and then also adding a new story that was very similar to the original story of The Plot. Again, I question whether there was enough story here to necessitate an entirely new book.

So my thoughts are a little divided with this book. I liked some of it but also felt it was repetitive.

This book was so much fun! I really enjoyed The Plot and I think this was an amazing follow up. There is also something about books about books that keeps me super engaged.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the ARC.

If you liked the Plot, you must picked up the second novel. It's just as compelling and twisty as the original. I would recommend to anyone who loves a page turner and would think much like the first novel, it would make a great book club read! I definitely recommend you check it out!

JHK has absolutely cemented herself as an "auto buy" author for me now. The Plot was so perfect that I thought "why mess with a good thing?" I also thought it would be like other sequels-- good, but not as good as the original.. I am happy to report that I was wrong! I was hanging on every word and I have to tempt fate to ask: can she make it a trilogy?

The story was compelling enough to keep me glued to it, but as I was going back and forth between the ecopy and the audiobook, I found that the characters were hard for me to enjoy. I enjoyed the mystery of trying to figure out who was threatening to out the main character's past, but I didn't love the route to getting to the resolution. This is a book where the lead is not a hero and frankly most all the characters were either mercenary or evil in some way or another. I guess they had to be in order for the reader to tolerate how Anna resolved her problems. I am just not the right audience for that kind of protagonist lead. I found myself captivated with the story, but dreading what would always come next. I would recommend it to people who don't mind sociopaths as much as I do. Ha.

This felt completely unnecessary and mind-numbingly repetitive. Not only were entire situations and even words (lachrymose is TOO SPECIFIC A WORD for multiple characters to use it!) repeated over and over, but the whole plot also felt like a retread of the first book. Despite this being a sequel, it's somehow still all about that first book from The Plot. The pacing was off (the first 20% is Anna writing a book and then going on tour zzzZZZzZZz), there were too many endings, and nothing felt earned or satisfying.

This was disturbing and as propulsive as the first book in the series. Even though she's a terrible person, I found myself rooting for the main character. This book kept me guessing until the very end, and I'll be thinking about it for a long time.

So, this is "The Sequel" to the "The Plot" and I must admit that I had a very similar reaction to both books. Primarily because they ARE the same book. Same storyline, same characters, same type of twist (though the one in The Plot was MUCH more interesting), in general just very little to set this book apart from the first. And, the main character is just so unlikable, in addition to being a narcissistic, emotionally vacant, psychopath. At least Jake had some warmth to him, and you could understood what was driving him (mostly popularity). But with Anna, it isn't really apparent what she wants. She just keeps plodding through the obligations of life - including the book tour related to a well-received novel and tracking down everyone who has (or might) done her wrong - all in a very one-dimensional way

It was also quite evident that the author really wanted to present social commentary around the publishing industry and indeed, the overall crazy world we are living in today, but it mostly felt out of place and a bit heavy handed.

Mostly, it felt like there was a lot of "fluff" to pad the length of the book overall, and specifically certain scenes. Anna was thinking, and over-thinking, the same things at the beginning of the book that she was at the end. It was like wading through an OCD mind to get to the plot points. Perhaps that was intentional? Regardless, it was painful to deal with the repetition, particularly when it felt like a less satisfying regurgitation of the first book.

Please note: I received a digital copy from Netgalley & Celadon Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are strictly my own.

Easily one of my favorite books of 2024!

They say sequels are never as good as the first book, but I enjoyed this one just as much. The author, Jean Hanff Korelitz, created such an interesting premise that I couldn’t put it down. Some sequels pick up years after the original story, but this one begins in the wake of (spoiler alert) Jake’s death. (Btw, if you haven’t read The Plot then do so immediately!) Anna Williams-Bonner, widow of late best selling author, Jacob Finch Bonner, continues to honor him after his tragic death. Promoting his past work and supporting his upcoming novel, while touring for her own debut, The Afterword. Anna receives a threatening note. Someone knows the truth. And she’s forced to find out who, snuffing out the threat of her dark past for good.

The Sequel picked up perfectly where The Plot left off. And like the first book, this one had me on the edge of my seat. Like all of the author’s books I’ve read so far, the pace is steady and the suspense is palpable. She really knows how to make you root for the most awful characters. Anna is one of the darkest protagonists I’ve ever read and yet, I was desperate for her to succeed in covering her tracks. I was gripped from the first page (already knowing what she was capable of), and the tension only ramped up once she received a note revealing there was someone out there who knew the truth of her past.

Scenes that I still think about include the forest where she was forced to dig her own grave, and the trip to her old childhood home in Vermont to look for the original manuscript. The way she’d reminisced about watching her brother from the trees at the edge of the property was chilling. The lunch with her agent and publisher at Balthazar was hilarious. The dialogue felt like a behind-the-scenes reveal of industry gossip. The ending was satisfying with no loose ends, even leaving it open for a possible third installation in the series…one can only hope!

5/5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
For readers who enjoy an elevated thriller with clever twists, a flawed protagonist, and a book within a book.

What a story, what a sequel! I liked it even better than THE PLOT. Crazy and unexpected twists, and the whole time I found myself rooting for the villain. Thank you #netgalley.com for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Give this to your readers who can't get enough twisty psycho-mysteries. They will love it! This is a sequel to the author's book, The Plot, carrying on with a new protagonist, Anna, who was the now dead Jacob Finch Bonner's wife. As his widow, she has written her own novel, which while not quite as successful as her late husband's, is doing very well. Unfortunately, a voice from her past is accusing her of plagiarism, and she thought she had meticulously covered her tracks. She proceeds to finish the job in this incredibly absorbing, engaging, un-put-downable thriller. Just when you think you have Anna all figured out, she surprises you. Great read and very satisfying!

Thank you Netgalley for the follow up to, "The Plot" by Jean Korelitz. Of the two titles, I think I liked the Sequel better than the Plot and I'm really glad this author chose to write a book 2! I thought both were fantastic and I'm hopeful for a book 3!

Although I did read "The Plot", I think this stands on its own if you haven't read it. The shift here focuses on Anna in the aftermath of her husband's death and as she publishes and promotes her own novel "The Afterword". As her star rises and she becomes well known, pieces of another novel begin to arrive in her mail, that of her in-laws and publisher that again raises the question of her husband's plagiarism. Afraid of what this means to her life and financial security, Anna is forced to revisit her past and rectify some of the wrongs.

I have never started a review this way but .... I am so glad that book is over! I am an outlier again, based on the high praise I have seen for The Sequel. When I read The Plot, I thought the premise sounded intriguing, but the execution of that novel fell flat for me. In my opinion, this was worse. I found this story to be quite repetitive, not only in the re-telling of The Plot plot, but also, in the excruciating detail of every action the main character took. The author also seemed to enjoy re-hashing what the character had done and what she was planning to do, over and over. I made no connection with Anna, the protagonist in The Sequel and I wished her dead often throughout the novel, just so all would be finished. Anna was a straight-up psychopathic serial killer with a list of characters that had wronged her, without any proof of these accusations, except in her own twisted mind.
I relish a great, twisty novel with depth, an interesting storyline, well-developed characters and a plot that goes somewhere. The Sequel did not produce any of those characteristics. I