Preview

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Plot

By: Jean Hanff Korelitz
Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $20.24

Buy for $20.24

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

"I think Jean Hanff Korelitz’s The Plot is one of the best novels I’ve ever read about writers and writing. It’s also insanely readable and terrifying. The suspense quotient is through the roof...It’s remarkable." (Stephen King)

Hailed as "breathtakingly suspenseful", Jean Hanff Korelitz’s The Plot is a propulsive audiobook 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 email 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?

A Macmillan Audio production from Celadon Books

"Narrator Kirby Heyborne maintains the brisk pace and firm tension of what promises to be one of the summer's most talked about suspense novels." (AudioFile Magazine)

©2021 Jean Hanff Korelitz (P)2021 Macmillan Audio
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Critic reviews

Amazon.com Best Books of the Year, 2021: Long-listed

New York Times Book Review Notable Books of the Year, 2021: Long-listed

Washington Post Best Books of the Year, 2021: Long-listed

What listeners say about The Plot

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,346
  • 4 Stars
    947
  • 3 Stars
    443
  • 2 Stars
    159
  • 1 Stars
    105
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,240
  • 4 Stars
    706
  • 3 Stars
    373
  • 2 Stars
    140
  • 1 Stars
    147
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,248
  • 4 Stars
    765
  • 3 Stars
    360
  • 2 Stars
    121
  • 1 Stars
    101

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Predictable

This is a decent, well told story. However, the plot is predictable, the characters unlikeable, and the unfolding of the supposedly perfect plot tedious. Not bad, but I can’t understand the acclaim.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

I liked this

I have seen quite many negative reviews, but this is not a bad story. Maybe it is due to myself being a writer and translator? Figuring out the end was not too difficult but how we would end up there was an interesting journey.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Push past the slow start for a deeply engaging story

Unexpected twists, but especially enjoyed the questions the story raises about plot ownership and is there a responsibility to tell a story if it comes to you?

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Good but not Great.

Very slow to begin and didn't care for the narration. the tone was very monotonous. Story eventually got better but it was predictable.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Entertaining but predictable

Great story, but the ending was pretty obvious about halfway through the book. Worth a listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Slow start, but worth the read!

I struggled to remain interested in the first third of the book, but was pleased that I continued! This is a great story!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

too predictable

The narration was fine. The book was sparse with its scene setting and characterization, so the story bears most of the weight. But, without spoiling it, the number and arrangement of characters was such that the central mystery was far too obvious, far too early, and knowing something the protagonist didn't know wasn't all that satisfying--I would rather have had him find out sooner and have more of the plot unfold under that circumstance.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

The Plot has a plot worth reading

Chose this book based on Jimmy Fallon’s recommendation. Slow beginning but very interesting concept. Can’t say my ch more without giving plot away. The performer did a good job distinguishing the different characters through his various voices. I would recommend this book to others.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good?

Interesting story. Some parts were predictable? But overall good and entertaining from the beginning to end.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Slow start, ends strong

Narration is lacking but the end was worth the patience, maybe skip the first hundred pages or so

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!