Ask any writer and they’ll tell you that trying to break into traditional publishing is harder than ever. Too many writers chasing too few agents who are only looking for books they can pitch in a few words. Too many publishers who only want writers who are already TikTok stars. And what about AI?
While all writers are readers, most readers are not writers, so it’s puzzling that publishing is so enamored of plots featuring writers. Do books about stolen manuscripts really make that much money? The latest author to set her thriller in the world of publishing is Stephanie Wrobel (I reviewed her debut, Darling Rose Gold, in 2020). Her new book, Revenge Plot, features a deranged writer who’s willing to do anything to get his manuscript in the hands of a powerful agent. Its snowy, isolated location initially makes the book feel like a Misery clone. But Wrobel has a lot more twists up her sleeve.
Literary agent Claudia Conley planned on spending Christmas alone at an isolated Catskills AirBnB. But when Arnie Tenderton and his young son crash into a tree right in front of her house, she has no choice but to let them in out of the snow while they wait for a tow truck. At first, things are warm and cozy. Claudia cooks dinner and sympathizes with Arnie’s plight as a widower. But as the conversation develops, Arnie reveals he knows just who Claudia is—and is angry that she rejected his novel. After she slips and hits her head, Claudia wakes to find herself tied up and forced to read Arnie’s novel.
And the reader is, too. (Not the tied-up part.)
The book-within-a-book concept threw me a little, but soon I became just as engrossed by Arnie’s protagonist as I was with Wrobel’s. When Claudia shows up as a major character in Arnie’s book, it becomes clear that Arnie’s goal isn’t just to get published.
While Arnie and Claudia are both seriously flawed protagonists, Neve, the heroine of Arnie’s book, is not flawed (although she’s a little unbelievable), and I read her story with a developing sense of dread over her fate. There are two good twists in the book—one I predicted, and the other I did not. The storytelling is fast-paced and the prose easily accessible. The ending is pitch perfect. I read the book in a single day.
Will Revenge Plot appeal to readers who aren’t writers? It definitely should. But there are certain elements—such as Claudia’s speech about how the industry wouldn’t exist without writers—that will resonate especially to those who have been ignored by agents, ghosted on fulls, died on submission, and dropped by publishers.
Revenge is a dish best served chilled.
Thanks to Berkley for the book in exchange for an honest review.
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