I think I may need to break up with the big must-read books of the summer. Take this year’s entry, “The Plot,” by Jean Hanff Korelitz. As might be expected from a book called “The Plot,” Korelitz’ story idea is interesting: A down-on-his-luck writing teacher named Jacob Finch Bonner, trying to recapture the acclaim he had after his first book, lifts a plot idea from a deceased former student and writes what turns out to be a best-seller—only to start receiving threatening emails from someone using the name “Talented Tom” who claims he’s a thief. In the telling, however, the story’s stakes seem artificially trumped up; Jake’s crime is simply reworking a plot idea into his own book, hardly unusual in publishing and certainly not something that would be as ruinous as we’re led to believe. And the plot he “stole” itself, which is doled out in dribs and drabs through excerpts from Jake’s book, doesn’t seem all that unique or revolutionary, problematic in a book predicated on the assumption that it is both to such a degree that someone would engage in a full-on vendetta against it. Most disappointing, however, was the fact that the book doesn’t really get going until about a quarter of the way in, and I had it all figured out by the halfway point. I kept reading on (even through Jake’s cringingly inept and uncomfortable attempts to investigate Talented Tom’s identity), waiting for the much vaunted twist, but it never came, and “The Plot” ended with barely a whimper. Lots of praise out there for this book, so I find myself in the minority. Maybe I’m just not cut out for the big summer read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with an ARC of this audiobook in return for my honest review.

It was very slow to start and it took a lot of stop and start for me to really get into the story. Being inside Jake’s head was monotonous. There was just so much merry-go-round thinking without any actual plot progress being made. He wasn’t likeable in any way so I felt myself feeling apathetic on the whole.

It wasn’t a horrible book but I grew bored often. I also guessed much of the plot and reveal early on. There was a serious lack of options and permanent characters, leaving obvious conclusions to be made. I craved some red herrings.

The audiobook narrator did a steady job, maintaining the tone and feel of the main character from beginning to end.

* I received a free audio copy from the publisher via netgalley.

This is a book better in audio than print due to the superb narration by Kirby Heybourne whose low-key voice and delivery is perfect for the main character, a sort of wimpy writer who struggles along on the success of his first novel. The book isn't without flaws, and starts out very slow, but, thanks to Heybourne, held my attention pretty much non-stop. I think had I been eye reading, I might have dropped it after 50 pages, well before any surprises came along, and there are plenty of those.

We all want what we can't have. But what if you actually could take what you want and make it yours? I listened to The Plot during my commute to and from work each weekday. If I am going to listen to a book while driving, I NEED it to be good and suspenseful or else I will forget what happened in between each car ride. Luckily, The Plot was a great story. Jacob was relatable to me in some ways and I really felt for him. This was a great story to listen to and it had two great plots!

This is a bit of a slow burn at first, but after the first half, the plot (no pun intended) takes a turn into a thrilling ride. The suspense builds up to a satisfying twist. I would recommend for fans of the genre!

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an audio arc of this book, all opinions expressed here are my own.

The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz is the first book I have read by this author.

Unfortunately I don’t think this book was for me. I found myself more interested in the story within the story than I was with any of the main characters and their goings on. I guessed the twist long before it happened. Though the ending did take me by surprise.

Kirby Heyborne as always is a fantastic narrator so I enjoyed my time listening to the book.

An average three star read for me. I hope others will enjoy this book more than I have.

Thank you Netgalley for an advanced copy of the audio book in exchange for an honest review.

Jacob Finch Bonner saw himself as a best selling writer but when his first published novel sells a few hundred copies he finds himself teaching at an MFA writing workshop to make some money while he struggles to write his next novel. While there he encounters an egotistical writer who thinks he has come up with the novel that will take the nation by storm and doesn't need the "hack", Jacob's help. One day during office hours he smugly explains the story to Jacob, who is shocked and agrees this will be a best seller to rock the nation. Years pass as Jacob waits in anticipation for the novel's release but when it doesn't come he finds out that his former student has died. Believing that this story needs to be realized he sets out to write it himself and it is every bit the Mega success Evan predicted years ago. But, someone knows this story was not Jacob's and is now threatening to expose his darkest secrets to the world. Jacob tries to figure out who is threatening him before the truth comes out.

The Plot is well written and an interesting peek into the lives of writers and the process a story takes to get out to the world. Jacob's inner turmoil and rationalizations are deeply explored but his obsession becomes old fast. The story itself is told from Jacob's perspective and the telling of this epic plot of the fictional novel. While the premise of Evan and Jacobs novel is interesting I did not find it groundbreaking to be intertwined with the real life action. Both plots are highly predictable and I saw the end twists coming about halfway through and painfully waited for them to be revealed. Interesting but not epic.

I received the audio version and it was narrated by Kirby Heyborne. His telling of the story was mostly well done but a tad over dramatic at times. Overall he was easy to listen to.

Jake is an author whose best days seem to be behind him. After the respectable showing of his first novel, he’s now teaching in a relatively unknown MFA program. When arrogant student Evan Parker proclaims the plot of his book “a sure thing,” Jake is doubtful–until he hears the plot.

Several years later, Jake learns that Evan has died, and the book has never been published. So Jake takes the plot and writes his own version–to astounding success. But then the messages start coming in, accusing him of stealing the story. As Jake chases the sender and learns more about Evan Parker, he finds out that his fictional story may be truer than he thought.

This fast-paced novel-within-a-novel is a fun ride, though it didn’t quite deliver on the promise of the can’t-miss plot in either book. I predicted the twists and endings in both–something I don’t consider myself particularly good at. An enjoyable listen, but all the hype made the predictability quite a let-down.

I really enjoyed this book! It started a little slow but the suspense continued to build throughout and i loved the insight of the pages from the book inside a book. It made the mystery build and i was so curious as to what was happening! I really didn’t expect the twist until it started to play out! I have mixed feelings on the end tho.

Potential spoilers ahead!

The ending was sad to me and i didn’t want it to end like that and i can see why it did and i like that some thrillers don’t have a happy ending... but i wanted one here. I was rooting for him and i was bummed on how it turned out. But i suppose not every story has a happy ending.

Jacob Bonner wrote a successful first book years ago, and 2 not-so-successful books after that. Now he is teaching writing workshops. A student tells him an idea for a sure hit book but it is never published. When Jake discovers the student died soon after the workshop he decides to borrow the story. It becomes a smash hit and life is good until he starts getting threatening messages. Sounds like the premise for a good book but for me it was a letdown. I didn't particularly like Jake and thought he was rather wishy washy. The story dragged on long after we got the picture. The twist at the ending was good but I certainly saw it coming long before Jake did. I received the audiobook through netGalley. The narrator did a good job portraying a rather boring wishy washy Jake but all in all, the book was a big letdown for me. I had to make myself finish it.

When Jake Finch Bonner receives an email declaring he is a thief, he knows someone is on to the fact that he has stolen the plot for his wildly successful novel. This sets Jake on a hunt to find out who is sending him threatening emails and what the back story is to his deceased, former student’s basis for the plot.

I enjoyed the “story-within-a-story” aspect. We gets snippets of Crib - the story Jake wrote, interspersed throughout the novel. As far as the twist goes, I had a slight inkling early on, but actually forgot about that inkling until the twist was revealed at the end.

I initially rated this 3.5 stars, but in the few days since I finished listening, I have bumped it up to 4 stars, because it has left me thinking about the book on several occasions. To me, that’s the mark of a good book.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for an ALC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This audiobook started as a slow-burner but one it picks up, it’s incredible! I just had to stay up really late to finish it because I just had to know. Highly recommend.

This was a well written book! I listened and read along with it. The ending was a great twist and I read a lot of thrillers!

The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz is a delicious and suspenseful story of a struggling novelist and a far-too-tempting opportunity.

Jacob Finch Bonner was once a promising novelist, but years after his initial book he’s now struggling with his writing and working as a teacher for a third-rate MFA program. And then Evan Parker walks into his class. Evan is arrogant, completely unlikeable—and is convinced he has the single greatest plot for a novel. Evan refuses to take part in readings or peer critiques because he’s convinced his plot is so good someone will steal it. When Evan finally shares his plot with Jacob, Jacob has to agree that it’s fantastic.

As Jacob continues struggling with his own writing, he waits for word of Evan’s break-through success, but it never comes. Jacob discovers that Evan Parker is dead and his novel was never published. But how can Jacob let a plot like that die along with his former student? And so he writes the book himself—new names, new places, but the same basic plot line. And the book turns out to be as big of a success as Evan Parker imagined. But at the height of his success, Jacob gets an email that reads simply “You are a thief.”

Now Jacob is frantically trying to figure out who this anonymous threat is as well as who Evan Parker was and where his idea for the plot came from.

The Plot is a suspenseful read, is well-paced and entertaining. Sadly, I guessed who the person was early on, so I wasn’t surprised at the reveal though there were a few intricacies that I found clever. I received an audiobook ARC of The Plot and found the performance to be okay. Initially I thought I may have gotten a synthesized audio because of the performer's voice, but that wasn’t the case. The performance wasn’t terribly reactive or emotion-laden, so it was kind of a monotonous tone, no highs or lows to go along with the changes in the storyline.

My one complaint about The Plot was the point at which the narrator is describing creativity and the genesis of ideas. There’s a book by Elizabeth Gilbert entitled Big Magic and in it, the author describes how an idea/story is looking for a person to tell it. If the idea lands in one author, and that person doesn’t bring life to it, and do so within a specific time, that idea may alight to another person to tell it. In this book, the description of that phenomenon was told almost exactly as Elizabeth Gilbert describes it. It seemed as though Jean Hanff Korelitz relayed that as an idea of her own as it wasn’t attributed to anyone else or even mentioned as “there’s a theory that…”. I can’t say that was her intention, but in listening to that section evolve, I was struck by how similar it was to the description in Big Magic.

Despite that, I do recommend The Plot and it is available now.


*I received an audio ARC of The Plot from Netgalley and MacMillan Audio in exchange for an honest review*

Omg a thriller about an author who sellers a best seller! This was fun and I had not figured out what happened until Jacob did too!! Definitely wasn't expecting what came from this book. Without giving away the ending...I want a sequel.
I could see this being a book club pick. Lots of underlying issues and questions.

The plot of this novel was quite intriguing, but often got confusing. However, I enjoyed the narrator's voice and cadence very much.

Jacob Finch Bonner is struggling to write his second novel after his first book was a modest success, however, things aren’t going as well as he thought. His success and experience make him the perfect candidate to teach at Ripley’s a writer’s workshop/retreat. This is where he encounters Evan Parker, a loud, arrogant guy who claims he has the perfect plot. A plot no writer could mess up, a guaranteed success, and Even claims he doesn’t need any sort of teaching to help him along. When Jacob hears the plot he’s stunned, because Jacob thinks Evan is right. This plot will catapult this asshole into fame, giving Evan everything Jacob has ever dreamed of as a writer: Critical acclaim, book tours, a spot on Oprah’s Book Club Couch.

Years later when Jacob’s prospects keep dwindling as his new books are rejected over and over he’s reduced to taking odd editing jobs and the random writer’s workshop. His situation is depressing but things are about to change when Jacob discovers that not long after Ripley’s Evan died without ever writing “The Book”. Here is a once in a lifetime plot that begs to be told and who better than Jacob? Jacob writes the story and it’s exactly as predicted: fame, accolades, movie deal, and here’s when the other shoe drops. Jacob gets an email calling him a thief.

Jacob was a bit self-absorbed and pretentious, but I couldn’t help but root for this guy! His life was going downhill, and I have a soft spot for the underdog! I didn’t even feel bad when he sort of lifted the idea (although, apparently you can’t copyright a plot) off of Evan, because who wants a jerk to win and come out ahead? Evan is dead and didn’t leave anyone who cared about him behind, so who’s sending the threatening emails? Jacob must go back and investigate Evan and his background to find out.

The Plot was captivating even when things are pretty calm at the beginning! I had my suspicions, but even so when things started to come together I had that “aha!” moment where I was shocked! Love being taken by surprise!

I’m familiar with Kirby Heyborn as a narrator and have enjoyed his performances in the past. I loved him as the quiet, flawed Jacob Finch Bonner! I listened at my normal 1.5x normal speed.

This book! Did not see that end coming! What was the last book that completely blew your mind with a crazy twist ending?

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Thank you to @celadonbooks @macmillan.audio and @netgalley for the gifted ALC of The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz, narrated by Kirby Heyborne.

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Synopsis from the publisher: Jacob Finch Bonner was once a promising young novelist with a respectably published first book. Today, he’s teaching in a third-rate MFA program and struggling to maintain what’s left of his self-respect; he hasn’t written―let alone published―anything decent in years. When Evan Parker, his most arrogant student, announces he doesn’t need Jake’s help because the plot of his book in progress is a sure thing, Jake is prepared to dismiss the boast as typical amateur narcissism. But then … he hears the plot. Jake returns to the downward trajectory of his own career and braces himself for the supernova publication of Evan Parker’s first novel: but it never comes. When he discovers that his former student has died, presumably without ever completing his book, Jake does what any self-respecting writer would do with a story like that―a story that absolutely needs to be told. In a few short years, all of Evan Parker’s predictions have come true, but Jake is the author enjoying the wave. He is wealthy, famous, praised and read all over the world. But at the height of his glorious new life, an e-mail arrives, the first salvo in a terrifying, anonymous campaign: You are a thief, it says. As Jake struggles to understand his antagonist and hide the truth from his readers and his publishers, he begins to learn more about his late student, and what he discovers both amazes and terrifies him. Who was Evan Parker, and how did he get the idea for his “sure thing” of a novel? What is the real story behind the plot, and who stole it from whom?

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Not gonna lie, the beginning of this book was a slow start for me. So much so, that I wasn’t sure this was gonna be a book for me. I am so glad I stick with it! When Jake makes the decision to go forward with Evan’s plot this book takes off like a crazy wild roller coaster! Also the ending was so crazy and shocking, I LOVED it! Out now!

I really loved this book!! It had so many twists and turns. It kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next!! This was my first book by this Author, and it won’t be the last!! Quick read!! Highly recommended!! You won’t be disappointed!!

"Good writers borrow, great writers steal - T.S. Elliot but possibly stolen from Oscar Wilde"

I'd seen a lot of great reviews hyping up The Plot and they were not wrong! Jean Hanff Korelitz, the author behind the story for HBO's Undoing (so good, I binged that in one weekend), is back with her latest release, The Plot, from Celadon Books.

Jacob Finch Bonner was once a young breakout author, but his follow-up novels were disappointing, and he's out of ideas. Stuck teaching writing to eager students in a struggling MFA program, he meets Evan Parker, a cocky student who wants no feedback from anyone. Evan knows he has a million-dollar plot and that it's his golden ticket.

Fast forward a few years later and Jake finds out that Evan has passed away and never completed his novel. Jake can't let a plot like that go to waste, so he writes the story as his own. After a whirlwind of success, he starts to receive cryptic messages; someone knows he stole THE PLOT…

I thought this story was brilliant, a story within a story, a plot within a plot! While I didn't find any of the main characters "likable," I was still so invested. Both storylines were equally fascinating, and I could not stop reading and listening to this one! This was my first audiobook with narration done by Kirby Heyborne. I thought he matched the main character, Jake, very well. Jake was just so unlikeable and bland, and the narration brought that out more, although not in a negative way. I think it truly helped shape the character. Thank you to Celadon Books and Macmillan Audio for the review copies!