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The Book Series #1
The Plot
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Mystery & Thriller (2021)Jean Hanff Korelitz’s The Plot is a psychologically suspenseful novel about a story too good not to steal, and the writer who steals it.
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?
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?
320 pages, Hardcover
First published May 11, 2021
About the author
Jean Hanff Korelitz
17 books3,148 followersAuthor of nine novels: THE SEQUEL (2024), THE LATECOMER (2022), THE PLOT (The Tonight Show's "Summer Reads" pick for 2021), THE UNDOING, originally published as YOU SHOULD HAVE KNOWN (adapted by David E. Kelley for HBO and starring Nicole Kidman, Hugh Grant and Donald Sutherland), ADMISSION (adapted as the 2013 film of the same name, starring Tina Fey, Lily Tomlin and Paul Rudd), THE DEVIL AND WEBSTER, THE WHITE ROSE, THE SABBATHDAY RIVER and A JURY OF HER PEERS, as well as a middle-grade reader, INTERFERENCE POWDER, and a collection of poetry, THE PROPERTIES OF BREATH.
Watch for television adaptations of THE PLOT and THE LATECOMER!
I'm the founder of BOOKTHEWRITER, a New York City based service that offers "Pop-Up Book Groups" where readers can discuss books with their authors in person and online. Please join our mailing list at www.bookthewriter.com to hear about our events.
If you've become aware of my work via THE UNDOING, you should know that my novel differs significantly from the adaptation -- and that's fine with me! Just know that the twists you might be expecting will likely not be there on the page. Other twists, yes, but you'll have to read the book to find them.
If you're trying to reach me, please know that I don't do any communicating through Goodreads, and that includes FRIEND REQUESTS AND FOLLOWING. (You may also infer that I've read more than the few books listed here, all of which are -- coincidence? -- written by me. I have another GOODREADS account, under another name, with which I keep track of my reading, but it's private.) I'm particularly inept on Facebook, as well, so trying to reach me that way will be spectacularly ineffective. If you want to get in touch, please use the contact form on my website, jeanhanffkorelitz.com
Thanks so much for your interest in my work!
Jean Hanff Korelitz
Watch for television adaptations of THE PLOT and THE LATECOMER!
I'm the founder of BOOKTHEWRITER, a New York City based service that offers "Pop-Up Book Groups" where readers can discuss books with their authors in person and online. Please join our mailing list at www.bookthewriter.com to hear about our events.
If you've become aware of my work via THE UNDOING, you should know that my novel differs significantly from the adaptation -- and that's fine with me! Just know that the twists you might be expecting will likely not be there on the page. Other twists, yes, but you'll have to read the book to find them.
If you're trying to reach me, please know that I don't do any communicating through Goodreads, and that includes FRIEND REQUESTS AND FOLLOWING. (You may also infer that I've read more than the few books listed here, all of which are -- coincidence? -- written by me. I have another GOODREADS account, under another name, with which I keep track of my reading, but it's private.) I'm particularly inept on Facebook, as well, so trying to reach me that way will be spectacularly ineffective. If you want to get in touch, please use the contact form on my website, jeanhanffkorelitz.com
Thanks so much for your interest in my work!
Jean Hanff Korelitz
Ratings & Reviews
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 30, 2025
4.3*
Thriller literari intel·ligent i addictiu amb un final que encara que pugui resultar predictible, no perd el seu poder gràcies a una execució magistral. Korelitz construeix una paranoia creixent al voltant d'un escriptor fracassat que s'apropia d'una trama brillant i aconsegueix l'èxit, només per descobrir que algú coneix el seu secret. La prosa és afilada, els diàlegs plens de ferotge ironia i l'anàlisi del món editorial, brutalment exacte.
El gir final és brillant per la seva coherència temàtica, no per la sorpresa pura: Korelitz no amaga les pistes sinó que les camufla a la vista de tothom, fent que el lector s'adoni que, en el fons, ja ho sabia des del principi. És aquesta satisfacció narrativa —juntament amb la profunditat psicològica dels personatges— el que converteix el llibre en una experiència compensadora. No és un gir que et deixi sense alè; és un que et fa preguntar-te sobre els límits de la creativitat i la culpa.
Thriller literari intel·ligent i addictiu amb un final que encara que pugui resultar predictible, no perd el seu poder gràcies a una execució magistral. Korelitz construeix una paranoia creixent al voltant d'un escriptor fracassat que s'apropia d'una trama brillant i aconsegueix l'èxit, només per descobrir que algú coneix el seu secret. La prosa és afilada, els diàlegs plens de ferotge ironia i l'anàlisi del món editorial, brutalment exacte.
El gir final és brillant per la seva coherència temàtica, no per la sorpresa pura: Korelitz no amaga les pistes sinó que les camufla a la vista de tothom, fent que el lector s'adoni que, en el fons, ja ho sabia des del principi. És aquesta satisfacció narrativa —juntament amb la profunditat psicològica dels personatges— el que converteix el llibre en una experiència compensadora. No és un gir que et deixi sense alè; és un que et fa preguntar-te sobre els límits de la creativitat i la culpa.
May 17, 2026
Exemple de com una traducció deficient pot esguerrar un llibre correcte. Història entretinguda, no m'ha semblat que el gir fos tan inesperat però.
May 2, 2026
Es sorprenent una novel·la on les coses no acaben com el lector desitjaria i, no obstant això, resulta d'allò més convincent. Bona història, bon desenvolupament i bon ritme narratiu. Sorpresa final i bon humor. Què més es pot demanar?
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews