Product Description

In a snowbound valley a small plane is found. In the pilot's seat is a dead man, his eyes pecked out by crows, and in the back is a duffel bag containing 4.4 million dollars. So starts an inevitable and doomed spiral of events, through deceit and murder, betrayal and mass killing.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #458238 in Books
• Published on: 1999-03-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 416 pages

From the Back Cover
Every New Year's Eve, Hank Mitchell and his older brother Jacob make a pilgrimage to their parents' grave. This year Jacob's friend Lou comes with them.

As they drive through thick snow towards the cemetery, a fox runs across the road, and they skid on the ice and crash. Jacob's dog chases the fox, followed by the three men. Beating their way through the drifts, they come upon a small plane, belly down in the snow. In the pilot's seat is a dead man. In the back they discover a duffel bag. In it is over four million dollars in cash...

A seemingly foolproof plan to keep the money, without fear of discovery or anyone being hurt, begins Hank's nightmare. From this moment on, his hitherto ordinary and ordered life unfolds into an inevitable spiral of events, through betrayal to murder.

From its deceptively simple beginning to its horrific and surprising conclusion, A Simple Plan will have you on the edge of your seat.

About the Author
Scott Smith was born in Summit, New Jersey in 1965 and now lives in New Orleans. After studying at Dartmouth College and Columbia University in New York, he took up writing full time. He is also the author of The Ruins.

Customer Reviews

My heart is still pounding from reading it!
I just finished reading this book and am almost breathless and filled with a desire to lock all the doors and windows! A Simple Plan tells the story of average guy Hank, who, with his brother and his friend, finds millions of dollars in a crashed plane. His first inclination is to turn the money in, but he is persuaded to keep the money. One thing leads to another, and before he knows it, he has murdered someone to protect his secret. This is just the first in a series of blood-curdling events that fill the story with such amazing intensity that you will not be able to put the book down until you finish it.

Hank narrates the story in the first person in a very calm, rational, and guiltless manner. Each act is, to him, completly necessary and therefore, justified. The violence comes quickly and, just when you think it won't get any bloodier, it does. The one constant thread throughout the book, is that Hank still considers himself to be a regular guy, despite having committed unspeakable acts. His conscience is clear and life can go on with very few regrets.

Scott Smith has written a wonderfully suspenseful story that keeps building and building. I have seen the film version; it is not as graphically violent (it couldn't be!) and not as relentless in its horror. I recommend this book to fans of suspense, mystery, and crime. It is a thrilling story!

MONEY IS INDEED THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL...
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 for one who is outwardly so respectable, rational, and benign of countenance.

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

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.

MONEY IS INDEED THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL...
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 an absorbing 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.