Thank you to NetGalley, Celadon Books, and author Jean Hanff Korelitz for this ARC of The Sequel, a psychological thriller.

The first novel of this series, The Plot, was a favorite for me so this was an automatic NetGalley request.

I love the snarky personality of this main character, Anna, the widow of Jake, the late author of the wildly successful book, The Crib, in the first novel.
Though she is not an obvious sympathetic character, I relished being inside her sociopathic (but often rational) mind, as the book contains a stream of her thoughts. She sees through BS, of which there was much around her.

The chapter titles are both indicative of the upcoming plot point as well as the names of famous sequel novels, referenced at the end of the book.
Like the first book, the writing is complex. It’s a book through which one cannot likely mentally coast.

I enjoyed learning - and sympathizing about - how Anna came to be so dark. All she’d ever wanted was peace, and certain men had stolen that from her literally and figuratively. She had only ever wanted to own her own life story.

Anna pokes silent fun at the pretentious publishing industry even as she enjoys its benefits from her late husband Jake’s royalties, from her role as his executor, and from her status of “celebrated literary widow.”

Anna then endeavors to write her own novel, the path pre-paved for her due to her husband’s literary connections. She thus easily navigates the fickle and privileged literary world that she deigns to inhabit.

We get a front-row experience of what business duty entails that of a successful, published author and the tedious requirements of literary fame.

At some such public book signing one fateful day Anna receives a disturbing post-it note: one from her sordid past.
This kicks off the action of the story, propelling it into a (still literary) thriller.

I found myself rooting for Anna, especially at the end of the story. She is clever (whereas many other characters are not), sarcastic, and with secrets to protect. She knew her crimes were unpleasant, but they were each the only plan she’d ever had.

The ending is left ambiguous, hinting at more of this series. Yes, please.

Thoroughly entertaining!
Four stars.

Spoilers ahead about “The Plot,” but no spoilers for “The Sequel.”

I’m supposing most people would read the “The Plot” before picking up “The Sequel” (truly a sequel), but I was listening closely at the beginning and a standalone reader won’t find out until chapter nine that our main character, Anna, might not be the grieving widow of a bestselling author, Jacob Finch Bonner, who was supposedly driven to suicide by claims of plagiarism, but that she is the serial killer of at least her parents, brother, daughter, daughter’s friend and her truly plagiaristic husband. “The Plot” was very twisty and twisted and it ended with the wisdom “be careful what you plagiarize (!)” and the fact that Anna/Samantha/Diandra/Diane (who is actually the real main character of her dead brother’s stolen book) has gotten away with it all.

In “The Sequel” we discover “grieving” widow Anna just can’t stay satisfied living off her husband’s estate and royalties, and decides to write her own book “The Afterword” (I will not be surprised if author Korelitz titles a third book exactly that). Surprise! It’s not plagiarized and Anna is apparently a decent debut writer. But her new found fame stirs up a hornet’s nest not unlike the one that Jacob experienced. Except it’s not Anna doing the haunting; she’s the one being haunted. Trying to finally settle into a bestseller writer’s life means that she must still clean up the questions that Jacob was investigating when he went too far digging into the life of the real author, Evan Parker.

We get a multi-layered portrayal of a morally corrupt lead character, but the author, and especially superstar narrator Julia Whelan of the audiobook, allow us to actually sort of root for her. But will Anna get away again? Korelitz also takes more wry digs at the inner world of novel writing and publishing (I’m assuming she has a really good relationship with her agent and editor). This sequel is just as good as the original — 5 stars! I recommend that you listen to Julie Whelan’s narration — she totally brings Anna to life!

Thank you to Celadon for an advanced reader copy and to Macmillan Audio for the advanced audio copy!

As much as I loved The Plot, I was somewhat disappointed in The Sequel. Maybe I was expecting too much given how absorbed I was in The Plot, but this one felt a bit flat. The main character was as chilling as one would expect, but the narrative did not move at the same pace, and it was not as full of twists and surprises as the original. I will continue to read all the author writes, as I think she is fabulous, but this one was not one of my favorites.

This novel is a sequel both in story and reality, but it stands on its own as an equally compelling original. The wife of a famous author (a suicide) decides to write a novel of her own experience as his wife and the aftermath, and it only becomes clear (though there are intriguing clues) that the narrator is unreliable as the story proceeds. Many plot twists keep the reader guessing and wondering just who to root for as the story unfolds, and the detailed plot and character studies make the novel a pleasure to come back to.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from The Sequel. I had read The Plot, but where could that story go next? I really enjoyed following Anna. She’s unlikable and always scheming. You’re always trying to figure out how she can escape her problems. I did think the first half of the book was slow, but by the end I couldn’t put it down. Do a quick refresh of The Plot, then enjoy this one. Thanks to Celadon Books for the ARC through NetGallery.

And she's back! Anna Williams Bonner has done what she has to do to keep her secret (this is the story of The Plot). She's also written a successful book on her own terms. But just when she thought she was safe, Anna receives a letter that lets her know someone out there knows who she is and what she has done.

This was another wild ride. Anna is a very unlikeable character, but she is so good at being bad that you can't stop reading. I enjoyed this story.

I will admit I was not the biggest fan of The Plot when it initially came out. But I was intrigued enough to read the sequel. At some parts of the book I felt like this book was fantastic (especially with all the twists and turns) but others I felt like I was reading The Plot again. Overall, I enjoyed this sequel much more than the original. Fun story with lots of twists to keep you on your toys!

I received a free advanced copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Big thanks to NetGalley for access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Sequel is the follow up novel to The Plot which was released in 2021. While I did enjoy the first novel this sequel just didn't do it for me. The story line and obviously the plot of the first book was intriguing however the point of view was from Bonner and there was a lot of extra rambling and unnecessary information that was given throughout the story. In this sequel, we are reading from Anna's POV but her voice seems exactly the same. At 40% through the book we finally find out what the thriller element is...this is if you can make it through the first half of the repetitive rambling to get you there. Anna is an unlikable character if you read the first book abd she continues to be horrible in this sequel. Unfortunately after reading over half of this book I just was not interested and felt my time would be better spent reading something that I actually enjoyed. This is not to say that the author is bad...you can tell by the writingstyle they are extremely talented, this story just was not for me.

The sequel to the plot was another very similar story of plagerism that is possible is so many ways within the world of literature. Will she fully be discovered and how are parts of the story coming to her when she thought everything was covered. Lots of ideas with how publishing and creative ownership/rights can work.

The Plot was a book that I have not been able to stop thinking about since I read it two years ago. The twists and turns in that book were incredible and I had no idea where it was going. The ending really threw me for a loop!

When I found out The Sequel was coming out I was so excited. And it did not disappoint! It picked up right where The Plot left off and kept me guessing the entire time. The Sequel truly lets you into the world of Anna and allows you to see just how far she will go to keep her identity a secret. This book was wonderful and I would definitely recommend it. I also believe there is enough of the back story within this story that it could work for readers as a standalone.

Thank you for this advanced copy!

Did Not Finish--40 percent

All, do not read this review if you have not read the first book in the series, "The Plot."

I have tried to finish this book for weeks now. Sorry, not sorry, I just threw in the white flag of DNFs everywhere. I think the biggest issue is, there is no need for this sequel. I think the first book stood alone, but instead we have a sequel following an unlikable character who is also boring as hell. I just cannot read a book about writing a book again. It just is too tedious for words. And the character of Anna just needed to slink off somewhere in the night instead of being resurrected in this.

I finally got to the 40 percent mark and just could not go on anymore. The biggest reasons were:

1. Anna is not a compelling character. What made the first book so good in my opinion is that you are blind sided by the reveals about her. This one is not interesting, because readers already know what she's capable of. And I think turning her into a best-selling author just made me roll my eyes. It felt very cliche and also the opposite of what the character was in the first book. She wanted to keep her real story from being revealed. Why would she then decide to go out there and become a celebrity (when she hates people by the way) and feed that part that didn't seem to be a part of her make-up. I was just over it after a while.

2. Other characters are not developed at all. Everyone felt like a badly written caricature and I just got really bored. What made "The Plot" so good was that you followed Jacob who we quickly find out is a morally gray character. You in turn feel sorry for him, also despise him, and then that ending. Woof. There is no character that is engrossing enough for me to care about while reading this book (see point #1 above). There's just Anna and others. And honestly that is what this book should have ben called.

3. The flow was awful. It just made me start to grind my teeth after a while because reading about Anna and her writing, reading about how she felt about her "fans", publicists, former bosses, and her secret being revealed had me going, oh my God who cares like a thousand times. This is just tedious and a lot should have been cut to just keep readers engaged.

4. After a while it just got boring to watch/read about how Anna was getting away with things.

5. I think that Korelitz needed another character to follow or something to grab you. I think "The Plot" worked so well because we got to see different timelines and then you are shifting between Jacob and others. Reading about just Anna and her point of view didn't really work.

In Jean Hanff Korelitz’s The Plot, Jacob Finch Bonner, a failed author turned teacher, encounters a man named Evan Parker in his MFA program. Parker, new to writing, shares an idea with Bonner that he felt would make a perfect novel. When Bonner hears that Parker passed away from a drug overdose before he got published, he decides to take the idea for himself. Crib, the novel based upon that idea, becomes a bestseller.

The Sequel, Koreltiz’s cleverly named follow-up to The Plot, is a thrilling mystery. Apologies for the spoilers, but, in the previous book, Bonner dies. The new book follows Anna, his wife, and the dramatic changes that occur in her life after his passing. She writes a book herself and things get intense. I would love to write more about each book, but, honestly, I’m afraid to say too much. Just do yourself a favor and read them both, okay?

I think you should read The Plot before you read this to really understand the nuance and brilliance of this novel. Anna is a novelist’s widow, and is now writing a book herself. Except her husband’s book, a bestseller, was based on her own true life, one that she has tried to keep hidden.
Her husband actually plagiarized his novel and stole it from Anna’s brother. The Sequel is a fun book, but The Plot was fantastic.

Thank you to #CeladonBooks and #NetGalley for a digital ARC of #TheSequel. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

The Sequel picks up where The Plot left off. Anna Williams-Bonner is the widow of acclaimed writer Jacob Finch Bonner. Since his unexpected death, she's been managing his literary legacy and working on her own book. When her book publishes and starts to get attention, the ghosts of her past come back to torment her. And Anna will do whatever she has to to keep control of her narrative.

I actually liked The Sequel more than The Plot. The Plot dragged in places and I saw the twist coming. But The Sequel kept me guessing until the very end.

This was fantastic. I really enjoyed reading it and didn’t want to put it down. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC!

The author of the very excellent THE PLOT returns with a not-so-excellent sequel, THE SEQUEL. Anna is the most unlikeable, uncaring, heartless, cruel, and nasty protagonist I have ever met. It took me awhile to remember plot points from the first book, which is definitely a must-read before tackling this book. Here, widow Anna is now a best-selling author herself, but when she is threatened, she turns deadly in so many ways. I really disliked the ending, surprised at how the author chose to close Anna's story. Unless she is planning a third book about Anna. If she writes another sequel, I will not be reading it. I loved THE PLOT, but THE SEQUEL is not a worthy follow-up. Thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for providing an ARC.

In this captivating sequel to The Plot, Anna Williams Bonner is enjoying the spotlight as a famous literary widow and now a best-selling author in her own right. Life couldn’t be better…until she gets a very unwelcome blast from the past. Turns out a certain pesky manuscript still exists, and someone is sending pages not just to her, but to her in-laws and editor. In order to keep her darkest secrets under wraps, she sets out to find out who’s stalking her and destroy the manuscript once and for all. And her mission quickly turns deadly.

While this sequel didn’t blow my mind the way the first book did, it was absolutely a great time. The twists were seemingly endless, and being inside Anna’s vaguely sociopathic mind was a lot of fun. What I didn’t expect was the way this book humanized Anna. By shedding light on previously unrevealed parts of her past, this book makes a very villainous character feel, if not relatable, at least somewhat sympathetic.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who read and enjoyed The Plot. It keeps the story of the first book going in a very fun and fresh way.

This book was an absolute delight. I enjoyed every moment of it. The strong voice carries through, the meta humor hits hard, and the twists remained absolute perfection. No notes.

It's been three winners in a row from Hanff Korelitz between The Latecomer, The Plot, and now The Sequel. Looking forward to her next one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon for the ARC.

A sequel to the very meta The Plot, The Sequel is a fun ride that takes off after the end of the first novel. This time, we follow Anna, Jake's wife, in the aftermath of his, ahem, death where she is both publishing her own book and trying to track down someone who knows . . . . what Jake did. Which also means they might know what SHE did. A very engaging follow up to what was a favorite of mine a couple years ago.

I enjoyed the chapter heads, all nods to famous book sequels. The meta-narrative was still there, though a bit more buried. And while Anna was a tough character so "like," as some have noted, I still found myself empathizing with her early life experiences and ultimately rooting for her. The novel doesn't work in the same ways as The Plot (which I do suggest reading first), but it's still a strong and fun follow up.

Maybe we'll even see a third in this series!

I love books and I love thrillers, so I especially love thrillers about books! <i>The Sequel</i> is a continuation of <i>The Plot</i> which I really enjoyed and definitely recommend reading first.

This book answered some questions about the first book and had its own set of mysteries and twists. I do think I enjoyed the first book more, but this was enjoyable!

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for providing me with an advance reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

Expected date of publication: October 1, 2024.