Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

A Simple Plan
A Simple Plan
A Simple Plan
Audiobook13 hours

A Simple Plan

Written by Scott Smith

Narrated by Pete Bradbury

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

About this audiobook

A Simon & Schuster audiobook. Simon & Schuster has a great book for every listener.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateMar 8, 2011
ISBN9781442343245
A Simple Plan
Author

Scott Smith

Scott A. Smith is a fisheries biologist at the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries.

Related to A Simple Plan

Related audiobooks

Suspense For You

View More

Related articles

Related categories

Reviews for A Simple Plan

Rating: 4.172839506172839 out of 5 stars
4/5

81 ratings20 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    "A Simple Plan" has a simple premise - a group of people come across a whole bunch of money and then devise a plan to keep it - and not get caught. Smith turns this premise into a riveting suspense novel, with prose that is crisp and fast-paced. Smith is talented at plotting and setting a scene, but I think his strongest suit is the way he describes his characters - they are believable and relatable. If you've already seen the also-excellent film adaptation, the book still has some surprises in store. The movie differs from the book in several key plot points; about three quarters in, the book takes a pretty different (and pretty shocking) turn. Towards the end, the plotting got a bit excessive and strained believability, but overall, I think this is an excellent novel, and definitely impressive for a debut novel.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Not bad. I seem to remember watching the movie. I couldn't imagine doing the things that he did.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I liked the premise of this book but unfortunately, for me, I couldn't believe the main characters actions. Also some of the deductions made make Columbo look slow.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    A violent page-turner let down somewhat by a writing style that occasionally jarred me as simplistic and perhaps patronising. I did, however, finish the final third at top speed - the plot will get its hooks into you.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I loved the book but the movie did not do it justice. Also living in the area where the book takes place made the experience even better for me.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I liked the snowball effect in this story ... it starts out very simple and then gets more and more out of control. Once you take the first step in a plan, how easy or necessary is it to keep going? Very enjoyable.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Way too convoluted
    The premise was well written in the first chapter but after became boring and not wrapped in reality
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is not something I'd usually read.I bought it at an airport many years ago when I was afraid I was going to run out of the reading material I'd packed. That didn't happen, so it sat around for a number of years till I got round to reading it.Not much to say: it's a well-written thriller, better than most in the genre.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A Simple Plan is one of the best books I've read in recent years. Not only is it well-written, it takes a close look at the impact of our choices and explores the gray area of ethics. There are so many angles in this book - it just makes you think for months after you stop reading it. A sense of foreboding permeates the entire novel. It proceeds like an accident that you can't look away from. You want to scream at the characters - don't do that! - because some of the actions are painful to watch, yet utterly human.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Wow! This story takes hold and doesn’t let go! It provokes all of your emotions at one point or another. An horribly terrific tale!!! Highly recommend.. even if you have seen the movie. The book story is different.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Life in a midwestern town, turned on it's ear by unlooked for treasure, mystery, and a Dostoevsky-sense of foreboding in Mid-America.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I thought this was a very interesting story that showed how things can get out of control very fast and shows how greed is truly the root of all evil. I was not thrilled with the ending however. I think his 2nd book, "The Ruins" is much much better.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Protagonist made one dumb decision after another. The way he described his unborn daughter, followed by the way he described his relationship with her once she was born was sad and weird. Decent story with lots of potential that it didn’t live up to at all.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A SIMPLE PLAN is a modern-day morality tale. In a relentless progression, the novel demonstrates how quickly ordinary people can stoop to committing the most horrendous acts, and how easily they can justify it to themselves. It begins with a situation that we can all imagine ourselves in: Three guys discover a downed plane with a duffel bag full of money and a dead pilot on-board. Once they decide to take the money -- concocting a "simple plan" to make sure they don't get caught -- they become enmeshed in a series of escalating events that seem inevitable.SPOILERS AHEADThis book is a fast, suspenseful read, and my only quibble with it is that the climax seems a little off. It seems like too much when Hank commits the two murders in the liquor store, and any remaining sympathy for him dissipates when the reader realizes that he comes pretty close to being a psychopath. I think the movie adaptation's climax was more effective, as it ties up all the missing ends. Despite that, the novel was both entertaining and stomach-churning, and I enjoyed reading it.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Quick, easy read. Wasn't truly monumental...I didn't really love it. But something about it kept me attached. I'll steal from the review from the Chicago Tribune. "[It was] like watching a train wreck. There is nothing to be done, but it is impossible to turn away."
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    A Simple Plan was definitely a fast read, which is wonderful on those I'm-so-sick-of-the-television-but-I-don't-feel-well days.The story is full of twists that you know you should see coming, but still don't until the paragraph where it is revealed. Boiled down, normal man finds (a lot of) money; man tries to plan keeping the money; man's plan falls apart, time after time after time; man has to take another step in order to meet goal of keeping money.It is a well written exploration of the evolution of greed and human desire. I found myself questioning my own choices, though not on such a grand scale, wondering if the snowball effect that Hank is put through is something that I could ever survive. Would I ever be driven to take the same type of line of action, or would I be able to stop myself? How much would it depend on the grandness of the promise of my future?It got to a point where I wanted to just be done with the book, but that wasn't until about page 360 of 400. When I hit that point, I knew that I wanted the main character to be punished for the story line, but I have to admit it was nice not knowing for sure which resolution I wanted until that close to the end of the book. I found myself respecting the punishment which was dealt out, too, realizing it was a more perfect fit than I could have hoped for.I would recommend it, if not highly at least with some earnestness, to those looking for a good summer read.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Suspenseful. It keeps you on the edge of your seat.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    My heart aches with an indescribable feeling. This book is a masterpiece of thriller “what-if” fiction. By the time this book is over, Smith has taken you through the darkest corners of the human heart. Masterpiece.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Was not that interesting.
    Well, not entirely. Some stuff does happen. A lot actually.. but none of it interesting. I thought this book was going to go a different way. I kept waiting for the climax; something epic to happen.
    It starts out great. It’s the ending that’s disappointing. So many times I wanted to punch the characters because of their sheer stupidity.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Great book. A very suspenseful, sad, and deep book.