The Retirement Plan by Sue Hincenbergs is an absolute gem! From start to finish, this novel delivers a perfect blend of humor, warmth, and genuine emotion. Hincenbergs’ writing is witty, engaging, and full of heart, making it an absolute page-turner that’s hard to put down.

The story follows its lovable characters through the highs and lows of retirement planning, but it’s so much more than just a financial journey—it’s a story about life, relationships, and the unexpected twists that come with aging. The characters feel so real and relatable, each with their own unique struggles and dreams, making their individual journeys incredibly engaging. Whether you’re nearing retirement yourself or simply appreciate a well-told story about navigating life’s challenges, The Retirement Plan speaks to the universal experiences that we all face.

What I loved most about this book is Hincenbergs’ ability to balance humor with deeper reflections on life’s transitions. The story is lighthearted and often humorous, but it also touches on some poignant moments that really resonate. There’s a beautiful sense of optimism and hope throughout the narrative that reminds us of the importance of second chances, staying connected with loved ones, and embracing change.

The pacing is perfect, and the storyline keeps you hooked, with unexpected twists and turns that make for an enjoyable and satisfying read. It’s the perfect book to curl up with—comforting, funny, and thought-provoking in equal measure.

Overall, The Retirement Plan is a delightful and uplifting read that I wholeheartedly recommend. Sue Hincenbergs has created a truly heartwarming novel that will stay with you long after you’ve finished it. Highly recommended!

I see that the author worked in TV production prior to this book, and it really shows. As a TV series, this would be great. As a book, however, I can't explain why I found it irritating. I stopped at exactly 50% of the way through as I had no desire to read any more. Plot-wise, it's all there. Four wives keeping secrets from their husbands and vice versa. Add in a mysterious and grisly murder to unravel and all ingredients are present and correct. The POV narrative changes hands a lot, which added layers of intrigue and was done well. It's well written, like a wittier version of a Liane Moriarty.

So what stopped me finishing it? I couldn't tell a lot of the characters apart. The women all seemed to want the same thing and sounded very similar and the men seemed like one homogenous man. On TV, this would work better, but I just couldn't picture any of them, and therefore, I was not emotionally invested in the plot. I just lost interest and didn't want to read on. I'd watch it on TV though!

Very enjoyable read with some great characters. It had many unexpected turns and kept me engaged until the end. And I absolutely love that the characters are older.

The end felt a little bit rushed in my opinion, but it didn’t take away from the entire experience of the book.

Can definitely see this being made into a movie.

I’m afraid I gave up early on this one. I didn’t enjoy the style of writing, the dialogue, nor the characters. Perhaps it is better suited to readers based in the US

This is a light-hearted, tongue in cheek, easy read. I found the story line easy to follow and humorous. I wasn’t gripped by it but it was an enjoyable read.

This is my kind of crime fiction – light hearted. I loved this book, it is so funny. When I first started reading I did wonder if this would be for me, but I needn’t have worried. I found it fast paced, with a twisty plot. It was twisty because these people change their minds like the weather.

There’s not a lot I can say about the actual story because the blurb tells you all you need to know before reading the book, to say any more would start to give clues about the plot and I would hate to slip up and give too much away.

I loved all the characters, the husbands, the wives/friends and the supporting characters too. There was the CEO of the casino where some of the story is set, she’s trying desperately to prove to her mum back in India that she is more than capable of running a profitable, successful business and she’d rather choose her own husband than have her mum choose for her.

There’s a saying, and it fits the whole situation in the book, the wives position as well as the husbands, “Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.” This just about sums up the whole plot and its brilliant. And despite murder most foul being at the root of this story, it did turn out to be quite a heart warming tale too. As you can tell, I loved it. It would make a fab comedy movie. If they made a film of the book though, I wouldn’t watch it because the film is just never as good as the book, and besides, I have a picture in my head of all the characters and casting would just spoil that.

Above all it just made me laugh so much. Written with dry wit, and yet it also has a certain tenderness to it as well. Pam was definitely my favourite character.

A group of four couples were expecting to retire in luxury but their dream ended when the husbands lost all their money in a dodgy investment. Now the marriages are failing and the wives blame their husbands. Three of them hatch a plan to kill their husbands for the life insurance money, but the husbands have their own plan. This was a fun read despite the dark subject matter. The plot read like a stage farce with tension as well as humour. I didn’t like the main characters vey much but some of the supporting characters, including the casino boss, were great. Rather alarmingly, my favourite character was the hitman.
Thanks to NetGalley and LittleBrown UK for the review cop

After the death of a long time friend Dave and seeing the insurance money his wife Marlene gets Pam, Sharisa and Nancy are debating hiring hitmen to dispose of their respective husbands. All 3 men have disappointed their wives in recent years and on discovery that the men have their own policies, they decide to take action. Unbeknown to them, the men suspect someone is trying to kill them so make their own plans.
I really enjoyed this debut novel, it was a humorous tale with lots of calamities along the way. If youre old enough to know, it's in the spirit of the comedic Airplane and Police Academy films.
As well as the humour, an underlying theme is also of friendship.
It's a great read

While this story had a slow start, it gradually picked up the pace until I was turning the pages quickly and couldn't put it down. Four married couples, friends for a long time and approaching retirement until their husbands collectively lost all their money, cue rows, hit men and a story with so many glorious twists, fabulous!

This debut novel is a hilarious account of a group of middle aged friends who plot their husbands murders to collect on the life insurance money, only to learn too late that their husbands have a plan of their own. It's hard to critique this work without giving spoilers away, but this story is full of twists and turns, it has a great cast of characters that are well crafted and believable and I was totally invested from the first page. It is certainly different from the usual murder mystery, but it is fun and a very enjoyable read.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

‘I shouldn’t be hiring hitmen and dodging threats. I should be scrapbooking and playing pickleball.’

One of many heartfelt sentiments from the sixtysomething cast of characters in his hilarious and twisty-turny tale of wives who fall out of love with their husbands and what they do about it. There is a brawny and mysterious barber too – the American equivalent of The Thursday Murder Club’s Bogdan. In fact, if you love the residents of Cooper’s Chase, you’ll love this entertaining, readable novel. Few books are so thoughtful as to tell you who should play the main characters in the film version!

Darkly funny - four wives who have known each other for thirty years want their husbands dead for the life insurance payment. After an investment opportunity failed, their plans for their retirement disappeared. After the unexpected death of one husband and the payout of a huge insurance payment the other wives plan to cash in on their husbands’ policies by hiring a hit man - their husbands’ barber who can get things done!

Meanwhile the husbands have been defrauding the casino over the last 4 years and depositing their profits in offshore accounts. But a new owner and an investigative team send the husbands into hiding after faking their own deaths - after cancelling their insurance policies leaving their wives with nothing.

The novel switches between the husbands and wives - each relationship had its difficulties and each could do with communicating better.

An interesting array of secondary characters added humour to the story - I was particularly taken with Hector.

A fun read.

This story is crazy but so enjoyable to read. I can imagine this as a movie and live in hopes that it may be one day. Four couples. Women fed up with husbands, men fed up with wives. The men lost money to a bad investment leaving them without money for retirement. They decide to do something about this. Two work for a casino, one owns his own courier business and one for a Bank. They find a loophole in the casino business and start a 4 year plan to make life better for them an their wives. Each husband has a specific job in their scheme. One of the men has a tragic accident and the wives found out that their men have life insurance – they decide to murder their husbands for the insurance money and live happily ever after in luxury. The book just twists and turns. The men – will we get caught. The women – should we or shouldn’t we. Into the mix is a dodgy barber who will do deeds for money and Padma the casino boss. She is great. The whole book is chaotic in a really funny way and a definite good read

A refreshing read. Definitely something from the 80s with twists and turns.

I found the plot and characters interesting and kept me gripped.

I think you will love or hate this book.

This  is a darkly humorous story that follows the lives of some middle-aged best friends who find themselves in a desperate situation.

After their husbands' investment goes terribly wrong, their dreams of a carefree retirement vanish. When one husband dies in a freak accident, the women discover that their husbands have identical, seven-figure life insurance policies. This revelation leads them to hatch a plan involving a hitman, unaware that their husbands have a devious plan of their own

This is just a delightful blend of dark comedy and suspense; If you're a fan of The Thursday Murder Club books this will be a must read for you. The novel's strength lies in its well-developed characters and the intricate, high-stakes plot that kept me turning the pages. The dynamic between the three friends is both heartwarming and hilarious, showcasing the complexities of long-term friendships and marriages.

The plot moves at a brisk pace, and the alternating perspectives between the wives and their husbands add depth to the story, making it a compelling read from start to finish which is an entertaining and thought-provoking debut that balances humor and suspense with skill.

Entertaining and entertainingly. Full of misunderstandings, double bluffs, almost unbelievable characters and twists and turns!

A group of women whose friendships are solidified for all the wrong reasons - the primary one being that their husbands have lost all of their retirement savings; the secondary one being that their husbands are really getting on their nerves; the third being that they can see how much their recently widowed friend is enjoying her freedom and the payout on her husband’s life insurance, and figure their futures would look a lot brighter if they could find a way to cash their own policies in.

At the same time, their husbands have murderous plans of their own!

The novel moves from the perspective of one character to another and we see their plans developing and veering off course in parallel. There is also a cast of supporting characters to enjoy, including Padma the casino boss and Hector the shady barber.

I won’t say much more to avoid spoiling the plot but this is an entertaining read!

Thanks to Net Galley for the advance copy!

Pam, Nancy, Shalisa and Marlene have been friends for years, and always supported each other, even when Pam's husband lost all their savings due to a bad investments. And now Pam resents him, because they are poor and they'll never be able to retire.

Everything changes when Dave (Marlen's husband's) dies and she finds out he had a life insurance, and so have all the other husbands,
So the wives start thinking that collecting their life insurance sounds more appealing than growing old together., and plot how to kill them without knowing they are also up to no good.

This is such a fun light read. Loved it!

The Retirement Plan is a funny book about how a group of friends plot how to get rid of their husbands, and arrange a hit man, and their husbands have the same idea how they can fake their own deaths and arrange the same hit man. One of the husband's actually dies as has a mishap with the garage door. The story line has twists where the husbands steal from the casino they work at, and make out they don't know each other, and they cancel their life insurance before the hit man has done their fake death. The wife's don't know about this until they find out their husbands are dead. Then they are worried how they will pay of the hit man. They eventually meet their husbands again.. It was an easy book to read, and you wanted to get to know the characters more.

I really enjoyed this book. The story was full of twists and turns and despite it being about murder was fun and lighthearted. It follows four lifelong friend couples in their 60s. Who after saving hard their whole lives are looking forward to their retirement and enjoying the better side of life. However this plan is thrown out the window when the husbands lose their life savings in a dodgy investment plan. After one of the husbands dies in an unexpected accident, his wife receives a huge payout on the life insurance, the other wives realise this is the answer to all their problems. Hence follows the fun trying to get rid of their husbands who have well and truly outlived their usefulness.

When Dave, the first of the group of 4 couples to die, dies in unexplained circumstances, the 3 other men take stock of their lives. At the same time, so do their wives. For their wives to be free, the husbands need to be dead and the wives need the life insurance.
Hector, the barber, is now thr focus of their stories.
A light hearted story with many a twist.