A Simple Plan (Mass Market Paperback)

by Scott B. Smith (Author) "MY PARENTS DIED IN AN AUTOMOBILE ACCIdent the year after I was married..." (more)
Key Phrases: Mary Beth, Agent Baxter, Dwight Pederson (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Smith's remarkably adept debut thriller traces the fates of three people and a wrecked plane with $4.4 million.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
YA-On an afternoon jaunt, Hank, his brother, and a friend accidentally discover a wrecked plane. Inside they find the dead pilot and a sack containing four million dollars. The men know that they should notify the authorities, but instead they devise a foolproof scheme for keeping the money. They will hide it for one year, tell no one, live normally, and then divide the loot into three equal portions. Nothing can go wrong with such a simple plan-or can it? Smith draws his characters deftly, fully exploring the changes that occur in each of the men after their discovery. The plot is clever, gripping, and full of twists. As Hank narrates the story, the tension builds slowly, but is sustained until the surprise ending. YAs will quickly become caught up in this polished suspense novel.
Judy Sokoll, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (August 15, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312952716
• ISBN-13: 978-0312952716
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (248 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #511,186 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A gripping depiction of our darker side, December 31, 2001

By	Douglas A. Greenberg (Berkeley, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

When I began this novel, I already had an inkling of what the trajectory of the plot would be, based upon the information on the book jacket. It's no secret that the story revolves around what unfolds when three men accidentally stumble upon a plane that has crashed with millions of dollars in cash on board. The bulk of the book explores the grim consequences of this discovery. Despite the generally predictable and even formulaic nature of the plot overall, Smith has done an amazingly skillful job of creating a page-turner of a suspense novel that is nearly impossible to put down. The particulars of just how things go awry for the various principals involved are spun out in ingenious fashion over several hundred extremely well-written pages.

This book not only tells a gripping (and sometimes gory) tale of how a seemingly "simple plan" goes awry, it also provides clear insight into the darker side of the human condition, that is, how under particular circumstances even seemingly "nice, normal people" can end up committing and rationalizing the most heinous deeds, always with "good reasons" behind their actions. The way that Smith lays bare the fragility of human ethics and morals sadly rings true, and renders the book as depressing as it is horrifying and suspenseful. Overall, it's a terrific read that should not be missed.

38 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MONEY IS INDEED THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL..., August 26, 2001

By	Lawyeraau (Balmoral Castle) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

This is, without a doubt, an amazing debut novel. It is a modern day morality tale, which sees people's lives change significantly, when they come upon a veritable treasure trove of money. The change is not necessarily for the better, as the reader will discover.

The plot revolves around two, small town brothers, Hank and Jacob Mitchell, who, along with Jacob's friend, Lou, inadvertently come upon a downed plane that is buried in the snow, deep in the woods of a rural area. In that plane is a dead pilot, along with four million dollars in cold, hard cash. All three of them could sure use the money. The question is, what are they going to do about it?

They come up with what they think is a simple plan. They will take the money and just wait and see, not spending it, until the coast seems clear. From the moment they make this decision, life is never the same for any of them. Hank, taking charge of the money for safekeeping, begins to undergo a change that is seemingly uncharacteristic of one who is outwardly so respectable, rational, and benign of countenance.

As the issue of the money begins to divide the three accomplices, greed and betrayal bubble to the surface, to culminate in a series of chilling, cold blooded murders. Meanwhile, Hank, manipulated by his Ma Barker of a wife, Sarah, begins a personal downward spiral, succumbing to an evil so profound, that it will leave the reader open mouthed.

What happens to them all makes for an amazingly powerful and riveting story of psychological suspense. Written in clean, spare prose, this well crafted novel is a riveting page turner that grips the reader from the inception, holding the reader in its thrall until its climactic conclusion. The ending serves to show the reader that what goes around, does, indeed, come around.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Greed is Evil, May 30, 2006

A Kid's Review

This book was a page-turner because there were very exciting parts in it. It was not to hard to concentrate on the story but sometimes I had to look back in the book to check a character or a place. I did not connect to a character in this story because characters in the book kill many people mainly for money and I could not do that. I like the genre because it sounded like the story could really happen. I like the style of writing in this book, and an example is that the author makes the story very believable like it could happen to almost anybody. The book was not boring but very exciting and my mind did not wander when I was reading. I would recommend this book to people who like adventure and mystery books. This book was terrific because it held suspense and you would never know what event would happen next.