I really like for books to keep me guessing. It's what keeps me engaged. However, The Plot felt obvious, which made it a very slow read for me. Slow reads send me into a downward spiral that makes me lose my love of reading.

It's a time-consuming book that feels predictable.

Could there be a more obnoxious student and what did Jake Bonner do to be punished teaching him? That was Jake's thought at the writing workshop he is teaching. Jake had a great first novel and was seen as an up and coming writer. His second novel was a disappointment and since then he has been stalled. To make ends meet, he teaches at a college that runs workshops for aspiring writers.
When he has an individual coaching session with the student, Jake is struck again by his confidence and his inability to see why he made those around him uncomfortable. The man is sure that he has a bestseller in him but that everyone else at the workshop is determined to steal his idea. He shares a little of the plot with Jake and Jake immediately sees that the idea is a potential bestseller. Jake is jealous that such an unlikeable person does indeed have a can't fail idea. But that's life and after the workshop the man recedes into the distance, overshadowed by the next class of aspiring writers and the next and the next.

But somewhere deep in Jake's mind, the thought of that student and his story remains. He keeps waiting to see the book published but it never is. His own writing is going even more poorly. Finally one night he looks up the student only to see that the man died soon after the workshop, his great idea for a novel having died with him. But has that idea died? Jake struggles with his conscience but then forges ahead writing the novel that the student never did.

Two years later, Jake's life is completely different. The novel he wrote is an immediate and tremendous success, vaulting Jake to the top of the publishing world. He is now married to Anna whom he met on a book tour at the radio studio where she was a producer. The couple is happy and wealthy or at least until the day Jake opens an email. When he reads it, his blood runs cold. Someone is writing him accusing him of plagiarism and of stealing the idea of his bestseller. There are hints of exposure but no demands to start. Will Jake lose everything his novel has brought him?

This novel has received a ton of buzz. It has blurbs from authors such as Stephen King and Meg Abbott and was an Amazon 2021 Book of the Month pick. The pace is brisk and the reader is swept along in Jake's story, interested in his success and then wondering who is threatening him and how that will play out. The exploration of plagiarism and how an author can turn from a success to a pariah overnight is explored. This book is recommended for readers of psychological thrillers.

I had high expectations going in, heard so many amazing things about this book, and saw it EVERYWHERE! It definitely did not disappoint!!!!

The plot-WHOA-the storyline-AMAZING-the character development is out of this world-and the the writing style is just so superb! This book was such a satisfying read, it had me turning the page, not wanting to put the book down-from start to finish. The author did a great job with keeping the readers attention, never a dull moment. I love the fact that the author developed a plot centered around that of a writer!

This is original, so well thought out, developed, and the SUSPENSE! Where do I begin? This book is full of suspense, had me on the edge of my seat wanting to know-NEEDING to know—and then it all came to the ending, which left me 100% satisfied and no questions lingering.

Bravo to the author! This is an amazing read that so will continue to recommend to others!

The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz follows a writer who is haunted by the success of his novel, namely its plot which he ripped from the notes of a former student. I won’t summarize the whole book for you, but the synopsis had me hooked, as simple as it is. This book relies on a great concept that opens up a lot of questions and conversations around intellectual property, who deserves to be published, the products life inspires, and what makes someone a writer.

I felt the intention in Korelitz’s writing here. You could tell she was expressing certain thoughts and putting her characters in various positions for a reason, to pose these questions. I fully enjoyed her writing. I found it very sensory, if that’s the right word. It was easy to jump into this book after a long day. I also just found the writing really accessible. It was immersive without being overly flowery, thoughtful without being complicated.

I have mixed feelings on the character development here. I hated every single person in this book, even minor background characters I couldn’t stand. I guess it comes down to does it matter if I liked them or not? They evoked something from me and they each stood apart from each other, which I think I would deem a success. But, everyone was so awful, and it was hard to sympathize with any of them. I would say in this particular story that was a disadvantage. I didn’t care who stole whose story, who was in danger, or who was upset, etc. I didn’t give a hoot about any of them. Koreltiz could have killed off every character in the end and it wouldn’t have mattered to me. In that respect, I wish they had been made a little more complex, wish someone, anyone had been easier to get behind and root for.

Following that same train of thought, I think this book was interesting, but not necessarily gripping. I cared what happened… sort of. I was never dying to pick it back up, but I never at any point considered just putting it away and not finishing it. I feel like the story could have ramped up much more quickly. It took until about the halfway point to get past what I already knew from the synopsis, and I think that set a poor tone for the rest of it. It was set up to be a bit of a thriller, I think? I honestly couldn’t tell you if this was meant to be a thriller or more just a tense piece of literary fiction. So, this left me feeling unsatisfied, somewhat confused, underwhelmed.

I am happy to have read this though, and I did enjoy it. I have another book by Jean Hanff Korelitz on my shelf, and now I’m much more excited to read that because I certainly liked her writing. She definitely has the chops here for great storytelling, I think this book just fell a little flat for me overall unfortunately. It really was just okay.

Thank you NetGalley and Celadon Books for an e-arc!

The premise that there is a story to be told by every individual person, is a fascinating theme that resonates throughout this book.. Along with that idea, the author perfectly conveys how frightening a thought that is.
Jacob Finch Bonner, a successful first book author, has access to the "plot" of a book of a student enrolled in his class. He runs with it and successfully publishes that book under his name when he realizes that student has died. Life is good until he receives threats of exposure. When that individual dies, the action begins. So many interesting questions are brought up, with no definitive answers necessarily.
The pace is quick and intense. I could feel the tension rising in me as Jacob kept wondering if each day was the day when he would be exposed. The twists at the conclusion are clever and adds to the total suspense of the story. Exciting read!

Plot: What happens when you steal a book idea from someone who is dead? I really liked this one. Both of the stories (the real one and the stolen one) were compelling. Who really owns an idea? The ending wasn't a super big surprise, but it gave the book the closure it needed. Recommended.

I love the suspense in this book. The story was so thrilling, I couldn’t stop turning the pages; I needed to know what happened next!

This book was just not it for me…. I had to literally force myself to keep reading throughout the whole first half because it was just so boring & insignificant. I totally understand the whole “slow-burn” concept but I just couldn’t handle it. I did force myself to finish it because I hate DNFing books but it was a struggle. The ending did get better and there was some good twists, but nothing I didn’t see coming.

After watching The Undoing, I kicked myself for leaving You should Have Known in my TBR pile years ago so I was super-excited to receive this ARC by the same author.! While not quite as good, it was still very good. It does start off a little slow, but as you begin to understand Jake and his frustration with trying to find a good plot, you won't be able to put it down. I was constantly wondering what I would do, especially after the notes start showing up. I did have a pretty good idea of how this would all play out, but there were enough surprises that it didn't matter. Great read!

Thank you to #NetGalley, Jean Hanff Korelitz and Celadon Books for this ARC!

Published author, Jacob Finch Bonner, is searching for his next best seller after a long dry spell. While teaching at an MFA program in Vermont, he encounters an overly confident student who is convinced he has a plot that will be an instant success. When Jacob learns that the student has died, he decides the “perfect” plot should not go to waste and he will write the book. The book turns out to be a huge success catapulting Jacob back to literary fame. As he begins his book tour, Jacob receives a message from someone who knows his secret and is vowing to tell the world.

The characters are beautifully developed in this novel. I thought I had figured out the outcome but some unexpected details and twists bring this suspenseful thriller to a creepy, unpredictable climax. Excerpts from Jacob’s book “Crib” are artfully intertwined throughout the novel. The moral dilemma, copyright issues and ownership rights of publishing raise interesting discussion points making this a great title for book groups. Readers of psychological thrillers, mysteries and suspense will love this newest title from Jean Hanff Korelitz.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the digital arc in return for an honest review.

Loved the premise of this book! What would anyone do in this situation? Obviously saw the downfall coming but loved the extra twists into evans life story. So great!

I enjoyed this book. I found it well written and even though I thought I saw the twist coming, I liked the way it played out.

Wow. I didn’t see that coming! This is a very dark book, but a lot of fun too! It starts off a bit slow, so stick with it. There are no heroes here, which is always a fun and wacky read! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free copy. 4 1/2 stars!!!

Wow, this book was great! Very interesting premise and characters. It begins with college teacher Jake Bonner in remote Vermont teaching writing after he has published some books of his own. He comes across a student who has written an amazingly plotted book. Years later, he finds out the student has passed away and decides to use his plot to write his own book and he enjoys immense success.

But, he begins to get emails from an anonymous source who calls him out on being a thief and Jake becomes increasingly paranoid and decides to try to find out who the source is. I loved that the book ended up being a really suspenseful mystery!

Ive tried a couple times to get into this book, and I’m finding it to be a bit too slow for my liking. There’s nothing wrong with a slow burn and I love the plot (pardon the pun) of this novel, but I just can’t seem to push though. I may try it in the future, but unfortunately it hasn’t been able to capture me thus far. Well written though!

Other reviews I had seen said The Plot was slow and you were reading it for the ending. Those sentiments were spot on for me. The first 3/4 of the book was slow, there were a lot of details that made the storyline feel bogged down. However once the story started to pickup, it moved quickly. There were still a lot of over explanation, or innocuous details that didn't add much, but there was action, you could tell you were moving towards something big. Just before I got to the revelation, I was walking my dog and started to wonder if maybe I knew who a certain someone might be. I tried to work it out in my head but couldn't quite get there. I was correct in my guess but no where NEAR close to guessing the why or how! This is a great read and I would recommend it but with the understanding that it is a slower read.

Wow. This book was a perfect vacation read!

I really enjoyed this author's first book, "You Should Have Known" so I was very excited to read her new book. This book is about how elusive a "good plot" can be to writers, and when Jacob Finch Bonner hears one of his student's ideas for his own books, he is insanely jealous. So he waits and waits for the book to come out...but it never does. So he writes his own version.

With this novel, Jean Hanff Korelitz has her own amazing plot. The only drawback to this book, for me, was her writing style, which takes a little getting used to. The only way I know how to describe it is to call it "overly literary" or wordy. I am definitely not a writer so the prose kind of removed me from the story for awhile. But once I got used to it, the plot carried me away and I couldn't wait to find out what happened next.

*Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for me ARC in exchange for my honest review*

Jacob Finch Bonner is a writing professor who once had a mildly successful first novel and who is now scrapping by teaching in various creative programs. He meets Evan Parker, anarrogrant student with an idea for an amazing novel with a sure fire plot. Parker dies before the book is written and things begin to happen. A stolen idea, murders and twists and turns send this one off and running! Fun summer read!

Thank you to Celadon Books, NetGalley and Jane Hauff Korelitz for the arc.

This was an interesting "plot" but I did find it a little slow moving and slightly predictable. A 1 hit wonder writer learns about a plot from one of his students while teaching a writing class. When he finds out that his student has died without writing the book, he decides to write the book himself. The book is a huge success and he becomes a famous author practically overnight. But then he starts to receive messages suggesting he stole the plot and the latter thickens....

Unfortunately, this book was a DNF for me. I tried several times, but just could not become invested in the characters. I had really looked forward to this one based on the summary so I’m a bit disappointed. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.