The Sequel

A Novel

By: Jean Hanff Korelitz

Narrated by: Julia Whelan

Long-listed, Barnes and Noble Best New Books of the Year, 2024

Long-listed, Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year, 2024

"Fans of The Plot, and they were legion, will rejoice at this sequel, performed with mesmerizing skill by the wonderful Julia Whelan...Whelan's achievement here seems like a little miracle, relentlessly compelling and wonderfully satisfying."—AudioFile (Earphones Award Winner)

After the “insanely readable” (Stephen King) and “perfectly told” (Malcolm Gladwell) New York Times bestseller The Plot comes Jean Hanff Korelitz’s equally captivating new novel: The Sequel.

Anna Williams-Bonner has taken care of business. That is to say, she’s taken care of her husband, bestselling novelist Jacob Finch Bonner, and laid to rest those anonymous accusations of plagiarism that so tormented him. Now she is living the contented life of a literary widow, enjoying her husband’s royalty checks in perpetuity, but for the second time in her life, a work of fiction intercedes, and this time it’s her own debut novel, The Afterword. After all, how hard can it really be to write a universally lauded bestseller?

But when Anna publishes her book and indulges in her own literary acclaim, she begins to receive excerpts of a novel she never expected to see again, a novel that should no longer exist. That it does means something has gone very wrong, and someone out there knows far too much: about her late brother, her late husband, and—just possibly—Anna, herself. What does this person want and what are they prepared to do? She has come too far, and worked too hard, to lose what she values most: the sole and uncontested right to her own story. And she is, by any standard, a master storyteller.

With her signature wit and sardonic humor, Jean Hanff Korelitz gives listeners an antihero to root for while illuminating and satirizing the world of publishing in this deliciously fun and suspenseful read.

A Macmillan Audio production from Celadon Books.

©2024 Jean Hanff Korelitz (P)2024 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"It’s another taut and compulsively readable spellbinder from Korelitz."—Publishers Weekly, STARRED

“Fans of Korelitz’s literary thriller The Plot will (manuscript theft! identity theft! murder most foul! soup!) get excited for the sequel: The Sequel, in which a certain author’s widow decides to write her own book—and discovers that she’s not the only one who knows a few secrets after all. Fun.”—LitHub, Most Anticipated Books of 2024

"[A] hilariously snippy and deliciously mean satire of the publishing world in addition to a nail-biting suspense novel."—BookPage, STARRED

Great follow-up book!

Wow! So excited to get this book I binge read it! So makes you wonder if Jean “plotted” this while writing “The Plot,” as it so seamlessly expands the known universe of it! Absolutely appreciated the narrator this time out - the prior one was so awful I physically read the book instead. Also makes me wonder (and hope) if there this will become a trilogy (no spoiler alerts here).

The Sequel is as great as The Plot

Intelligently written, more like literature than chick lit. Non shop suspense. I can’t wait for the sequel. Hope the author is working on it.

Another solid work

This work is certainly not as great as The Plot was yet this is still a quality work. As the narrator herself offers, "the sequel is never as good as the original". Yet, nobody is going to hold that against Korelitz. This is worth the buy and worth the read.

Compelling story masterfully narrated

I was fully engrossed as the story revealed one twist after another. The story is multi-layered and it’s true you needn’t read The Plot to understand The Sequel.

Page turner - flew through it

Wish I could read another from this author. Super pacey. I liked the concept of hearing from another characters perspective in this one. Want more

First, the narrator. Should definitely be nominated for audible awards

Well, rounded characters intriguing story can't wait for the follow up as this cannot be the end maybe a prequel included with an additional new beginning for the character

Wicked good

This was more of an expansion of the previous story than a sequel, but I still couldn’t stop listening. Narration excellent, of course.

IKYFL

SPOILER
What was that ending??? The narration was top notch- of course it’s Julia! That ending left me feeling like the 2024 election result. The bad guy always gets away with it.

Parts coming together from both novels

Love the twists and turns. Narrator excellent. Spellbinding. Answers questions from first novel. Noce to root for an evil villain

I kept listening because of the narrator

I consider any book narrated by Julia Whelan, one of the best voices out there, and she never lets me down. I enjoyed the first book in this series, but this book was just too similar, and I tired of spending so much time on a deeply unlikable protagonist. I hope the author moves on to more interesting characters worthy of her talent as a writer.