Jacob Finch Bonner is a struggling writer who mentors MFA students and other aspiring authors to make ends meet. During one session, a student reveals the plot of his novel-in-progress, and Jake agrees that it’s certain to be a hit. After learning of his student’s death, Jake uses the plot to create his next book, an instant best seller. Soon, Jake begins receiving angry messages from a mysterious individual who knows what he’s done.

I’ve seen this novel described as a slow burn, and I have to agree. I struggled a bit with the first few pages, but once I got through the first section I was hooked. The story is incredibly suspenseful. While it’s not a scary story, it gave me slasher movie vibes-I just kept waiting for something awful to happen. I really like how the author weaves in sections of the contentious novel as well as references to other texts. Although I didn’t catch all of the allusions, they added layers of nuance to the story. Overall, I found The Plot to be captivating and original.

Book Review...
THE PLOT
by: Jean Hanff Korelitz

🤗The Good:
Her writing held no hesitation marks. At times it was a bit yearning and stuffy. But the dialogue both internal and external created this cocoon of believability. You trusted her as a writer because a lot of the truths were told very plainly. You could guess the plot, the red herrings and the villain. There wasn't a lot to guess about or question until there was.

😭The Bad:
Unfortunately, the twist which is perhaps distastefully overdone fell flat for me. It was an epiphany long over needed. That ah-ha moment Oprah talks about does not happen in this book. You're stunned and appalled something this basic could be heralded by such esteemed establishments.

It's a letdown.

Because perhaps the author doesn't at all know the intelligence of her audience. We're sharper and savvier than your villain. Women are sharper than this marshmallowy soft image you're portraying. Real women are much more than your protagonist here. And men are much more astute than you're giving them credit for.

🙃 So, what rating do you give a book where the writing is superior to THE PLOT. One that severely disappointed you as a reader but you must acknowledge is exactly what you ordered. What you keep ordering.

3.5 stars
Rounded up to 4️⃣

Reviewer notes: There's going to sadly come a point where I lower my ratings for these archaic representations of women in literature and most blatantly in psychological and domestic thrillers.

There's a way to write women where they are SAVAGE, FLAWED, AND UNLIKEABLE, and at the same time sexy, maternal, and smart.
When women start seeing themselves in books and in the media just as multi-faceted as men are, then we will stop painting this picture of:
If then
✨If she is pretty she cannot be smart
✨If he is a coward he cannot be aware
✨If she is a killer, he must be to blame

✨Stop

Thanks to @netgalley #celadonbooks #macmillanaudio for the #gifted copies.
It was a pleasure,
Kassidi

The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz is a delight for twisty psychological thriller fans and is out today! I particularly enjoyed the book within a book element and getting an insight into the highs and lows of a writers life and the publishing world. It started off as a slow burn full of details but quickly picked up pace as the twists kept coming and ended with a big bang. Overall, I thought this was very entertaining and a clever book and I rate it 4⭐️

We follow the once noted young writer, Jake Bonner, as he finds himself fading into obscurity, and desperately struggling to write anything decent, let alone publishable. While making ends meet teaching at a third-rate creative writing program, Jake comes across an arrogant student who has a plot that is so good it is a surefire bestseller. When his student dies before finishing his book, Jake doesn’t hesitate for long grappling with the ethics or stealing someone else’s idea because some stories are just too good not to be told. Fast forward a few years and we find Jake at the height of his new found fame for writing ‘Crib’, but he is gripped by an uneasy fear of being found out.
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The Plot starts off very slow. So slow, I almost didn’t push through. I am so glad I did! Once it gets going, it flies! I couldn’t wait to get to the ending.
Jacob Finch Bonner is a writer struggling to produce a good second novel. He is teaching upcoming writers when he encounters a snarky student with a stunning plot for a book.

Years later he is still thinking of that plot and wondering why the book was never written. He discovers that student dies shortly after Bonner’s time with him as a teacher.

Can you plagiarize a plot? That is the question throughout the book. Author, Jean Hanff Korelitz, does a fine job including twists and turns in this book. While some things seemed predictable, as a reader I couldn’t quite figure out exactly how it would end. A page turner for sure!

*** A huge thanks to NetGalley for the ARC

Books within books, plots within plots!
The Plot is the story of a stolen story. Jacob Finch Bonner was a promising writer, his first novel was notable but his career never took off. He teaches at a third-rate MFA program helping other, less promising, writers. When his newest student reveals the plot of the story he claims will be read by everyone, loved by Oprah, made into a movie, Jacob Finch Bonner knows he’s right.

The novel toggles between Jacob's personal plot and the plot of the runaway hit novel. What could possibly go wrong when you’re famous with a stolen story? The Plot plays out well. The story within the story really is that good.

This is a novel that hinges on a big reveal, and if you guess the reveal it kind of loses it’s ah-ha moment. I think there’s a lot of the story that is interesting, and I went in assuming it would be more literary than thriller-y. Reader’s mistake. If I had read it just as a thriller I might not have been as critical. But the beginning really does lend to discussing failure, art, writing as work, etc.

I think it could have done both well, but it didn’t carry it through.
It depends too heavily on Crib and the reveal. It is an easy, compelling read and it will leave readers satisfied, but the first and second half were a big unbalanced.

The audio version is really well done. The narrator is excellent.

The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz is a fascinating, slow-burn mystery about a writer who steals the idea for a novel from a deceased former student. The novel layers two stories: that of the life of Jacob Finch Bonner (Jake) whose promising literary career has fizzled; and the successful book, Crib, he writes taken from his former student. After his novel reaches astronomical success, he begins receiving anonymous threats from someone who seem to know that he’s stolen the book. As the threats escalate, Jake begins to search for answers about his former student and whoever is sending him threats. The Plot is a very interior novel as it follows Jake’s guilt and fear around taking another writer’s story. The author does a phenomenal job building tension and intrigue surrounding what may happen to the author and what happens in Crib, the novel he’s written. The Crib excerpts really help propel the plotline and the wonderful audiobook narration by Kirby Heyborne really drew me in. I loved the twisty, satisfying conclusion.

Thank you Celadon books and Macmillan Audio for providing this e-book and audiobook ARC.

The Plot was such a different psychological drama. It was a slow burn in the beginning and I wasn’t quite sure it was for me but then around 40% it picked up and became a wild ride.⁣
⁣
Try to go into this blind. It’s a plot, inside of a plot, inside of another plot essentially. Jake is a writer, who isn’t very successful, until he is, and then he starts getting harassed by an anonymous person for plagiarism of his newest book. It becomes a cat and mouse chase. Jake wants to know who’s out to get him. Secrets unravel throughout the discovery of where his story even came from. It was quite the read!⁣
⁣
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⁣
Thank you @netgalley and @celadonbooks for an ARC! The audio is fabulous as well. The narrator is fantastic!

Anybody can be a writer, but not everyone can be a great writer. Jacob Finch Bonner has hit bottom, after writing a successful novel, he is deep in the throes of writers block. When he hears about a plot that’s got the makings of a best seller written all over it, he ends up appropriating it for himself. Flying high on the success of his phenomenal new best seller, Crib, the unthinkable happens. He’s soon getting emails accusing him of plagiarism. There is no way anyone could know. He was extremely careful, wasn’t he? Can a plot be stolen anyway? Someone knows and that someone isn’t about to let things go! A story full of twists, which I figured out very early on, but that didn’t make this story any less readable! Not a huge fan of the narrator at the start, but as the book progressed I found myself caught up in the story and forgot about the narrator. A book that will be enjoyed by many!

“The Plot” does for the publishing world what Korelitz’ earlier novel “Admission” did for the Ivy League admissions process – namely give the reader an insider’s perspective of a highly competitive industry.

Jacob Finch Bonner is a one-hit wonder of an author, who is now making his meager living as a creative writing instructor at a low-ranked, low-residency MFA program. When an obnoxious student shares his idea for a unique plot, only to die shortly thereafter without executing his idea, Jake decides it is a story worth telling, so he will write the book instead.

His book -- titled “The Plot” -- hits the best-seller list, and Jake basks in the accolades. Shortly thereafter, Jake is cyber-stalked by “Talented Tom” who taunts, “You are a thief.” Tension builds as Jake attempts to trace the identity of Talented Tom back to the MFA program and simultaneously mitigate the threat of being exposed as a plagiarist.

As the title would suggest, this novel is plot driven. The characters are not particularly likeable or well-developed. If anything, the publishing industry may be the most interesting “character.” I enjoyed references to famous authors, MFA programs, artistic communities like Yaddo, book tours, literary scandals, and the legalities of borrowing versus plagiarizing. Often with suspense/mystery novels, there are not enough topics for a lively book club discussion. Not so with “The Plot.” The many ethical decision points facing Jake provide ample fodder.

A note on the audio version: the narrator’s voice sounded mechanical to me initially. Think of a GPS voice. I wondered if this was intentional -- to go with Jake’s bland personality. Eventually, I got used to it and did a combination of audio and reading.

Jake Bonner, creative writing teacher and struggling author, needs an idea for his next novel. To rub salt in his wounds, an egotistical student, Evan Parker, shares his work in progress, and Jake realizes this plot is good, like best-seller good.

When Evan dies suddenly, Jake feels like you couldn’t write a twist any better; he must write Evan’s unfinished story for him. Jake goes on to have stellar success with the book he titles, The Crib. But then he receives a cryptic email stating, “you’re a thief.”

Jake starts digging into how Evan came up with the idea or from whose life? It seems someone wants Jake’s book silenced.

THE PLOT raises the ethical question of stealing others’ work and at what point that starts and ends. The clever story within a story and nods to the reading life make this truly a booklover’s mystery.

I read this with @booksandcoffeemx and our fun #booksncoffeebookclub

Thank you to @celdonbooks @stmartinspress for my #gifted copies and @netgalley and @macmillianaudio for the audiobook.

REVIEW: The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz
⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Plot overall was a really good read and was quite unique. Jacob Bonner a former novelist with moderate success is a teacher of a less than stellar MFA creative writing program. A student of his named Evan Parker boastfully tells him he is writing a book with a plot so incredible; Oprah will want it in her book club and it is destined for the big screen. At first Jacob dismisses Evan's claim about his book as arrogance, that is until he hears the plot. After hearing Evan's plot, he agrees that Evan's book will indeed be a bestseller and made into a film - it is that good!

Jacob is incredibly jealous that Evan, a first- time narcissist writer will go on to have huge success with his book. Forlornly, he waits to hear about the book's success. However, the success never comes. He discovers Evan died before completing the book.It was never published. He decides he will take Evan's plot and complete the book himself. The book goes on to become a huge success bringing fame and fortune to Jacob. However, not everyone is celebrating his success. Someone in fact knows the plot was not his original idea and starts emailing him to let him know. What commences is a barrage of social media attacks on Jacob that threatens to expose him as a "thief" and throws his life into a tailspin.

What I loved most about this book is that it gets into a writer's head, their fears and experiences. I will say that I figured out who the villain/antagonist was as soon as they appeared in the book. Did it ruin the book for me? No, but it did diminish that wonderful feeling of the big reveal that all mystery readers want in the end of a book. Even knowing who the villain was it was nice to hear how they pulled off their malevolent deeds. Thank you @Netgalley @macmillan.audio & @celadonbooks for an advance audio copy of this book.

“You’re only as successful as the last book you published, and you’re only as good as the next book you’re writing. So shut up and write.”

Jacob Finch Bonner had some mild success with his first book, but couldn’t seem to follow that up with his subsequent efforts. He takes a job teaching at a third rate MFA program and stops writing. Then his arrogant student Evan Parker/Parker Evan informs him that he has come up with a plot twist to end all plot twists, and Jacob braces himself for the impact. Some time passes and Evan’s book still hasn’t been written, and after some digging he finds that he is dead. Is it immoral/illegal to use his late students idea to further his own success?

How thought provoking! What are the legal ramifications of stealing an idea...if that idea was never brought to fruition? This was a very enjoyable read for me. It is more of a slow burn thriller, but I felt that it worked here. I did guess both major “reveals” early on in the book, and I never see those things coming . But that actually added to my enjoyment of the story as it had me flipping those pages to see if I guessed right. The book within a book concept is weaved nicely into the story with actual pages of Jacob’s book Crib as chapters. I loved this as it had me trying to guess the plot of two stories at once!

Kirby Heyborne narrates the audio and he was fabulous! The way he did drunk characters was gold. The voice changes for the various characters was subtle, but enough that I could easily follow along with who was talking.

Thank you to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio and Celadon books for these ARC’s in exchange for an honest review.

Suspenseful, creepy and clever!
This book was a slow burn, the first part starts a little slow, but halfway through there’s a point were you just can’t stop reading, I needed to know what was happening, what and who was behind the real plot.
I loved the concept of the book, the story within a story, the character development and the end, it just blew my mind.

Thank you Celadon Books , St. Martin's Press , Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the gifted copies.

https://www.instagram.com/booksandcoffeemx/

-Genre⁠
Thriller⁠
⁠
-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 hasn’t written anything in years. When Evan Parker, his most arrogant student, announces he doesn’t need Jake’s help, Jake dismisses the boast. But then . . . he hears the plot.⁠
⁠
Jake braces himself for the supernova publication of Evan’s first novel: but it never comes. When he discovers that Evan has died, Jake does what any self-respecting writer would do with a story like that . . . In a few short years, Jake is wealthy, famous, and read all over the world. But then an anonymous e-mail arrives: You are a thief.⁠
⁠
-How it made you feel⁠
As a voracious reader AND a librarian who knows a little bit about the publishing world, copyright, and intellectual property, this book made me feel like an insider. ⁠
⁠
-Favorite part⁠
I enjoyed all the discussions and descriptions of plot, writing, plagiarism, intellectual property, and fame. ⁠
⁠
-One-word description⁠
Homonyms⁠
⁠
-Would you recommend?⁠
Yes, even though I guessed the big twist early on, I was eager to find out exactly how the twist would play out and unfold. A book about a book that contains excerpts of that book, a plot about plots. This feels very meta to me. Kind of hoping it makes the bestseller lists and the author goes on tour in our post Covid world. 😂⁠
⁠
While the subject matter is different, I felt like this might be a good readalike for Riley Sager’s Home Before Dark which contains another book within a book and spends some time looking at where stories come from.⁠
⁠
Thank you to @celadonbooks and @netgalley for my #gifted copy.

I must admit, I wasn't expecting too much from this title, especially after the slow start, but the author had won me over by the end. We are following an author who reaches the best seller list with a stolen plot line and soon the threatening letters start. It doesn't take long to figure out who is behind these letters, but the more the author is digging into the threats, the more invested and interested I became as a reader and I definitely didn't see the ending coming! This would make a great beach read and I will be recommending this title to friends this summer!

I really, really enjoyed this book! The writing and development are the stars here. I loved the premise and story within a story which gave it an extra layer of intrigue. Jean Hanff Korelitz did a marvelous job developing the characters and weaving a thoroughly engaging story.

"Anyone can be a writer." Yes, this is true. Few though, can tell a story this well. I think the mystery/thriller genre has to be one of the most difficult forms of writing. Korelitz makes it appear so easy.

I did guess where it was going just before it got there- but that didn't matter in the least, if anything it made me more anxious to see how Korelitz would bring it all together. It was done beautifully.

I'll definitely be recommending this one to friends!

I gratefully received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

🌟Book Review🌟 The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5. Even though I figured out the ending to this book-within-a-book thriller, it didn’t make it any less fun watching everything fall into place.

I don’t often give thrillers five stars, but this one deserves them! I devoured this book. Mini-synopsis: A previously up-and-coming, but now struggling author/professor hears a sure-thing plot from one of his students that is too good not to steal. When the student dies, the author writes a novel using his student’s plot and receives world-wide acclaim. Things take a stressful turn, though, when he receives an email that simply states: “You are a thief.” I probably don’t have to tell you that things go downhill from there. Read if you like books about writers, books-within-books, meta storylines, and if you enjoy watching everything unfold even though you might have a pretty good idea of what is going to happen, alá Columbo. Be warned that the beginning is slooooowwww — hang in there until things get going! I switched back and forth between the audio book and the eARC, ultimately finishing with the eARC because I needed answers faster than the narrator was giving them to me!

Thank you to Netgalley, Jean Hanff Korelitz, MacMillan Audio, and Celadonbooks for the ALC and ARC.

My review will be posted on Instagram (@sanfranliterarygal) and Goodreads on publication day.

Jacob Finch Bonner was once a promising novelist but now teaching in a third-rate MFA program. He is struggling to write his next book until he meets Evan Parker, his most arrogant student with a very very good plot.

Fast forward to a few years, Jake is now a well-known author with a highly successful novel which will soon be adapted into a movie. Everyone is reading his book and his success seems unstoppable until an email arrives one day with the message, "You are a thief."

As far as Jake knows, Evan has died suddenly and his book was never materialized before he decides to take the plot for himself writing his best selling novel. But the email haunts him and Jake who is not willing to be exposed, decides to dig into Evan's past.

My thoughts: This was a WOWZA for me! It was crazy but so good! I enjoyed everything about this book - writing, plot (no pun intended), characters and the ending especially.

It is a book within a book format where the author brilliantly weaves Jake's story and his best selling novel together. Both the stories intertwined at some point and it makes sense somehow. The ending blew my mind away!

I loved these flawed well-developed characters. It was a slow-burn story especially in the first two chapters. I LOVED the wordy writing style and I think it gives so much depth to the characters - their feelings and thoughts. It reminds me of Keigo Higashino's writing style which I enjoyed immensely!

I alternated this book between the audio and print version. The narrator did a great job and I highly recommend the audiobook too!

I ended up enjoying this book more than I'd expected - I LOVED it! A solid five star read for me! If you're looking for a slow-burn psychological suspense/thriller, give this a read!


Pub. Date: May 11th, 2021

***Thank you Celadon Books, Macmillan Audio, author Jean Hanff Korelitz and NetGalley for this gifted reading and listening copy.***

The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz is a slow burn mystery/thriller that centers around a struggling writer named Jacob Finch Bonner who ends up stealing the plot of another writer's book. This one definitely took me a decent amount of time to get into, but after I did I found it to be quite enjoyable. I thought of it more as a mystery than as a thriller and had no idea who the mysterious person calling Bonner a thief could possibly be. I found myself cringing quite a bit at the choices Bonner makes, and as he searches for the person calling him out online, the story is quite suspenseful. So if you think it starts slow, just wait because the end will make it worth it!

I did listen to the audio via NetGalley and unfortunately, their app is not good, and it made the narrator sound a lot like a robot. However, from what I could tell of Kirby Heyborne's narration, he did a really good job, and I was really impressed with all of his inflections. I would definitely listen to him again (not on the NetGalley Shelf app) to see what he sounds like normally. I think going the audio route really helped me with the slow pacing of the novel at first, and once I got to about the halfway point I didn't want to put it down. I am still coming to terms with the end (WHAT), but it was not at all what I was expecting, and I am shook. The Plot has been called clever by a lot of readers and I am definitely inclined to agree.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

As you can tell from my rating, I actually really liked this book. I did, however, have some trouble getting into this one, mostly because I find the whole pretense of a book written about a supposed “sensational” book to be…well, pretentious. I’m not sue Jacob Finch Bonner’s plot would have been as earth-shattering as it’s implied to be in this work of fiction, but that is my personal opinion.

Unfortunately, I saw the novel’s actual plot twist coming starting from page 79, and it drove me crazy that the supposedly smart, Jake, did not see it coming as well. This is usually something that makes me put down a novel and never pick it back up, but this novel was an exception. Why? Because it was so well written and Jake’s character is so believable and well-developed that I wanted to see if he ever figured out the truth, and what he would do when he did.

Jake’s journey is pretty breath-taking, and even though he is technically in the wrong, you will find yourself rooting for him throughout the novel, which makes the whole thing very much worth the read.