Jacob Finch Bonner has always wanted to be a famous author. Careful what you wish for. He finally writes the novel that gives him everything he had ever dreamed of and more. The excitement over his success is tainted by his feelings of guilt. The story plot wasn't 100% his own original idea, though he did all of the work to make it happen. Now he is being confronted by an anonymous person, calling him out on where he got his plot.

I loved this story. It shows a good deal of what happens behind the scenes of the writing and publishing world. I liked Jake and wanted him to succeed. I also liked the excerpt of the story Jake wrote, enough that you almost get the feel that you have read his novel even as he uncovers it's actual history for the first time himself. I read the audio version and Kirby Heyborne was the perfect voice for Jake. The cover of this book is brilliant and ties in so well with the actual storyline. And that ending....well you will just have to read it for yourself.

Thank you to Netgalley and MacMillan audio for the opportunity to read this audio-ARC.

The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz
My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟/5
Pub Day: May 11, 2021
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A plot fit for the best selling novel of all time- that is what writer Jacob Finch Bonner was waiting an inspiration for. He once made it. His work recognized and sold, but that was ages ago and now he is teaching in a third-rate MFA program. He was not even convinced that he has something to teach these aspiring writers. Enter Evan Parker, his most arrogant student who made it clear that he does not need a teacher to become the World’s Greatest Novelist because he already have “the plot” for the World’s Greatest Novel. But, Even died shortly after and Jacob will pay his respects to his former student by giving Evan’s perfect plot a life into words. As expected, the plot which he titled The Crib was a hit and the book became the most talked about, the most requested, the most read and the best seller. At the height of his writing fame over The Crib, Jacob starts getting the messages saying he was a thief and The Crib was not his story to tell!
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This was a very slow start. I don’t mind a good cooking on character building but the extra chapter long sentences makes such a dragging narrative. However, Korelitz has well crafted a book over which a reader will not just enjoy one but possibly two stories all mixed into one great PLOT! A novel inside a novel! Despite the drag, the ending of this thriller was great!! The last chapter was really jaw-dropping! I had my early suspicions as to how the story unfolds but it did not take away my curiosity. I enjoyed the commentaries about writers as a whole. There is so much a reader do not know on whats to become of a book. It really was a great PLOT!
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Special thanks to @jeanhanff, @celadonbooks for my Advance Printed Copy. To @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for the Advance Listeners Copy. The audio version narrated by @kirbyheyborne has very pleasant sound. It compliments the book much more! Once again, thank you!
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Jacob Bonner was once a published author. Now he teaches a writing class where he meets an arrogant student, Evan Parker. Jake reads one of Evan's stories and is fascinated. He later hears that Evan has died and feels the story must be told. However, it's Jake that takes the story and makes it his own. The story brings him wealth, fame, and an email stalker called Talented Tom, who accuses Jake of being a thief. Jake later starts to investigate the background of Evan to find out who he was and the why of the story while trying to maintain a happy marriage to his wife Anna.

The Plot also alternates as a story within a story with Evans book "The Crib"

I've seen elements of this plot before but really enjoyed the story and narrator and recommend. My thanks to Net Galley and the publisher.

Okay so I knew nothing about this book but I requested it based on the cover.

You basically get two stories in one. The one that Jake is writing/stole from his student, and the actual story.

Here's the breakdown in bullet points:
-the pacing was odd and took me a couple chapters to figure it out. It jumps a couple years and I wasn't expecting that.
-not to be that person, but the twist was so obvious and I guessed it immediately.
-the story of "Crib" was a bit confusing because I stopped paying attention. My fault.

All in all, this book was okay. I think if you're new to this genre, you'd love it. However, if you've read a ton of thrillers, you have an eye/ear for catching the little things that are supposed to be big twists.

I did like the narrator though. AGAIN PLEASE CHANGE THE SPEED OPTIONS! SOME OF US LISTEN FASTER THAN SPEED 2 AND ANYTHING ABOVE THAT IT SKIPS AROUND LIKE A ROBOT.

I had very high hopes for The Plot, given the blurb and the endorsements from other writers. Unfortunately, it did not live up to my expectations. That is not to say The Plot was bad, exactly... but it was uneven.

Some reviewers have complained that it was boring and slow, and that it spent too much time discussing writers, writing and publishing. This did not bother me. In fact, if it had been more of a literary novel focusing on Jake and his life as a once promising "up and comer" facing a dire professional slump, I think I would have liked it better. As it is, Korelitz attempts to marry this literary setting with the current genre du jour -- "Grip-lit." The grip-lit part is where the book fell flat for me. The mystery was not very mysterious and the outrageous, unbelievable, never-before-heard-of plot was also not that difficult to foresee. It was still interesting enough to finish, just to see how it all played out in the end.

Overall, I'm not sorry I read The Plot. It's not a book that really amazed or astounded me on any level, but it's a solid, well-written and fairly original novel that was worth the time it took to read.

I was given an advanced copy of this audiobook by NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

2 stars for the writing; 5 for narration.

In any classroom of beginning writers, there is the one would-be bestselling author who announces their concern about copyright or trustworthiness lest another student writer "steal" their work. The protagonist of Jean Hanff Korelitz "The Plot", flopped wunderkind and uninspired professor Jacob Bonner, reacts to the paranoid beginner in his classroom as so many creative writing teachers have before--with an invisible inner eyeroll, reflecting on the infinite variations of any single plot, the importance of a writer's individual style and vantage point, the sheer difficulty of completing a book--and the ever-unknowable prospect of its future sales. Korelitz's novel, however, playfully asks the reader "What if?" What if this one time, the beginning writer was actually correct and their idea was so utterly original and compelling it was "a sure thing."

That delightful premise buoys the slow opening section of the novel, which initially presents itself as a sort of light campus satire. Bonner will be recognizable to anyone familiar with the self-serious white male author archetype that appears in thinly veiled persona in many Great American Novels of the 70s and 80s. For several chapters as the plot of "The Plot" develops around him, Bonner gripes about his students (asserting at least three times during the novel that writing can't be taught), mopes about his disappointing sales and his own failure to achieve genius, and waxes philosophic to the tune of many a bygone blog post (e.g. the MFA is a racket, no one reads literary fiction, etc.).

Certainly, "The Plot" makes a reasonable argument for the supremacy of plot over character. When Bonner appropriates his student's "one of a kind", "can't fail" idea (not unreasonably, considering the student died without writing it himself), the tension begins to ramp. Korelitz can foreshadow with the best of them and as the tension built, it became difficult to pause the audiobook for long enough to send an email. There are several big twists and at least one did take me by surprise. For a reader listening with half an ear or burning through the book on lunch break, the skillful pacing will be enough, I think, to make for an exciting read.

I wish I could say that was my experience. To be honest, though, I would have put this aside early on had I not committed to review the audiobook in exchange for a Netgalley ARC. Many of my frustrations here were similar to those with another Korelitz hit, "You Should Have Known." As there, a supposedly millennial protagonist comes off twenty or thirty years older, from their vocabulary ("lousy", "get your paws off", "he's a crook") to their get-off-my-lawn-isms (references to culture oversensitivity; a general bafflement with the internet; the can-writing-be-taught talk). As in that book, the villain's muddled motivations are inconsistent with a basic familiarity with the psychology of calculated violence. Here, again, are the periodic off-notes in reference to race and stale social observations presented as revelation. Again, the logical inconsistencies that have characters' expressing shock over facts that an astute reader will have accepted many chapters earlier.

Most difficult to forgive in a book that *is* so much about plot is the volume at which Korelitz' telegraphs the upcoming twists. The revelation of the final pages was apparent in shape if not in its details from very early on. Based on Jake Bonner's own increasing shock, I thought I must be missing something, and my imagination went wild with possibities. What a disappointment, then, to discover that Bonner's overconfident student was wrong in the end. The best plot (and this is just a pretty good one) cannot compensate for mediocre execution. The reverse however might just be true--which is why my next suspense pick will be from a writer who understands the human psyche all the way down to its murky bottom.

A solid 4.5 stars for The Plot (twist) from NetGalley. This is the tale of an author that struggles to write a novel and when the novel finally is published it is a Plot like none other…. Or was it?? Fun read and enjoyed it even as I tried to figure out where it would lead.

*** I received an advance audiobook copy of The Plot from NetGalley & Macmillan Audio.

I was very excited to receive this advance copy because I had already placed this book on preorder from Audible. I thought the premise of the book was very interesting: who owns stories? Can a writer “steal” a story they have heard? I thought it was well written and I couldn’t wait to hear what was going to happen at the end. I think it’s definitely worth an audible credit 😁

A novelist turned writing teacher at at third-rate MFA program plus an arrogant student with a book idea that can't miss... Throw in a murder (or two), a stolen idea, and lots of twists and turns and you've got the formula for The Plot. I think it's best to go into this book not knowing too much so you can enjoy the ride. All the makings of a perfect summer read!

I alternated between the print version and the audio. Both were highly entertaining, but major kudos to Kirby Heyborne and his excellent narration. This is another winner for Macmillan Audio.


Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this ARC.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for providing me with an advance audio copy - I really enjoyed listening to this story. Its not a fast paced story and even though it takes a bit to get into the story I really wanted to know how things were going to evolve. This is one of those "books within a book" type of stories and I thought the storyline was excellent. I thought that the narration was done really well - I have started to really enjoy the audiobook experience and as I listened to this book -the narrator's voice was familiar and upon checking it out he has narrated a number of books I have enjoyed.

Sure to be a hot book of the summer! The perfect beach - or couch - read.

The Plot was, quite simply, un-put-down-able for me. It's not necessarily fast-paced, but I tore through it. Protagonist Jacob Finch Bonner is an unhappy instructor at a third-rate MFA program when he hears the sort of plot guaranteed to make a book a bestseller. Only problem? Jacob is a *formerly* promising young novelist - it's his student who's got the killer plot.

This is the sort of book that gives me premature wrinkles from all the times it makes me raise my eyebrows from intrigue. Author Jean Hanff Korelitz really puts the reader in Jacob's head. And then she ratchets up the suspense. Having had multiple previous novels adapted for TV/film, she wrote The Plot in a way that was easy to picture throughout. It was also well-paced.

I'd recommend this one to anyone who enjoys a mystery, and/or a book that'll keep you gripped. The audio production was great (and, given that I didn't want to put this one down, I was glad to be able to keep listening!).

Great thriller from the author of You Should Have Known! Jacob "Finch" Bonner is a bit of a failed writer. His first novel was notable but since then he has failed to produce anything of worth. He starts teaching at an MFA program in the mid-west. One of his students is ridiculously confident that he has "THE STORY." In a conference w/ Jake, he outlines this amazing story and Jake is blown away. He can see all the accolades, and the movie, and Oprah interview playing out for this guy. Jake is jealous but moves on with his life.
Years later, at a different writers' retreat, Jake is reminded of the amazing story his student shared with him. Wondering why that novel was never published, he starts digging around for the author. Who has since passed away. Because Jake remembers the plot of this story, he writes it himself. And receives all the accolades, etc. Except, someone REALLY didn't want this novel published. And the more Jake is trolled and the more he digs, the more he discovers why.

* Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the early e-ARC of this novel."

This is not a slow burn, it is an excruciatingly slllllllllllllllllllloooooooooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww burn. I almost DNFed this a dozen times. But I persevered.

Not only was this very slow to get interesting, but the beginning was kind of hard to follow. Again, I listened to the audiobook, so it is very possible this will not be the case in print. But the timeline jumps around a few times and I found it hard to figure out what was happening a few times.

The characters are all assholes. Which, I typically do not mind. But Jake was the worst sort- incredibly arrogant and I found him difficult to read. I felt like I wanted to punch him at all times.

Now- the "plot"- I had an inkling of where the book within a book was going fairly early on. And I was correct. I also figured out where the other plot was going, as well. I actually figured out the villain as soon as they entered the story. So adding that to the fact that it took forever to get going, this made the book very disappointing. I kept reading to know what this fantastic plot was, only to be completely underwhelmed.

As I said, I listened to the audiobook. I did not enjoy the narration, but I really think it was more the book than the narrator. The narrator was paced well and enunciated well. However, as mentioned before, especially the beginning was difficult to follow at times. Also my extreme disdain for Jake made me annoyed by the narration.

Basically, if you decide to read this, I would try the print version. This did not translate to an audiobook well. This is coming from someone who almost exclusively listens to audiobooks since I listen while at work. 75+ per year.

I was given an audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for this free audio version. As soon as I heard the synopsis for this book I knew I wanted to read it! Jacob Finch Bonner is a twice-published author who met mediocre success and is now teaching in the MFA program at a no name university. He encounters a cocky student, Evan Parker, who claims to have a sure thing. Then Bonner hears the plot. Years later, Bonner recalls he never heard about this sure thing book be published and looks up Parker. When Bonner discovers that Parker has died without publishing his book, he makes a decision that will alter his life and write the book himself. Parker was right, and Bonner receives all the accolades and attention for the amazing book he has written. And then the emails begin: you are a thief. Bonner is overwhelmed with guilt and becomes more and more obsessed with finding out who is sending these messages.
This novel is compelling and unique. In the beginning I kept reading because I wanted to know what the sure-thing plot was, but the resulting story kept me coming back for more. The narrator, at first, sounded like a computer voice, but it got better as I listened more. I was able to figure out the ending, but it was so well done and exciting I didn't care! I did not mind the switch back and forth between what was happening in the story and the novel Bonner wrote. Very well written and unique story.

At first, when I started listening to this I thought that I was reading Kill All Your Darlings by David Bell. I was so confused, wondering how I was reading the same book with a different title. And since then, I could never get into it again. I did not like this book.

What a different, yet interesting ‘Plot’!

Jake is a creative writing teacher who feels that his own career has tanked. He meets an arrogant student who says that he has the most unique, incredible, never done before plot for a best-selling novel. Over the next few years Jake doesn’t see the novel ever get published and, after doing a bit of investigating, determines that his ex student is dead and he decides to take the plot concept and write the book himself. It becomes a smash hit but then he gets an email letting him know that someone knows that he stole the story..

I loved:
📖 the writing! amazing, it pulled me in and I got lost in the pages! I knew Jake’s character like a real person when I was done.
📖 the concept and her use of the inner story, reading about Jake with chapters from his novel spliced in was so interesting and engaging!
📖 the pace! even with Jake’s novel woven in, it began incrementally to quicken and build until I couldn’t put it down
📖 the discussion of stealing a plot, I was on edge about this one since we all know you can’t steal a plot? We would have very few books in the world! But this was handled so well and as the story unfolds, and the layers are uncovered, it worked so well!

The only challenge in this read for me was the falling action/denouement, I struggled with this today after finishing the read last night because it may have been a ‘me’ issue! was it because I guessed what was happening too early? Did I love it so much that I was just upset the action was over? Was I unhappy with the resolution? I’m not sure but what I do know was it got me thinking 🤔 and that’s awesome when a book leaves you with that feeling.

I really enjoyed the audio experience! Jake’s narration done by Kirby Heyborne was smooth and easy to listen to. It would have been made even better by a female voice playing the other roles as I love a multiple narrator but it was still an audiobook that I would definitely recommend.

The Plot publishes on May 11th and I thank Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the advanced peek! 📖

This book was fantastic. Here we have an example of an "obsessed writer". I am an "obsessed reader". The Plot was a perfect match for me. I thoroughly enjoyed all the literary references woven throughout the narrative. Although the reader may deduct who the antagonist is early on it does not take away from the suspense. We witness the downward spiral of a tortured soul in our protagonist and I have to say it gives all "the feels" (as the kids say these days). Enjoyable and masterfully written, The Plot is a gut-wrenching, paranoia-laden ride that will keep you hanging to the very end!

All the best story plots have been written and rewritten over time. But Jacob Finch Bonner has a plot that will put them all to shame. This amazing, never done, shocking twist plot has put him on the Best Sellers list. He is touring the country, talking about his process and basking in his fame. The only problem is, the plot wasn't his to take.
When Jacob starts receiving threatening emails, calling him out as a thief, his whole world starts to fall apart. He was sure that no one else knows where he got the story from. As he digs deeper into the origin of the plot, and who it originally came from, Jacob learns that the story maybe based on someone's life. And that someone wants it back.

This book is making some big noise on Bookstagram. I was really hoping the hype wasn't going to lead to disappointment, as so many books have recently. Fortunately, the buzz is spot on with this book.
The Plot is a plot within a plot that leads to a plot. lol. Confused and amazed? Don't be, it all makes sense in the story. We are given the main story, about a struggling writer who stumbles on an amazing plot line. Then we are told that amazing plot through the storytelling genius of two writers, the unpolished student and then the teacher. Both stories collide and eventually lead to a legit plot, a burial plot. Its all sorts of crazy and unbelievable, unfolding in each chapter.
The whole book is beautifully written, and fast moving. I got so lost in Jacob's paranoia and his amateur investigation that I felt his anxiety myself. When the big twist was revealed, I actually shouted in approval. I sort of figured it out a few chapters before the end, and was waiting and waiting to be vindicated. It all unfolded brilliantly.
I did read this book as an audiobook, which always helps bring things more to life. The narrators voice fit Jacob's, anxious and depressing personality. Surprisingly, he also mastered the female characters as well. Audio really added extra to a book that has extra everything!

Jacob Finch Bonner saw moderate success with the publication of his debut novel. Unfortunately, his second release failed to garner any attention and he fears he’s fallen into obscurity. He finds himself teaching creative writing to others and knows all too well the starry eyed dreams of the hopefuls who fill his class.
One student stands out: Evan Parker, tight lipped about an idea he has for a novel yet arrogant enough to brag to anyone who will listen that he’s come up with the perfect plot for a runaway bestseller.
Jake is ready to brush off Evan’s arrogance but then he hears the plot …and he has to agree that it is going to be a complete and total success.

A few years later Jake discovers Evan died soon after the creative writing course — presumably before he could finish his novel or even reveal his idea to anyone else. Jake can’t forget that incredible plot, in fact, it’s too brilliant not to share with the world.

So Jake writes the novel based on Evan’s idea and finally has the fame and success he's longed for as an author; he even finds love on his never-ending book tour. He’s enjoying every moment of his success until he receives the first of many brief and menacing emails: “You are a thief.”
Jake’s life could come crashing down at any time. In order to find out who knows the truth, he has to learn more about his late student and what he uncovers is that his bestselling novel may not be fiction after all…

The Plot is a story within a story. Readers follow Jake’s story and as it progresses we get excerpts from his novel. When the plot of his novel is eventually revealed, it was a letdown because it is a pretty formulaic thriller twist. That choice seems to be tongue-in-cheek commentary on the author’s part; Korelitz delivers some amusing insight into the publishing world and a writer’s life.

The story is at times clever with the way it appears to poke fun at - while paying homage to - the “psychological thriller” genre trends of the past decade, and I was hoping Korelitz would deliver a truly surprising twist ending. Unfortunately, the twist was glaringly obvious to me and I was left thinking this is just your average middle of the road thriller which means a highly entertaining beach read but nothing shocking or new.

I recommend The Plot to readers who enjoy psychological thrillers, suspense, and books about books.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for providing me with an advance audio copy in exchange for my honest review. The Plot is scheduled for release on May 11, 2021.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for gifting me with an audio ARC of Jean Hanff Korelitz’s literary thriller The Plot. In exchange I offer my unbiased review.

What’s that quote, enjoy the journey forget about the destination. That’s sort of my advice with this novel. Any good reader will immediately see the ending early on, but it doesn’t really matter, if you’re focused on the journey.

Jacob (Jake to family & friends) Finch ( he added that as homage to his favorite literary character) Bonner, was once the publishing world’s darling. A new & noteworthy young talent who just couldn’t find success after his first novel. Now he’s teaching at a third rate Creative Writer’s Workshop, where he’s forced to engage with what he deems inflated egos of his students who show no talent or skill, but rather they can afford the fee to indulge their fantasies of becoming the next wonder kid. When a pompous student begrudgingly shares his plot for what the student swears is the next big thing, Jake is miffed as he has to inwardly agree.

Fast forward a few years later, Jake has sunk even lower in his estimations, as he is now a caretaker/ advisor at an upstate writers retreat where in exchange he’s given shelter and small fee. An encounter with a rude would-be author reminds Jake of his past student, which leads to a Google search, where he uncovers the student has died young & tragically. Jake convinces himself he needs to pen that great sure fire novel that was told to him years ago. “Borrowing” the plot, Jake writes that instant, hottest, bestseller, mega-hit, enjoying all the accolades, recognition and wealth he has dreamt about. Except someone knows this story isn’t Jake’s to tell.

Jean Hanff Korelitz raises lots of interesting questions/ideas about appropriation, writers, publisher’s, agents and others who deem works worthy or create hype and literary buzz. I think if you read deeply this book has more than a few plot holes but it’s still a story to sink your teeth in. The audio narration was well done,adding to Jake’s discomfort and general dread of getting caught as the next James Frey, he is after all an Oprah Winfrey bookclub author. This book has lots of literary nods and winks, which was fun to see and the story within the story was equally sharp.

Definitely a great beach read and possibly the newest hottest must read summer blockbuster everyone will be talking about.