The Plot, a novel by Joan Hariff Koreltz held me captive from beginning to end. The contemporary story mostly takes place in New York.

Novelist Jake Bonner’s first book was met with a fair amount of success. His second novel, not so much. Now he’s reluctantly teaching in a third-rate Master of Fine Arts program. Jake dreads the school term, interacting with dreary colleagues, and not looking forward to another batch of eager students. Jake is tired of pretending he is still a great writer when he knows he hasn’t written anything worthwhile in years.

One of Jake’s students, arrogant Evan Parker, claims he doesn’t really need help because his book in progress is a sure thing. Jake assumes Evan’s boasts are the imaginations of an amateur. That is, until he hears the plot and reads the first few pages.

As Jake plugs along he frequently checks to see if Parker’s novel is published. But it never happens. In researching further, he learns that Evan Parker has died, apparently without finishing his novel. What should he do? The story needs to be told, and he’s just the one who should do it. Jake writes the story and the novel is a sensation beyond his wildest dreams.

But not all is hunky-dory. He starts getting dark messages on social media: “You are a thief,” “You are a fraud.” Then his publisher starts receiving them. Jake has a meeting with the publisher and they determine the messages are just a prank. Forget about it. But Jake cannot ignore it.

While on tour Jake is interviewed on a radio station. While there he meets Anna Williams and they eventually marry. Anna, too, encourages him to forget about the ever-increasing dark remarks.

But the accusations become more threatening and he can no longer ignore the insidious statements. He travels to his former student’s home town to try to get to the bottom of the source. Jake finds what he believes to be key to the accusations.

The Plot is a very cleverly written novel that takes surprising turns. As a writer, I very much enjoyed this story and recommend it to not only writers, but to anyone who enjoys a good nail-biting tale.