The Sequel picks up where The Plot leaves off with Anna, now her husband’s literary executor, slipping into the role of grieving widow. Jake’s publishing team are thrilled when she suggests she might write something herself and ecstatic when she delivers The Afterword about a widow grieving the suicide of her beloved husband. On the author tour that follows its publication, she’s handed a copy of her novel with a Post-it attached requesting the inscription ‘For Evan Parker, not forgotten’. Before long excerpts from a manuscript horribly familiar to Anna begin turning up, setting alarm bells off.
In comparison to The Plot, which I raced through, its follow-up gets off to a slow start but once it gets going the pace speeds up smartly as Anna takes off in pursuit of whoever is sending those excerpts. It’s all a bit improbable but enjoyably so with the help of a hefty dose of dark humour. Korelitz mercilessly satirises the publishing industry and writers also come in for some stick, prepared to toady to whoever offers the prospect of publication no matter how tenuous. In a nice touch, chapters are named after sequels with a handy list at the end. It’s not a sequel that stands alone. If you like the sound of it, best read The Plot first if you haven't already.

The Sequel is the follow up (or sequel if you will) to [book:The Plot|55315487] following on the story of Anna Williams Bonner. For those who haven't read The Plot (and I would definitely encourage you to do so) I won't give any spoilers so there is little I can say in terms of the synopsis.

When sequels are released, it is easy to say it was/wasn't as good as [enter first novel] however I think sequels are unfavourably and unfairly compared to the original novels. When we read the first book in a series, I find we are often blown away with an original story, original characters etc. so when this story continues and the characters are largely the same, it doesn't have the same impact as the first book. Often in life, our first experiences are the most memorable and any follow up rarely has the same impact.

Judged on its own, I really enjoyed this novel and the continuation of the characters we met in The Plot. Having read The Plot, it was not a novel which I finished and said 'I really want to know what happens next' but nonetheless the story continued well with the same drama and intrigue which made the first novel so good.

Thanks to Netgalley and Faber and Faber Ltd for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I hate books about books but I usually love books about writers, even if it's just because I'm gripped by industry gossip. (If you feel the same way as I do, check out Julia Bartz's The Writing Retreat, Andrew Lipstein's Last Resort,  John Boyne's A Ladder To The Sky or RF Kuang's Yellowface.) Therefore, I devoured Jean Hanff Korelitz's The Plot, about a struggling writer who discovers one of his students is writing a book with an irresistible twist; when he discovers his student has died, he steals the plot for himself, but it unsurprisingly comes back to bite him. The Sequel is less original than its predecessor, but still a lot of fun: it reminded me of Peter Swanson's thrillers, especially The Kind Worth Killing and Her Every Fear. In this one, widowed Anna writes a book, The Afterword, about a husband who kills himself; it's a big success, but she also attracts unwanted attention from somebody who seems to know the secrets hidden in her past. Hard to say any more without spoilers! I was impressed by how Korelitz managed to slot this one in within the interstices of The Plot, and I enjoyed getting a third version (and a more fleshed-out second version) of a story we've already seen told; the details get muddled, but this nicely illustrates Korelitz's point that the stories we tell ourselves are the ones that become real. I enjoyed that the chapters were all called after famous sequels, as well. My only complaint: I wish we'd heard more about the daughter's story. Perhaps that's coming in The Third Book In The Trilogy...

I adored The Plot it was such an engaging interesting mind bending book comparisons to Stephen King are well able to live up to. I can't wait to get started on the follow up this time with the chilling Anna as the lead I suspect I'll be up all night reading. Thanks for the ARC a FULL REVIEW will follow early Oct 24

This the sequel to The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz, which was a twisty read that I adored and which I think is essential to have read prior to embarking on this, this picks up from where it concluded. The author here has a whale of time playing on the theme of the sequel, as relentlessly chased within the publishing industry, even having the chapter titles taken from well known literary sequels! With her husband, Jacob Finch Bonner deceased, having committed suicide, his widow Anna would have done just fine if she had decided to simply live off the royalties of his runaway bestseller Crib. However, Anna is tempted into writing her own book, as she slips, confident, into becoming an author with remarkable ease.

With the support of the publishing industry, the book, The Afterward, inspired by her experiences, is destined to succeed, becoming a runaway critically acclaimed bestseller. Anna steps into the limelight, embarking on publicity book tours and engagements. Her future looking assured, but then history looks to be repeating itself as, just like her husband, Jake, who had got messages accusing him of plagiarism. Anna starts to receive disturbingly unsettling messages and even parts of Evan Parker's manuscript, which she believed she had got rid of. You might think the sociopath that is Anna deserves this fate, but oddly enough, Korelitz skilfully wrings feelings of support for her as we learn of the eye opening perspective of previous events as a picture of a more vulnerable Anna emerges.

There is drama and dark humour in this entertaining and gripping sequel that builds on previous history and the repercussions that follow. A haunted Anna is willing to look back into the shadows of the past, the secrets, who else could possibly know about her life? What do they want? It took me a little while to become immersed in the story, but once I was, I simply could not let go, as I raced through the pages, desperate to know how it all ends. This is a brilliant sequel, which I recommend to all readers, but with the caveat that I advise reading The Plot first. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.