I absolutely loved this book. Golden girls meets Clue.

Pam, Nancy, Shalisa and Marlene were on track for retirement until their husbands lost their savings on a bad investment deal. When Marlene's husband Dave dies, they find out their husbands each have seven-figure life insurance policies. Question is what do they want more, the money or the men?


Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review. Its expected publication date is May 6, 2025
#TheRetirementPlan #NetGalley

I wasn't quite sure what I was expecting going into this book but I had a great time. The premise of the book is pretty wild. Three friends plot to murder their husbands but quickly find out the tables have been turned when the husbands are running a scam of their own using the same hitman. It books dark and funny. Strange as it may seem I adored the hitman Hector and his wife Brenda. This book had so many fun twists and turns. This would be a perfect vacation or beach read! This is my first book from Sue Hicenbergs but I would happy pick up more.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This wasn’t a good fit for me, but I could definitely see it finding its audience. Lots of miscommunication and hijacks when a group of wives decide to take out a hit on their husband.

The Retirement Plan by Sue Hincenbergs is a laugh-out-loud, heartwarming tale that perfectly balances humor and heartfelt moments. The story is packed with quirky, relatable characters and unexpected twists that keep you turning the pages. Hincenbergs masterfully explores themes of friendship, reinvention, and finding purpose, proving that it’s never too late to embark on a new adventure.

The witty dialogue and clever situations had me chuckling throughout, but what truly stands out is the book's ability to blend comedy with depth, leaving you feeling inspired. If you’re looking for a feel-good story that will brighten your day and leave you rooting for the characters, The Retirement Plan is a must-read. Perfect for anyone who enjoys a mix of humor, heart, and a touch of wisdom!

This book is a Hallmark movie with a heavy dose of murder/hitmen shenanigans, but also a little bit of a Lucy and Ethel vibe thrown in just for fun. If you are a fan of Richard Osman or Benjamin Stevenson then this book is for you.

The Retirement Plan by Sue Hincenbergs was such a fun read! It’s about four women in their 60s who decide they’ve had enough of their husbands and come up with a crazy plan to off them for the insurance money. The twists kept me on my toes, and while some parts were a little far-fetched, it was an entertaining and totally unexpected ride from start to finish.

This was absolutely entertaining. Centered on a group of 4 couples, it is a comedy of errors and unexpected twists and turns. The wives are bitter towards the husbands for making a bad financial decision, but after the death of one and subsequent insurance payout, the wives decide to take matters into their own hands for happiness. Meanwhile, the husbands are looking over their shoulders after the death of their friend, taking it as a murder and they're next on the list. Add in an overwhelmed casino boss, a barber that doubles as a hitman and his totally badass wife and you have an entertaining read that you don't know where it's going.

I honestly cannot tell if I liked this book… it was full of characters that were both semi-likable and unlikable and quite a few that you just were never 100% sure which they were. This was almost to a fault, one or two would be good, but the whole cast being in the grey wasn’t something I enjoyed.
The writing was good- consistent, multi POV, fast paced. It was giving rom-com trying to be more serious- but it wasn’t more serious.
The end felt unsatisfying. After going back and forth the whole book it was trying to be the best happy ending for all, but sure what I would have rather had but it just wasn’t my favorite.
Overall it was an ok and fast read.

The Retirement Plan by Sue Hincenbergs is a fantastic novel.
There were so many laughs out loud moments.

The story was so fun, and the plot is crazy! Three women in their midlife are angry when their husbands have lost their life savings in a scam.
What do they do? Kill them that's what! HA!

Honestly, a lot of miscommunication makes for a fun, engaging read.

The characters also explore friendships, marriage and life at an older age, all of which I related to.

Highly recommend!

“The Retirement Plan” by Sue Hincenbergs is a witty and heartfelt novel. Whether you’re nearing retirement or just love a well-crafted story about reinvention and resilience, The Retirement Plan is a delightful and inspiring novel worth picking up

This was a cute story with a lot of miscommunication, mixed messages, mistakes, and some organized crime. Four couples are nearing their retirement and have fallen on hard times after the husbands invested their nest eggs and lost it all. One of the husbands, Dave, ends up dead, and this sets off a chain reaction that changes the remaining seven's lives forever.

Dave worked as a mechanic on the slot machines at the local casino. He hatched a plan to skim money from the machines when he discovers a defect. The four husbands join together to ensure they can get $10 million over the next four years. However, Dave is found dead when they are so close to achieving their goal. Hank, who also works at the casino, finds Dave and immediately believes the casino knows what they did and now the remaining husbands have to run.

Meanwhile, the wives see how Marlene, Dave's widow, has come into a windfall following his death. Marlene spills that each of the husbands has a one million dollar policy. The remaining wives decide that they are so unhappy in their lives that they should hire a hitman to kill their husbands, collect the insurance payout and move down to Boca to be close to Marlene.

Of course all sorts of hijinks ensue. The ending of the book was satisfying and you find out what happened to all of the couples. This was a fun read to close out the year.

The Retirement Plan was so fun! I loved seeing these women take the reins in their lives and how it all played out!

I wanted this book to be funny but instead, it was just sad. It was a harsh look at what life could be like without the spin of humor I was antcipating. Not for me.

Witty, fun, entertaining....I am a quiet reader but several times throughout the book I caught myself laughing out loud.

I knew from the picture on the cover and the blurb about the book that I had to get my hands on it, and let me tell you, I am so glad I did. There were a few times at the beginning I felt that the plot was a little slow unfolding. but once it does, strap in because you are about to go for a wild ride!

A book about 4 couples who are close friends and had planned their retirement together, but when an investment deal by the husbands goes wrong, those plans are a dream of the past. Suddenly one of the husbands dies in a freak accident and his widow is surprised to find out that he had taken out a large life insurance policy before his death. Not only had he, but the other husbands had taken out policies as well. Now the only thing standing between the other 3 women and a million dollars each is.......their husbands. One hit man later they are on their way to their retirement dreams. Little do the wives know that their husbands too have a plan which leads to quite the series of events.

It is so hard to say too much without giving the plot away, but what I can say is that this story is fun, vibrant and refreshing with a cast of characters that you will both love and root for but also shake your head at. If only they would just communicate with each other. And the ending. How I so loved the ending. But why.....well I guess you will have to read it to find out.

This book was wickedly delightful and entertaining, and I walked away feeling like I had just watched a big screen movie. It did not surprise me when I read later that the author was a former television producer!

The Retirement Plan is due to release on May 6, 2025. Be sure to get your copy....heck, pre-order your copy. You don't want to miss this one :)

I would like to thank William Morrow Books, NetGalley and the author for the advanced copy of this book for review. It was on the top of my wish list, so this was quite the treat and did not disappoint.

Hilarious witty story of four lifelong friends wanting a new life. Various twists and turns throughout make for an entertaining read. I could see this story line turning into a movie someday.

Highly recommend if you are looking for a fun read!

I received an ARC of this book for an honest review-this was a fun caper to read-set in a casino with quirky middle aged characters. There were lines that had me laughing, and despite the unbelievable ending, I enjoyed the escapades and the escape!

Wow! Please someone make this into a Netflix series ASAP! Seriously, this book was a riot and so much fun. I loved the writing style, how well the author portrayed what was happening, the humor and the characters! This book was fantastic and I definitely plan to buy this when it comes out!

What a fun, hilarious book about 4 couples, lots of misunderstandings and unintended consequences, with some murder thrown in for good measure. Or was it murder? It's hard to say much without giving away too much of the story. I saw another review that made the statement that this book was like Mary Kary Andrews met Finlay Donovan and I couldn't agree more! Laugh out loud moments for sure and this book would make an excellent movie adaptation. Thanks to NetGalley, Morrow publishing and the author for the opportunity to read this delightful novel in advance of its publication date

The overwhelming word to describe a book like this would just be pure fun. Everything about it makes me feel like it would be a perfect novel to adapt into an exciting comedic movie. There's a great ensemble of characters, lots of confusion and deliberate miscommunication, insane but believable events, and people and relationships to root for.
The novel starts with the foundations of a story you expect to be simple and straightforward, as simple planning to kill your husbands for money can be, but it grows to such a more exciting and thrilling story once you bring in perspectives from the husbands, hitman, and other important characters. It builds to the kind of book that is built on dynamic and complete characters that you care more and more about. It reminded me a lot of reading The Thursday Murder Club series because it's a group of older people getting themselves into ridiculous and dangerous scenarios but in the most fun way possible.
I loved Pam and Hank and their friends, and all the crazy shenanigans they got themselves into. The love these characters had for each other and the secrets that formed the divide in their relationships were revealed so perfectly that you can't help but cheer while reading this book by the end. I adored everything about this novel, and while my focus was always on the characters, it was really because of how lovely the author's writing and structure were from start to finish. Despite all the murder and mayhem involved, it's the sweetest and most fun book to read and I'd read many more stories about Pam, Hank, Hector, and their gang's adventures!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

What do you get when you put marriage, friendship and murder together? You get this dark twisty and hilarious book! This was a super funny and exciting read and I hope the author will consider writing a sequel!