A Simple Plan

By: Scott Smith

Narrated by: Pete Bradbury

Length: 13 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's Summary

Hank Mitchell thought he lived an ordinary, ordered life. But on one chilly afternoon, Hank, his brother Jacob, and Jacob's unsavory pal Lou, make a discovery that offers a chance for a life filled with riches beyond their wildest dreams. And in a fateful moment, Hank lays a plan to claim that life... and the horrific crumbling of his ordered world begins.

©2006 Scott Smith (P)2011 Simon & Schuster

Awful narrator

The story was good, didn't care for the ending but the worst was the narrator smacking his lips or clicking his tongue after every few words!! I wanted to hear the story but this lip smacking was so loud it was all I could hear and pay attention to. In other words listen to this with a different narrator.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Stunning! Can't Stop Myself Thriller!

Who knew such a bargain could be such a great listen? This book is like a slow motion train wreck that you can't stop watching. You know pretty well what is going to happen but when it does, can't believe it!

This is a simple story kind of like the simple plan that this book reveals. The adage "nothing is as simple as it seems" applies here.

Great narration too!

7 of 9 people found this review helpful

Intense!

Chilling tale you will not soon forget. Riveting story as you are helplessly drawn into the train wreck Hank creates of his life through one fateful decision after another.

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

In this, greed is definitely not good

You know that phrase, circling the drain? That’s the best way to describe this novel about greed and the lengths people will go to in the name of it. Recently I was involved in an inheritance process that involved more money than at first suspected. It brought out the worst in some family members so the actions and attitudes of the people in this novel seemed on the money to me. I was a bit surprised by the fluidity of criminal schemes that Hank and Sara came up with on the spur of the moment and also their lack of caution in some areas (keeping the money under the bed? with a newborn in the house???), but mostly the book hung together. It’s basically one bad decision after another with things getting worse and worse, scene by scene.

Spoilers commencing -

There isn’t anyone to root for in this book, but there are degrees of dirt-baggery to be plumbed and not all the deaths are lamentable. Most are though and by the end I was hoping Hank would get caught. He and Sara deserved it. They don’t, but neither do they profit by their crimes and they seem pretty comfortable with them on the whole (all that self-serving justification must have gone down well). The FBI logged about 10% of the serial numbers and without knowing which bills are on the list, the whole pile is worthless. Sara tries everything in her power to hang onto it, right to the bitter end. In a way, I’m glad there wasn’t much denouement to the book since it would have meant spending more time with the two of them. I’m not sure the kid’s accident and subsequent near-vegetative state is effective as a sop to justice though. And I can’t imagine the law ignoring so many deaths in such a short time period, especially when there’s no GSR on Lou’s body. But other than those things, the story is good, compelling and reasonably believable if a sad testament to one of humanity’s least admirable traits.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

5 Star

Both the book and movie are very good. Narrator has a soothing voice and captures my attention instead of drifting off as with some.

a must have suspense

I saw the movie with Bill Bob Thornton and really enjoyed it, so decided to get audiobook. Far better than the movie because u get so much more insight into the characters. it a really good yard and and will keep u hooked throughout.

Learned Crime Drama not my cup of tea

If you enjoy this genre, this may be a great book. For me, it was an experiment to try a different type of audio book and see if I liked it. I did not. The pitiful and pathetic main characters are very hard to endure. I derive no enjoyment following the exploits of horrible human beings. My hope was this would be similar to Breaking Bad, and it could be argued it has common themes. A normal, upstanding citizen choosing to take the criminal path - escalating from one terrible decision to the next. But, it lacked any likable or relatable main characters to feel connected.

One of those rare times...

That the movie is actually better than the book. The dialogue is annoyingly simple. That said, the narration and story are a bit far fetched but entertaining.

Great.

Many people ask: what is noir?

This is our.

And Bradbury fits it so well, he sounds like a hard-boiled 50's actor.

BOOM!

Let me say this...it's not often I give a 5-5-5 review. Not that I'm a walking Stevie King here myself by any means or anything, I just tend to save those big boy grades for my absolute faves. This is one of 'em! I crushed this book in 3 straight days. I stopped listening to my normal podcast routine, lost my "consecutive-days listened" Ripken-like streak on Stitcher, and didn't talk to my wife or kids thru this entire stretch! All kidding aside, this book held strong throughout. At no point did it ever become "ugh...oh come on man!" and turn unbelievable on me. It had me guessing which path, or solution our subject was gonna take the whole time, in so many different instances. Lots of surprises too. I can't say enough about this. Really enjoyable listen guys. Applause to the writer and narrator. The ONLY thing i think could've been improved on was the narrator's lack of going all-in during the real suspenseful/1,000mph/action parts. He kinda just maintained one speed throughout. Which was ok, save for those times when he could've made the ride that much better. But just focus on my 5-5-5 review! Forget I said that. If you're looking for a really great story with plenty of meat on its bones...I recommend this to you. Enjoy the ride!