THE SEQUEL

5 stars out of 5

Two observations right up front: I will happily read any book this talented author writes (so far, I've read three others). And although this book technically is the (ahem!) sequel to her book, The Plot, it stands on its own quite well -  although I highly recommend reading that one just because it's so doggone good. 

As this one begins, Jacob Finch Bonner, the primary subject of the previous book, is dead and gone - leaving behind his wife Anna Williams-Bonner. His novel - the one he stole from one of his college students, is hugely successful. Accusations of plagairism that cropped up earlier are a thing of the past, and Anna is looking at a good life thanks to his royalty checks. When she was casually asked what she'll do next, though, she joked about plans to write a novel of her own titled The Afterword. 

Encouraged by her editor - and her own belief, after watching her husband's efforts, that she's more than up to the task - that joke turns into reality. After very little effort, she's got a best-seller of her own - and a whole lot of new problems. They come in the form of an excerpt from a not-so-different novel - one that doesn't exist, as far as she's concerned. But apparently, she's wrong; and with the pages come threats of exposure of not only her husband's past transgressions, but (gasp!) of her own.

What to do, what to do? Start following a trail that will lead to the someone who knows too much and seems intent on bringing her down - what else? The rest of the story follows Anna as she sets out on a path - one with plenty of twists, turns and surprises - to right what she considers to be an egregious wrong and get back to the life she believes she deserves. All told, it's a delicious tale and a book I found hard to put down (put another way, wowser!). I heartily thank the publisher for making a pre-release copy available to me to read and review.

The Sequel by Jean Hanff Korelitz (Celadon Books, October 2024); 304 pp.