Thursday, April 9, 2026

The Sequel - Jean Hanff Korelitz ---------------- 4 Stars

5 years ago I read and reviewed The Plot. Surprisingly, even to myself who just looked back, this earned 4.5 stars; a rating given to a very small minority of books that I review. While I certainly didn't remember the book being that good, if its similar at all to it's sequel, The Sequel, I can see why I may have given it such a strong rating. Both books are super engaging and real page turners which is often how I determine who much I enjoy a book. As you can see with the 4 stars earned by The Sequel, I certainly I enjoyed it too.

Hard to share much about the plot of The Sequel if you haven't already read The Plot (was that as confusing to read as it was to write?). As it's the follow up to the first book, not surprisingly it takes over pretty much right as the last novel concluded. I read a few reviews saying that this book really did too much to remind the reader of all that went on. And, while I did forget much of the original book (having read it five years ago), I did find it a bit of a slow start as the author really went out of her way to rehash much of what happened in the last book. But, I actually appreciated it as I really did like so much of important details that were retold as it helped set up the reader to most enjoy what was coming.

There are many parts of the book I enjoyed. I liked the mystery aspects that were core the most. Basically, the book spends most of the time focused on who might be the person doing some nefarious things to the new protagonist of this novel. The author does a nice job of having a few leads followed time and again while keeping the reader in suspense of what might be actually taking place. 

The book is told in first person so that also kept me engaged. The person telling is it fairly reliable but also fairly psychotic so it was actually a good mix of humor and seriousness about what is going on. I found the writing crisp and often I found myself wanting to continue after each chapter end to learn more. I did find it was slower at the start at mentioned above, but after getting a good refresher about the past book it picked up fairly quickly.

I do recommend the book if you want an engaging "whodunit" mystery that it's a not too long page turner. I would suggest picking up the original and reading that first before taking this one on. There is nothing worst than trying to read The Sequel, a sequel, without knowing the plot of The Plot to ensure you understand how The Sequel's plot related to The Plot :)