The Sequel is indeed a sequel to the author’s earlier bestseller, The Plot. (In this case, yes, you do need to read The Plot in order to appreciate The Sequel.)

Recently widowed Anna Williams-Bonner is wrapping up the literary estate of her late husband when she decides, “How hard can it be? I can write a novel too.” Her auto-fiction proves to be a hit, in part because of her husband’s celebrity. Before too long, threats to reveal Anna’s true identity and the source of her narrative material begin showing up in signing lines, to her in-laws, to her editor. She frantically traces each missive, seeking to learn the identity of her tormentor.

Let’s be honest – Anna is a despicable character. Yet somehow, her cynical narcissism breeds a morbid fascination, not unlike the compulsion to rubber-neck at a gruesome traffic accident. Readerly ambivalence is compounded by Julia Whelan’s excellent portrayal of Anna. Whelan did more than read the audiobook; she performed it, displaying the snark and contempt that constitutes Anna. Don’t be surprised if this is a finalist for an Audie award.

This is part 2 in The Book Series. The Plot was good and should be read before The Sequel. I thought The Sequel was better, but the series is amazing! Bravo to the author and narrator!

Many thanks to Net Galley and MacMillan Audio for an audio ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The plot thickens.

In book one of this series (The Plot), we followed has-been writer Jacob Finch Bonner as he stole the idea for a book, and then tried to navigate out of a mess of his own making. In this sequel (appropriately titled The Sequel) we jump right in where The Plot ended. The Sequel is also a novel of suspense with satirical undertones, many literary allusions, and much insightful humor regarding the lives of writers and the world of publishing.

However, this novel suffered from the same problem as the first: it is overwritten with too many details, inner dialogue, inconsequential things that do not help the story and only slow down the pace. I listened to the audiobook, expertly narrated by Julia Whelan, and at times, I was tempted to fast forward though sections. However, Whelan is stunning in her ability to inhabit different characters and thanks to her acting chops I felt like I was watching a movie. I did want to find out what would happen and this time, I did not predict the twists.

Jean Hanff Korelitz is a very talented writer and the prose is excellent. I enjoyed this more than The Plot, mainly due to my realization that this is quite satirical (I somehow missed that when I read The Plot).

A fantastic audiobook and for once, a sequel that is even better than the original.

"The Sequel" is an actual sequel, following Korelitz's previous book, "The Plot". I'd need to re-read "The Plot" to sort out exactly which parts of "The Sequel" are completely new to this book and which are refreshers for readers like me who may not recall every detail of the earlier story, but I would definitely suggest NOT reading this book without first reading "The Plot", if you haven't already done so. The characters and events of "The Sequel" provide both a continuation and some backstory to the first book. Because I was listening to an ARC in audio format without chapter titles or clear indications of timeline, I was sometimes confused when the story backtracked to events in the past but continued to couch them in the present tense. That aside, I found this a compelling read with so many twists and turns my head was spinning! The main character is hardly sympathetic, though her history -- if you believe her version of that -- did evoke some sense of compassion. I was torn between wanting her to escape her past and wanting her to be caught and held accountable, and that made any possible ending just a bit unsatisfying. No spoiler here, you'll have to read for yourself to see which way her story ends.

Wow!
Talking about plots twists and unbelievably crazy characters. The best thing that stood up for me with The Sequel are the very notably known sequel titles of books. It was such a smart take and very interesting.
I was granted a chance to listen to an advance listeners copy from Celadon and Netgalley and boy! I feel lucky because The Sequel is narrated by no other than the one and only, Julia Whelan! When books are written good, it deserved to be narrated by the best and I got both of that with The Sequel!
I love the intense thrill same as the carefully curated back story for each and every chapter. It was a treat and I highly recommend!

An amazing follow-up to The Plot with a new voice telling her own story at last.

I loved the totally deplorable bad girl protagonist that was Anna Williams-Bonner (to use one of her many names). I feel a little guilty rooting for a woman who has gone from one murder to another, all to possess and protect her very shocking life story.

Although it would help if you have read the first book, the basics of that plot are used in this narrative as Anna comes into her own after writing her first novel as a sort of companion to her husband's bestseller. On tour, living on the proceeds of his success, and reveling in her well-earned new fame, Anna is suddenly beset with anonymous taunts and excerpts of a work in progress that she thought she had eradicated from existence. Does someone know? Well, that can't be allowed.

I really enjoyed the author's writing style and her word choices. The way she describes Anna's thought processes and actions as well as the quirky descriptions fit the storyline and narrative so well. Defintiely told with wit and satire, the author also gives a nod to the cutthroat world of publishing.

I was able to listen to the audiobook while also following along in the e-book ARC - both formats provided by the publisher. The narrator did an excellent job of bringing the characters to life and her voice brought so much quality to the production.

Definitely recommend. And I wonder, is this the end of the tale?

I would like to thank NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for allowing me to listen to an ARC of this audiobook.

I was a HUGE fan of Korelitz' first book, The Plot, and when I found out there was a 2nd book, I was so excited and couldn't get my hands on it fast enough! The first book was considered "insanely readable" which is absolutely true, so if you haven't read that one, I would recommend reading it first. It will definitely help with understanding the main characters and plot points.

The Sequel gets off and running with Jacob Finch Bonner's widow Anna post "Crib" success. She is moving through the 'grief' process and has recently become a literary success herself. But then the ghosts from her past come back to haunt her once again as she receives a suspicious note about her late brother and a manuscript that gives her "Crib"-deja vu. Much to her dismay, someone has connected the skeletons in her closet to the dead people she left behind and it's up to her to put it all to rest again. And she is determined not to let anyone destroy the new perfect life she's built in the wake of her husband's death.


This book was SO GOOD (allllmost as good as The Plot) with lots of good twist and turns, and a relatively likeable anti-heroine. The author did a great job of telling Anna's story and making her more human to the reader. The Sequel was incredibly well executed and well-written and filled in a lot of the holes and questions I had from the first book.

This book exceeded my expectations and if you loved the first one, you definitely need to pick this one up too! I have been working a lot, so I was bouncing between the eBook and audiobook formats, which is good because it's basically unputdownable. I couldn't read it fast enough and devoured it all in one day!

The audiobook version was great because the narrator did a fabulous job. Listening to her was like being sucked directly into the book yourself. Additionally, the pacing was good, and the suspense and tension was built up well along the way. The narrator also did a great job of bringing the characters to life, and making a rather unlikeable person (Anna) seem human and almost relatable. I actually ended up doing the majority of my 'reading' through the audiobook, because it was much more engaging than the eBook. However, the story itself is so good I would recommend it in either form.

I highly recommend this one to all my thriller-lovers and will be reading and/or listening to it in my October book club!

Usually the sequel to a book doesn't live up to it's predecessor. For The Sequel, this is not the case. In fact, I think I liked it a bit better than The Plot. Anna Williams Bonner, widow to the late, great Jacob Finch Bonner, is making a name for herself after her husband's "untimely" demise. There will be no more claims of plagiarism either, just a steady stream of royalty checks for her late husbands work as well as some checks of her own for her up and coming novel, "The Afterword."

But then, excerpts from a novel she didn't even know existed any longer begin to emerge, and it could upend her life as she knows it. Who is doing this, and what do they know?

I enjoyed this book so much. The pacing was perfect. I also loved the characters in this book, and the fact that I couldn't guess what was going to happen next. It took me a minute to get into the first book in this series, but not so for this book which may make it the rare case where I like the sequel more than the original book. The narrator for the audiobook was great as well, and I definitely liked them more than the narrator of the first novel. I hope if there's a third book that the same narrator for the second one is the person who continues Anna's voice.

I would definitely recommend this book to all, it is so good. I would recommend reading The Plot first. Very entertaining and full of characters that stick around after the story is over.

I really enjoyed this sequel more than the first book! I loved the suspense and the twists that the story took! The main character was ruthless! I’d highly recommend the audiobook!

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

This is Book #2 in the series!
Book #1 is ‘The Plot’. Please be sure to read this one first!!

🛑🛑🛑 If you have not read book #1 or book #2, and you don’t want to know anything…please stop here! 🛑🛑🛑

So, Anna is back. And now she’s the (grieving) widow…with a new book of her own. Well, sit down and buckle up, because you are in for quite the ride… 🎢

If you remember from book #1, Jake had been getting some threats…in regard to his best-selling book. Well, now these threats are directed at Anna…

And so, we are along for the ride as she tries to get to the bottom of what’s going on…and eliminate threats along the way…

And, poor Anna has been through so much already! 🫣😫

You’re in for quite the treat as she navigates through…town after town…through all of her book signings and all. 😮 And, she goes back to her past…and his…and so much more!

And maybe, just maybe, she’ll get what she deserves??
You’ll have to read to find out!
Have I piqued your interest yet??

4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for me!

Thanks to #NetGalley and #MacmillanAudio for an ARC of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
****This one releases on 10/1/24, so look for it in a few days!! ****

#TheSequel by #JeanHanffKorelitz and narrated beautifully by the one and only #JuliaWhelan.

😮 Psycho main character
😮 Psycho ancillary characters
😮 Crazy twists
😮 What did I just read???? 😮😮😮😮

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Thanks so much for reading! And if you ‘liked’ my review, please share with your friends, and click ‘LIKE’ below… And, let me know YOUR thoughts if you read it!! 📚⭐️

If anyone has read Jean Haniff Korelitz's first book in this series, The Plot, this book is a must read. It continues the story of what happens with Jake, Evan, and Anna. The Sequel really delivered and kept me interested the whole time. I just couldn't wait until I could put the all whole story together of everything that happens. It definitely makes me want to read The Plot again and this book right after again. It has so many twists and turns that you don't know what happens next. I hope to read more books by this author!

3.5 rounded up.

I was so excited to read this book because I absolutely loved The Plot. It’s one of my favorite books. The sequel just felt like run on from the previous book without anything really exciting happening. I did not like the narrators voice of the main character so that could also contribute to my rating. There were a lot of characters in this book which was hard to keep up with. I’d recommend reading it, not audiobook.

The Sequel is the sequel to The Plot and it was very entertaining. I listened to the audio book and narrator Julia Whelan again knocked it out of the park. I also feel a little ick when I find a character that is pretty much a horrible person and total psychopath / sociopath somewhat likable and entertaining, but that is exactly what happened here. You definitely want to read The Plot first to get the most out of the experience but this is one you don't want to miss. Many times I take issue when a #2 contains so much of the same info as book 1 - but in this case it just works. It is part of the experience.

I’m not going to give much about the book, but you definitely need to have read THE PLOT before diving into this one.

The book is written in three parts and it focuses on Anna Williams-Bonner who has written her own fictional novel, THE AFTERWORD.

This is a thriller and it’s super twisty. It brings back content and characters from THE PLOT. The way the characters comeback and their roles in this story is my favorite part of the book.

3.5 stars, rounded up.
I liked this one more than the first book! (The Plot)
The Sequel flowed better for me and was more twisty and intriguing.

Although you can probably read The Sequel without reading The Plot as the details are laid out enough for you to understand, I think you will get a lot more enjoyment and be more invested if you read that one first. And beware, if you want to read The Sequel, The Plot will be spoiled just by reading the synopsis for the book. So if you still need to and want to read that one, I'd avoid reading anything about The Sequel.

The basics of the book are: following her husband's suicide, Anna Williams-Bonner writes her own novel, The Afterword. While in the middle of her book tour, she begins to receive mysterious messages, including pages from her brother's book that her late husband stole. Anna thought she got rid of all of the copies. Where are they coming from? Who is digging up Anna's past?

Although Anna doesn't have many redeeming qualities in the world's view, she is surprisingly easy to root for and I spent my entire experience with this book rooting for her to succeed, no matter what she had to do for that success.

I listened to this book mainly as an audiobook with the stellar Julia Whelan as the narrator. She breathes life into Anna's character and I think her narration is what made me root for Anna even more.

This book is an intriguing mystery wrapped in a thriller wrapped in suspense. I highly recommend this two book series.

I was granted an AUDIOBOOK ARC of Jean Hanff Korelitz's latest novel, <u>The Sequel</u>, ably narrated by the extremely talented Julia Whelan. Whelan did an excellent job with this rambling, introspective, downright "wordy" novel. There was so much internal dialogue happening at any given time that the action in the story often felt like it was happening in slow motion.

But apart from Korelitz's tendency to over explain or belabour her prose, this was a gripping story: I had to find out whether Anna aka Diane Parker, was literally going to get away with murder.

I was by turns mesmerized by the many plot twists and turns, and then exhausted by the author's verbosity. Did I really want to know each and every thought that passed through Anna's psychopathic mind? Apparently, I was going to hear them whether I wanted to or not.

I will grant that the author did an excellent job of describing the entire publishing and book promotion process - but, hello!, this is a murder/thriller, not a "How To" manual!

Loved the sections focusing on the poor Wannabe's who thought they could beat the slush pile odds and get their books published. A writer's life and the tedious chore of promoting their book after publication was well documented. - this section of the novel almost made me forget that there was a mystery still to be solved, I have to admit that I had a hard time believing that Evan Parker was even capable of writing a grocery list, much less an 18 chapter tell-all novel. I also have to admit that I did feel some compassion for young Diane Parker. Did Diane Parker's parents' neglect and childhood traumas create the psychopath Anna Williams-Bonner, or was she born this way - as her brother's novel suggested?

Luckily, the final few chapters made up for the slow grind of the first two-thirds of the story. There was so much action going on at this point that I ended up cancelling on my gym workout so that I could listen to the last hour of this audiobook. It had suddenly caught fire and I just <i>had</i> to know how it would end!

I'm rating this a 3.75 out of 5, rounded up to a 4 because, despite the occasional brain freeze that I endured during the many, many wordy passages, I felt compelled to keep listening - who on earth was behind the accusatory emails, claiming plagiarism of Evan Parker's original manuscript?!!

My thanks to the author, narrator, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for gifting me an ALC of Jean Hanff Korelitz’s fantastic new book, The Sequel, audio narrated by the amazing Julia Whelan. In exchange for the review copy, I am providing my unbiased opinion.

The Sequel, a follow up to Hanff Korelitz’s brilliant novel, The Plot is absolutely DELICIOUS! I devoured this book in one sitting! I don’t want to give too much away, but let’s just say Jake Finch Bonner’s widow, Anna Williams Bonner, possesses the necessary skills and appetite for stirring the pot. This story is so well crafted and masterfully revealed. I enjoyed every morsel of this layered confection. Jean Hanff Korelitz has easily become an autobuy author for me and narration by Julia Whelan was pure perfection.

If you haven’t read The Plot, I suggest you pick up a copy today so you’ll be up to speed when The Sequel releases October 8. BOTH BOOKS ARE EXCELLENT! The Sequel will easily make my best of the year list.

Anna Williams-Boner is such a messed-up gem of a character. Reading a book through her eyes is truly an entertaining experience, although I found the pacing a bit slow until the last quarter of the book. But truly it is definitely worth the read! I mostly listened to the audio version narrated by Julia Whelan, one of my favorite narrators, and enjoyed her portrayal of the story. Fans of mystery and thrillers, especially well written villains, will enjoy this series.

Maybe it’s because I really enjoyed The Plot and found it so unique and attention grabbing but The Sequel just didn’t do it for me… The story just felt resentment and unnecessary as a whole.

I will say JHK’s writing was superb though and she did craft a very good prose; it was just that the story itself didn’t work for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, Celadon Books, and MacMillan Audio for the advanced ebook and LRC.

After reading and really enjoying The Plot, I was excited for the chance to read The Sequel early. Well, it far exceeded my expectations! I listened to the audio and found myself completely swept up in the story telling. I enjoyed that it focused on the female MC - there weren’t many other random characters to keep up with. Anyone else who was introduced had a clear role in the story. The female MC was, at the same time, a badass but also like, “what in the world were you thinking right there?!”

The storyline for this one is very clever and it was a solid 4 ⭐️ read for me!