The Retirement Plan by Sue Hincenbergs is a dark comedy set in America about 3 middle aged women who are unable to retire due to their husbands losing all their money and decide to hire an assassin to kill them to claim the insurance money.

The Retirement Plan is a glorious dark comedy about getting old and suddenly realising that you are never going to be able to retire despite doing all the right things for most of their lives.

However while the novel is full of dark comedy it is definitely not for raiders who do not like miscommunication in their novels.

As the whole novel would not work if most people just talked to each other, however in most romances this leads to a third act break up in The Retirement Plan we have an immigrant barabar, being both hired to protect the husbands as well as kill them.

With each chapter of the novel, Sue Hincenbergs plot line gets more obscured; however it does somehow click together in the world she created.

While comedy in novels can be hit or miss, The Retirement Plan, gets its humour from the situation each character finds themselves in.

Yes you may not find it laugh out loud there is enough of a plot line that is just the right side of believable, that will keep you reading all in all well worth reading.

The Retirement Plan is a fresh, darkly funny debut that cleverly subverts expectations about aging, friendship, and domestic life. What begins as a story about three retired friends—Pam, Nancy, and Shalisa—lamenting their financial woes quickly spirals into a deliciously twisted tale of betrayal, crime, and surprisingly tender camaraderie. What follows is a wild, witty ride involving dodgy casinos, a possibly shady barber, and an accidental murder plot that none of them are entirely prepared for. Think Golden Girls meets Breaking Bad, with just a dash of Fargo-style chaos.

Hincenbergs writes with sharp observational humour, poking fun at suburbia, marriage, and the myth of graceful aging. But beneath the satire, there’s genuine heart. The strength of the novel lies in its characters—flawed, funny, and surprisingly resourceful women who navigate both absurd and deeply human challenges. Their friendship is the grounding force amid the madness, and watching them rediscover themselves (even if through slightly criminal means) is part of the book’s great charm.

While the plot veers toward the outrageous at times, the pacing keeps it engaging, and the humour never feels forced. It’s the kind of story that sneaks up on you with its emotional depth while keeping you entertained with every twist.

The Retirement Plan is a sharp, entertaining debut perfect for fans of dark comedy and strong female leads. Hincenbergs proves that retirement may be the end of a career—but not the end of adventure.

A farce based on misunderstandings and featuring three wannabe Golden Girls plotting their husbands’ deaths in order to retire on their insurance. Meanwhile, the husbands have had their own retirement plans and orchestrate their own deaths to escape from would be assassins. The humour and contrived situations was, sadly, not for me, though it might work on screen with the right cast.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.

Entertaining and sneakily addictive, full of colourful characters all firmly grasping the wrong eng of the stick...

Sadly, a DNF for me. I couldn't get on board with the characters and the writing style irritated me a bit. I think I went in expecting one type of story and ended up reading the first few chapters of another. Not for me.

Going in to this book I was hoping for a fun, laugh out loud, enjoyable time. Unfortunately it didn't quite live up to my expectations.
The main issue I had with this book, was that right from the start I just couldn't get invested in the plot or the characters. The plot idea sounded great but the execution didn't quite work for me.
The writing was fine and it is an easy read but sadly I just didn't care about it at all.
I did like the characters (especially all the wives) but even that didn't help me love this book.
The whole side plot with Padma just did not interest me in the slightest and I would have preferred not to have had chapters about her at all.
This was a book that I just didn't want to reach for after I put it down.
I found it to be quite slow paced, I wanted it to progress faster and it definitely needed more humour in my opinion.
Despite it being less than 400 pages it felt really too long and drawn out for me.
Sadly I just didn't get invested in the book, so I might be the problem here, but this was a disappointment.

This was such a chaotic delight — equal parts madcap crime caper and sharp commentary on long-term relationships gone stale. I went in expecting a quirky comedy and was instead treated to a tightly plotted story full of twists, paranoia, and very questionable decision-making (in the best way).

The dual POV structure — husbands vs. wives — worked brilliantly, especially as their increasingly absurd assumptions about each other spiral out of control. It’s got Finlay Donovan vibes but with a cast pushing 60, and it’s all the better for it.

At times it leans into the ridiculous, but that’s exactly what makes it work. The humour lands, the pacing keeps you hooked, and the chaos escalates in such a satisfying way. Hector the barber-turned-hitman and Elmer the dog are scene-stealers, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this ends up on screen.

A darkly funny, well-crafted debut. I’ll be keeping an eye out for what Sue Hincenbergs does next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Retirement is meant to be fun and relaxing, isn’t it?
This group of husbands and their wives have other ideas, whilst they should be sipping margaritas and soaking in their hot tubs, they are spending their time losing their life savings, plotting with a hitman and having the most epic of marital miscommunications.

I started this book expecting a bit of laughter, a fun light easy read but what I actually got was side splitting laughter. I was taken on such a ride and loved every minute of it, each twist was a bit of a surprise that blended in to the story seamlessly, but on reflection were to be expected.

This book was a pleasure to read and I was disappointed when it ended. I will certainly be recommending it to anyone and everyone, my only regret was that I wasn’t laying by the pool whilst enjoying the story unfold.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for offering this ARC in exchange for my personal thoughts.

Dave has died, Hank, Larry and Andre believe it was a hitman and they’ll be next.
Dave’s widow, Marlene, inherits a small fortune from Dave’s life insurance. This gives Pam, Nancy and Shalisa an idea.
Living with consequences, all looking over their shoulders. Expecting to be found out.
Funny, yet full of pathos. Twists and turns.
A good read.

When Marlene's husband dies in a freak accident her friends Pam, Nancy and Shalisa aren't expecting her to bounce back as quickly as she does, until they find out about the insurance payout she got. Seeing Marlene living her best life at her new house in Florida, the others come up with a plan to follow in her footsteps - all they need to do is kill their husbands. What the women don't know is that the men have a plan of their own. Which group will come out on top and get to live the retirement of their dreams?

This was a lot of fun to read. It's definitely not a thriller if that is what you are looking for. I think I would class it as a crime comedy. Whatever it is it's clever and entertaining.

We essentially have 2 main casts of characters here, the husbands and the wives. All eight of them are genuinely likeable people, but there are some major miscommunications going on between them meaning that they are all getting frustrated with each other and not understanding the others standpoints. This leads to some ridiculous behaviours and generally mad cap capers.

I found myself hooked into this one from the first couple of pages. The writing style works perfectly, and having chapters told from different character's viewpoints helps the reader to see the bigger picture that the characters are missing. It reads at a great pace, with plenty going on. I found it hard to put down. I did see some of the twists coming, but still thoroughly enjoyed the read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

The bright cover of this book caught my eye and I thought the premise sounded interesting.

A group of 4 couples are all great friends and were looking forward to retirement, until an investment went wrong and their dreams of carefree living were shattered. When Dave is found dead, leaving Marlene a widow, the other guys panic that whoever killed him will come after them too. Meanwhile, the wives are plotting an escape from their unhappy marriages by killing their husbands for their insurance money.

The book is quite easy to read but it took about 25% of the book before I felt I got into the story. I didn’t really connect with any of the characters at all. There are quite a lot of them and I felt they were all a bit flat and merged into one. My favourite was definitely Elmer the dog!

I ended up feeling frustrated with this book, for adults that should know better the miscommunications were a bit ridiculous and it all got too nonsensical for me. It felt like it was trying too hard to be funny but it didn’t work for me. The pacing was too slow and it seemed to drag on. I was glad to finish it and unfortunately I don’t think I’ll be reading more by this author.

2.5 stars rounded to 3.

A madcap story of 4 American couples in their 60s who have been friends since they met at their childrens' school. They all lost their retirement savings when Hank recommended a dodgy investment. We discover how the men and women have dealt with this differently. And how their marriages have fared. What follows next with Hector the Barber, his wife and some Indian gangsters is out of control. Dark humour and an unexpected outcome. #netgalley #theretirementplan

Four couples in a long term friendship find themselves sharing surprising secrets after the unexpected death of one of the husbands. The husbands are paranoid and suspect the death was murder and entertain conspiracy theories involving organised crime on a global scale and each expects to be the next victim; their retirement plan is in tatters. The wives have their own retirement plan which also relies on their husband’s deaths for success.

This is an ingenious story and skilfully told. The story has good pace and numerous twists and turns to keep the reader guessing on the outcome. A very engaging mystery with a delightful measure of dark humour. Highly recommended.

This is one of my favourite rates of the year so far.. It's funny and full of twists and turns. The story has great pacing, an interesting setting, and the characters are intriguing.. This was a real page turner for me.

Finished it in a single sitting! Really helped pull me out of a very long reading slump. Such a fun book. Full of humour and chaos

A new to me author but I'd read more based on this one. It's a fun read, amusing at times and kept me gripped.

A very light hearted tale of how miscommunications between couples can cause problems. It follows the antics of three couples where the women had planned a comfortable retirement lifestyle with no financial worries - that is until their husbands lose their money in a failed investment.

Hank works at a casino and when Dave tells him about a way of skimming money from a particular machine, they hatch a plan to recoup the money they lost and include their other friends to help. When the casino is sold and the new boss has connections with a well know crime family, things start to go wrong.

Following the death Dave and the insurance payout his widow received - the women devise a plan to hire a hit man to kill the three husbands for the insurance money which will put them back into the lifestyle they were accustomed to before all was lost.

The way Dave died rouses suspicions in Hank and when he overhears his new boss talking about her family sending men from India, he becomes paranoid that they are onto the scheme, who was involved and that they are next on the hit list. The three men hire a hit man to "deal" with any potential threat to their own lives.

What follows is a mixture of paranoia and panic from the men and surprising determination from the women.

A very easy and gentle paced read that is comical and enjoyable.

A light thriller about a plethora of wild miscommunication, The Retirement Plan proved to be an entertaining read, giving Finlay Donovan vibes with a cast of older characters.
Marlene’s husband Dave dies in a freak accident. Or was it a revenge murder? Marlene’s insurance payout and subsequent move to Florida inspires her friends Pam, Nancy, and Shalisa to hire a hitman. Unbeknownst to them, their husbands have plans of their own…
Despite being a lengthy book, there wasn’t too much character development, meaning I struggled to connect to any one character. Having said this, The Retirement Plan is a very enjoyable book with twists and turns aplenty. I think this would make a great tv series!

I really enjoyed this entertaining and dark debut novel. It’s so ridiculously funny. I couldn’t put it down.
With plenty of humour, twists and turns, it’s full of action and drama that keeps you turning the pages. It’s told in multiple POV’s with vivid, interesting and mostly likeable characters, plus a lovable dog. It’s clever and written so well with its funny misunderstandings and miscommunications. It’s tense but full of heart. A engaging story about friendship, marriage and middle age.
I definitely recommend reading this one. It’s well worth the read. Just brilliant.
I look forward to reading more from @suehincenbergs
Thanks to #NetGallery #LittleBrownBookGroupUk @TheCrimeVault @LittleBrownUk @BethWright26 for an arc of #TheRetirementPlan in exchange for a honest review.
Book publishes 6 May 2025

A dark, funny well written read that was just plain bonkers at points. I particularly loved Hector’s character and the clever plotting of this outrageous tale of what happens when marriages go stale.