What better than a psychological thriller for the month of October? “The Sequel” by Jean Hanff Korelitz is a page turner, one you can’t put down. I finished it in 2 days!

Anna Williams-Bower is a literary widow after her husband’s sudden death. She discovers within herself she would like to follow his path as a fiction author. After her debut novel “ The Afterword”, a surprise manuscript arrives in the mail, one she hoped never to see again. Somebody knows something about her past, secrets she’s been hoping to keep. Her deceased husband is being accused of plagiarism with this precise manuscript Anna was hoping would never surface.

A thrilling suspenseful read, after “The Plot”, but an outstanding read alone. I didn’t feel like I missed anything from the previous novel but more so now want to go back and read it for curiosity alone.
I appreciated Jean’s satire in the publishing world and actually gave me some respect for Authors in general, LET’S BUY THEIR BOOKS! We get caught up in ARC’s and the bottom line is they need to SELL books. I’m IN !

Thanks to Celadon books , NetGalley and Author Jean Hanff Korelitz for this eARC. All comments and opinions are my own.

I wish I could give this book more than 5 stars. I started reading it without realizing it was a sequel (I know, I know!), and for a while I was having a deja vu experience trying to remember why it sounded familiar, which is probably the ideal meta experience for this book, tbh. Once I realized it was a sequel to the Plot, a book I did not love, I was entirely suprised by how much I enjoyed The Sequel. It was both a book I couldn't put down for the storyline and characters and searing indictment of the publishing industry (tell me how you really feel, JHK...).
Can't wait to discuss it with other readers.
Thank you for the ARC, Netgalley.

I didn’t really expect a sequel to The Plot, but I enjoyed it more than I expected. I definitely found Anna to be more interesting than Jake had been, but I found that this book moved a bit slower than I was hoping for. I listened to the audiobook for the first half and I did enjoy the narrator. I think you could read this without reading the Plot, but I think some parts you would be frustrated by until enough details came together and it just reads better if you know the back story. I almost hope we do see more of Anna even if I think this is likely the last of her that we will see. Anna is helping to promote her late husband’s last book and during an interview she impulsively says she plans on writing a book of her own. She doesn’t know why, she never thought about writing a book before but there is something about the idea that she can’t shake. As she writes and publishes her novel she learns that someone out there still believes that Jake stole the idea for his most popular book Crib and allude to the fact that they may know more than that. Overall this was an enjoyable book, I gave it 3.5 stars rounded up because I did like Anna as a character (even if she isn’t a great human).

The Sequel is, yes, the sequel to The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz and takes place after the death of her husband. Anna decides to write a book of her own, because how hard can it be, called The Aftermath, which becomes a quick success both critically and in popularity. However, she gets little time to enjoy her success before she starts receiving anonymous letters concerning an unpublished novel by her dead brother which she had believed had been destroyed and now, she must track down who is behind this if she is to have what she considers her well-earned peace.

For the most part, I enjoyed The Sequel. It is well written and, for the first half, I quite enjoyed following Anna’s journey from ‘grieving’ widow to successful author and righter of what she considers all the wrongs in her world. There was a somewhat tongue-in- cheek quality to Anna’s badness which was quite entertaining at first. After a while, though, I wanted to, at least, feel some sympathy, if not empathy, for Anna but she seemed to have no redeeming characteristics nor, for that matter, did any of the other characters. Still, it did keep my attention enough to want to know how Anna would solve her problems and, to be honest, how she would be able to leave a long line of bodies across the countryside without raising any concerns by anybody besides the people who had occupied those bodies. So, in the end, I will say if you liked The Plot or stories with narcissistic but charming (really) bad girl protagonists, this one’s for you.

I read the novel while listening to the audiobook narrated by Julia Whelan who, although the story is told in the third person, does an amazing and, at times, somewhat creepy job, of getting inside Anna’s head. Thanks to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio, and Celadon Books. All opinions are my own.

3.5

As a fan of the Plot, I was so looking forward to this book! The early reviews were promising and I was delighted to get my hands on an advanced copy (Thank you, NetGalley). My excitement waned about 3o% of the way in - nothing in this book felt likable or redeemable and after just a few pages I already hated Anna, everything she stood for and the whole entire book from a stylistic perspective. I cannot imagine that I liked the Plot with this same style writing - but Goodreads says I did!

I heard the narration on audio was great- and maybe I’ll try that if I feel like revisiting, but this one was a no for me.

First, a big thank you to NetGalley and Caladon Books for the ARC of Jean Hanff Korelitz’s novel “The Sequel" – “After the “insanely readable” (Stephen King) and “perfectly told” (Malcolm Gladwell) New York Times bestseller The Plot comes Jean Hanff Korelitz’s equally captivating new novel: The Sequel.”

I read “The Plot” last year and didn’t find it had a crazy plot twist that everyone was telling me about - I thought I enjoyed the Plot enough maybe I’ll give the Sequel a try. I initially was unsure how Korelitz would write this one given that the first ended pretty conclusively. But she is basically giving the first book a new coat of paint and calling it a Sequel. It does feel like there are lower stakes and nothing new to figure out. It feels like I have already read this book.

And I really think that is what Korelitz is commenting on with her satirical work. Authors rewrite the first novel changing one or two things about it and calling it something new. “Fourth Wing” and “Iron Flame” are recent examples of this that I can think of. “Twilight” and “Midnight Sun” are another. In the Sequel we have a novelist with a bad attitude as our main character. This time it's Anna, the wife from the Plot, who, it turns out, just happens to have written an amazing first novel. The satire in these two books is definitely something that you have to accept for what it is. What we're really getting at with this book and the satire is how some people avoid the typical difficulties of getting published, not due to any talent but who they know, Anna is one of these. It's a lot less interesting when there is no struggle, and when Anna's book is not necessary. Anna is, clearly, set for life though it's completely unclear what she wants out of that life.

Once again, we have mysterious messages saying they know our novelist's secret. Which is the same secret as the last book. It's unclear why this must happen through another strange campaign of letters and notes, why someone doesn't just come out and make an accusation.

Worst of all, the book feels very repetitive. Sections play out much longer than they need to. Anna thinks the same thoughts over and over again. It would have been really easy to trim 50 pages out of this. Overall, I think that the take aways are the satirical message about the publishing industry “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know” and rewriting the same books with the same plot beats.

I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the perfect sequel. Literally. The Sequel is the follow-up to Jean Hanff Korelitz's best selling book The Plot. The book is a sequel, it's the second part of the story. It is definitely not a book you read without having read the original book. Indeed, I wish I had re-read the Plot before starting the Sequel, as I had forgot some of the details, which make this book so good. Anna is the perfect protagonist as villain. She got what she wanted in The Plot (read it people), and now it seems to be coming back to bite her. And her many crimes could be revealed, Or will they? No spoilers here, but the book builds up to a crescendo in a way in which the two books come full circle. Great read. Thanks to Macmillan and Netgalley for an advanced readers copy.

And look for the great easter egg Korelitz provides with the chapter titles!

A Twisted Tale

4.25 stars

The Sequel is the follow-up to The Plot, focusing on the widow of a famous author who writes a bestseller of her own. However, behind her newfound success lies a tangled web of deceit. Determined to hold onto her fame, she will go to any lengths to protect what is hers.

I highly recommend reading The Plot before reading The Sequel. Fully understanding the events of book one and the MC will elevate the reading experience of this book.

To avoid spoilers, I won't provide a detailed summary. What I can say is that the main character, Anna, is a master manipulator and strategist. Her level of conviction in her deceit is astounding, which makes for an immersive and intense reading experience. I was drawn into her story and invested in her plan for success. Anna outmaneuvers everyone who crosses her path—or does she?

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Celadon Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

How hard can writing a novel be?

So Anna Williams-Bonner, recently widowed when her husband of less than a year (bestselling author Jacob Finch Bonner) asks herself. Anna has spent the months since her husband’s apparent suicide touring in support of his final book, and when asked what the next chapter of her own life might hold she has taken to saying that she’s working on a novel herself (although she isn’t). The idea has received enthusiastic responses, including from her late husband’s agent Matilda Salter who arranges for Anna to attend a prestigious artists’ colony in NH to focus on her (supposed) writing. It sounds like a delightful escape to Anna and she willing goes, but after meeting the other artists in residence whom she finds to be whiny, pretentious, judgmental and quite frankly a bunch of idiots, she decides to give the writing thing a go. Matilda loves her manuscript, as does the late Jacob’s publisher Wendy, and before Anna knows it she has a glowing write-up in the New York Times and is launched on a highly anticipated book tour. There’s only one tiny problem….someone is sending taunting notes and manuscript excerpts hinting that Jacob may have plagiarized another author when he wrote his most famous book. And since Anna knows that to be true, she will need to take steps to figure out who is behind this whisper campaign and shut them down. Permanently. And how hard will THAT be? After all, Anna has had a lot of practice in taking care of those who threaten her.
The Sequel (which is, in fact, a sequel to The Plot, though can be read as a stand-alone….author Jean Hanff Korelitz doles out sufficient tidbits from the first book to catch a reader up if they didn't read it) is part mystery and part satire. Artists’ colonies, the publishing world, academia, none are spared from being delightfully skewered. Having managed a book store and hosted more than a few books signings, I laughed as even those get a little poke (the post-it notes! the fan lurking at the end of the line to capture more of the author’s time!), all while Anna schemes to shut down whomever has found a copy of the manuscript which Anna swore she had already eradicated from the planet and plots how to create both a novel and an author persona guaranteed to produce a bestseller. Just because she’s most likely a psychopath doesn’t mean that she’s not an oddly appealing character, and she’s (somewhat) honest with herself about who she is and what she’s done. If you are inclined to like dark humor and sharp wit, I suspect you’ll enjoy reading Anna’s new exploits, especially if you read and loved The Plot. Fans of William Kotzwinkle, Liane Moriarty and Nita Prose should also give this a try. My thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for allowing me early access to this amusing and addicting novel. Who says that sequels are never as good as the original?

Loving The Plot as much as I did, I was very excited to be granted both the ebook and audiobook for The Sequel! It takes a very talented author to have me invested in an unlikeable character like Anna Williams-Bonner. But Korelitz has created this intriguing, entitled, ruthless character – the widow of the best selling author, Jacob Finch Bonner. And just as she is coming into her own and settling into her own success, someone rocks her world.
Early on I thought I had the premise figured out while still enjoying my read. Well, I was totally wrong! Plot twists abound, will keep you guessing and pivoting! Dark humor and psychopathic villains galore, and writing that is cleverly sharp and includes her self-depreciating humor about writers and their processes.
I do highly recommend reading The Plot before starting The Sequel. Also, take note of the Chapter Titles!

In this captivating sequel to The Plot, Anna Williams Bonner is enjoying the spotlight as a famous literary widow and now a best-selling author in her own right. Life couldn’t be better, that is until she feels an unwelcome situation from her past. It turns out a “buried” manuscript still exists, and someone is sending pages not just to her, but to her in-laws and editor. In order to keep her darkest secrets under wraps. she sets out to find out who’s stalking her and destroy the manuscript once and for all. Now Anna knows someone has knowledge about her late brother, her husband and likely her.

The Sequel is Anna’s story. It is immensely satisfying, very suspenseful, an anti-heroine I cannot believe I was rooting for by the end. This book far exceeded my expectations.

Thank you NetGalley and Celadon Books are this arc! Jean Hanff Korelitz has written a sequel to her novel, appropriately titled "The Sequel." Set a few months after the first book, it explores Anna's life after her husband, Jake, is killed. Like Jake, Anna writes a novel centered around his untimely death, but publishing this novel leads her down a path she was hoping to leave in the grave. Like most sequels, I felt disappointed. The reveal behind the mystery was not predictable at all, but was kind of out of the blue, which is almost worse. The first half of the novel was pretty boring and the second half just didn't impact me as much as I wish it did. One positive thing I will end the review with is that the cover is cheesy, but I love it so much!

4.5 stars. I liked The Sequel just about as much as I did The Plot. Anna is a fantastic character. This novel makes you rethink some assumptions you may have had after reading The Plot. I'm not going to say much more, because I think the summary below is all you should know before you read this book (read The Plot first).

"Anna Williams-Bonner has taken care of business—that is to say, she’s taken care of her husband, bestselling novelist Jacob Finch Bonner, and laid to rest those anonymous accusations of plagiarism that so tormented him. Now she is living the contented life of a literary widow, enjoying her husband’s royalty checks in perpetuity, but for the second time in her life, a work of fiction intercedes, and this time it’s her own debut novel, The Afterword. After all, how hard can it really be to write a universally lauded bestseller?

But when Anna publishes her book and indulges in her own literary acclaim, she begins to receive excerpts of a novel she never expected to see again, a novel that should no longer exist. Something has gone wrong, and someone out there knows far too much: about her late brother, her late husband, and just possibly... about Anna herself. What does this person want, and what are they prepared to do? She has come too far, and worked too hard, to lose what she values most: the sole and uncontested right to her own story—and she is, by any standard, a master storyteller."

Thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed herein are my own.

"Anna Williams-Bonner watched...the writers, as they...offered up laughably shallow praise to the man who'd just read to them. Then, before her eyes, the group defaulted to their eternal topics: the shortcomings of their former teachers, the inadequacies of the publishing world, and inevitably the writers they knew who happened not to be present...And she thought: If those idiots can do it, how f$cking hard can it be?"

So begins our journey with Anna, the debut author, widow to a renowned writer, and the catalyst for the bestselling The Plot by clever plotting author Jean Hanff Korelitz. Now this brilliant writer gives us The Sequel, where Anna is truly the entitled star.

Though the author does a seamless job explaining what happened in The Plot so you understand Anna's determination to keep her deadly secrets, reading or listening to it before The Sequel will only enhance your enjoyment of this twisty WTF thriller.

I received a free copy of this book/audiobook from the publishers via #NetGalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

Reading how Anna so easily dismisses, and just ends, those who may try to end the life she has meticulously created is a fascinating study of entitlement. She believes in her right to live at the cost of everyone else. Yet I often rooted for her despite her murderous ways. My reaction is a testament to the creative brilliance of this masterful storyteller.

Having the award winning voice actress Julia Whelan, a favorite actress, performing the words of a favorite author, is pure joy. There's no one better to bring Anna to her full potential as a classic villain.

I haven't really told you The Plot because The Sequel deserves to be experienced with all its surprising twists. Just know you will be entertained, shocked, and impressed by this perfectly crafted, brilliantly plotted sequel.

I received a free copy of this book/audiobook from the publishers via #NetGalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

A fun and twisty sequel to The Plot. I feel like it could be read as a standalone novel, but the reading experience will be enhanced by reading The Plot. It is hard to give any details about The Sequel without revealing key elements of The Plot. Our unlikeable narrator/villain Anne is the widow of a novelist that had a hit book prior to his death by suicide. She then herself wrote a novel loosely based on her life as a widow of a novelist with a hit book who then died by suicide. Then Anne at a book signing signs a book with a post-it note that indicates someone may know that things are not all as Anne has presented them and she sets off to take care of loose ends from her past. A real page-turner!

Jean Hanff Korelitz is out here writing a follow-up sequel to one of my favorite books of 2021, and I'm here for it. While I didn't give The Sequel 5 stars like I did The Plot, it's still a very good novel and follow-up. It just didn't hold the unique factor that I thought The Plot had. What it did have was some fantastic character development. Anne Williams-Bonner is back in action, moving on after tying up some loose ends and even writing her own novel. Someone out there knows her secrets, and as Anne enjoys her new found success, the past is starting to catch up to her.
A slow burn of a novel that was devious and dark, I didn't feel the thrills or suspense, but I did feel the creeps. Anne is an anti-hero that we find ourselves rooting for to win, along in the same breath wishing for her to face the consequences. Intriguing character, well developed plot. Highly recommend first reading The Plot and then get your hands on The Sequel. You won't be disappointed.

I read and reviewed an advanced digital copy. Opinions and thoughts are my own.

Happy pub day to The Sequel! What a great surprise this novel was! Not sure why I picked it up in the first place, as I didn't love The Plot, but I am so glad I did read this follow up, as I liked it much more than the first one.

We follow Anna from The Plot as her secrets are threatened to be revealed in the midst of her writing and publication of her own based-on-real-life novel. While not super twisty, we get plenty of intrigue, snark, and action as we see what happens after the conclusion of The Plot. I really enjoyed this sequel and would definitely recommend it to anyone who like The Plot!

"(Sequels)...they're never as good as the first book, are they?"

They certainly can be, and this book is no exception. A lot depends on how the reader perceived the first book. "The Sequel" can be read as a standalone, but I would highly recommend reading the first book in the series, "The Plot", first.

This isn't the type of book to hurry through or skim. To truly appreciate this book, readers need to pay close attention as they wade through the many different characters, as well as a maze of deceit and murder.

Bodies begin to pile up quickly and lies are waist deep. I think that Anna Williams-Bonner ranks near the top with other sociopathic killer characters, such as Hannibal Lecter and a few others from Stephen King novels. She is cool, calm, collected, and surprisingly somewhat easy to like, yet merciless and deadly. Where does all of it lead? Could there possibly be an actual "Afterword" or "Epilogue"? I will be on pins and needles waiting to find out.

I will recommend this to all readers who enjoyed "The Plot" and highly recommend this to fans of psychological suspense thrillers. The only reason that I did not give this book five stars is because it just couldn't match the shock value of "The Plot" and Anna's actions became slightly repetitive and predictable.

My sincere thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this novel. All opinions expressed are my own.

“The Sequel,” by Jean Hanff Korelitz, Celadon Books, 304 pages, October 1, 2024.

In the first book in this series, “The Plot,” Jacob Finch Bonner, a novelist, is teaching a class when student Evan Parker boasts he has a great plot for his first novel. After a few years without Parker’s novel being published, Bonner learns that Parker died before finishing the book.

Bonner uses that plot for his novel, to great success. But he gets threatening emails about stealing the book and kills himself. His widow, Anna Williams-Bonner, is touring book events, talking about her husband. And enjoying royalty checks and the movie adaption rights. Then she tells an interviewer that she is writing her own novel, “The Afterword.” After all, how hard can it really be to write a bestseller?

But when Anna publishes her book and indulges in her own literary acclaim, she begins to receive excerpts of a novel she never expected to see again, a novel that should not exist. Then during a book signing, someone slips her a note that makes her aware that someone knows of her past. She decides to find out who is behind this harassment.

This is a series that should be read in order. The great thing about “The Plot” was that the underlying story driving the novel was a bombshell. Now that readers know the secret, “The Sequel” isn’t as stunning. But the plot is intricate and the reveal of the person behind the harassment comes as a complete surprise. Anna is a dark, brilliant character. The ending has several twists which I never saw coming.

I rate it five out of five stars.

In accordance with FTC guidelines, the advance reader's edition of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

The Sequel is book two in The Book Series by Jean Hanff Korelitz.
I loved book one The Plot and was so eager to jump into the second title in this amazing series.
The writing as usual is what drew me in immediately. It's sharp and clever.
This book was so well-written, it was so fast paced and intriguing. I didn’t want it to end.
The story is a compelling blend of suspense and intrigue that kept me hooked from start to finish.
The characters are well-drawn and the plot twists are genuinely surprising.

Thank You NetGalley and Celadon Books for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!