Jean Hanff Korelitz’s 2014 novel You Should Have Known – a murder story set on the Upper East Side – was turned into last year’s “must-watch” miniseries The Undoing, said Maureen Corrigan in The Washington Post. Now, she’s back with an equally propulsive work – a tale of “sticky fingers in the literary world”.
Jacob is a once-lauded author who now teaches “prose fiction” at a Vermont college. One day, a student tells him the plot of a novel he’s writing – and to Jacob’s surprise, it’s genuinely brilliant. When the student dies, Jacob incorporates the plot into his own novel – which, sure enough, becomes a massive bestseller.
At this point, the novel becomes a “Highsmithian psychological thriller”, said John Dugdale in The Sunday Times. Jacob starts receiving emails from someone calling himself “Talented Tom” – who knows about his theft. Turning detective, “he tries to identify his accuser in order to silence him”.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Part page-turner, part literary satire, The Plot is an “unusual mix”, said Katie Rosseinsky in the London Evening Standard, but “a thrilling one”.
Faber 336pp £8.99; The Week Bookshop £6.99
The Week Bookshop
To order this title or any other book in print, visit theweekbookshop.co.uk, or speak to a bookseller on 020-3176 3835. Opening times: Monday to Saturday 9am-5.30pm and Sunday 10am-4pm.
-
Le Pen back in the dock: the trial that’s shaking FranceIn the Spotlight Appealing her four-year conviction for embezzlement, the Rassemblement National leader faces an uncertain political future, whatever the result
-
The doctors’ strikesThe Explainer Resident doctors working for NHS England are currently voting on whether to go out on strike again this year
-
5 chilling cartoons about increasing ICE aggressionCartoons Artists take on respect for the law, the Fourth Amendment, and more
-
Book reviews: ‘American Reich: A Murder in Orange County; Neo-Nazis; and a New Age of Hate’ and ‘Winter: The Story of a Season’Feature A look at a neo-Nazi murder in California and how winter shaped a Scottish writer
-
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple – ‘a macabre morality tale’The Week Recommends Ralph Fiennes stars in Nia DaCosta’s ‘exciting’ chapter of the zombie horror
-
Bob Weir: The Grateful Dead guitarist who kept the hippie flameFeature The fan favorite died at 78
-
The Voice of Hind Rajab: ‘innovative’ drama-doc hybridThe Week Recommends ‘Wrenching’ film about the killing of a five-year-old Palestinian girl in Gaza
-
Off the Scales: ‘meticulously reported’ rise of OzempicThe Week Recommends A ’nuanced’ look at the implications of weight-loss drugs
-
A road trip in the far north of NorwayThe Week Recommends Perfect for bird watchers, history enthusiasts and nature lovers
-
Egg-fried rice recipeThe Week Recommends This tasty dish will serve you well on your Chinese cookery journey
-
6 inviting homes with event spacesFeature Featuring a Vermont compound with an airstrip and Virginia farm with a party barn
