For the first third or so of the book, I just felt depressed reading about three women whose marriages had reached the point that they all wanted to have their husbands killed. There wasn’t anything funny about it. Then, soon after, the plot started to take off. And what a plot. So many twists and turns, double- and triple-crosses galore.

But while I admire the plotting, most of the characterization left me flat, and I didn’t find much f the promised humor. I’m reading that this has been optioned to be made into a movie, and I feel optimistic that lively acting and good screenwriting can make this entertaining plot sing.

Worth reading despite its flaws.

The Retirement Plan by Sue Hincenbergs is a darkly comedic novel about three lifelong friends—Pam, Nancy, and Shalisa—who, facing financial ruin after their husbands squander their savings, concoct a scheme to cash in on their spouses' hefty life insurance policies. Unbeknownst to them, their husbands are devising their own plans, leading to a series of unexpected and humorous twists. This book was a bit unrealistic at times, but it was still a fun and entertaining read. The over-the-top twists and larger-than-life characters made it engaging, even if not entirely believable. Sometimes, a little escapism is exactly what makes a story enjoyable! Would absolutely read more from this author!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for sending me an ARC of this novel. What a fun, twisty, quirky storyline this was! It’s so true that when people ask you when you are retiring, they imply that you are old, and they can tell from your response how successful (wealthy) you are. A key part of the story had characters questioning whether their lives “weren’t that bad” vs. “f’ing fantastic.” Long marriages were examined, and who doesn’t love a happy ending? This book had lots of issues to explore, so it would be an excellent selection for book clubs. It will be published May 2025.

3.5 stars

This is a madcap caper novel featuring four couples who have drifted apart. The husbands lost their family finances in an ill thought out scheme and the wives can't forgive them for ruining their dreams for the future.

And then miscommunication happens on a massive scale. What the wives don't know is that the husbands have done two things to make up for their lapse: they each have taken out huge insurance policies on their lives, and they are skimming money from the casino operation where some of the husbands work.

When one of the husbands dies in a freak accident, the other three decide their theft has been discovered and the foreign organized crime owners of the casino bumped him off. They hire their barber - a former Central American shadowy enforcer -- to eliminate the people coming after them. But then the wives see the insurance payoff for the widow, they also contact the barber and hire him to bump off their husbands so they can collect the insurance.

It gets pretty crazy with the emphasis on the fun. A sort of marital buddy movie with a lot of red herrings and unexpected events. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the free digital ARC.
I first heard about "The Retirement Plan" by Sue Hincenbergs last summer at the Old Peculiar Crime Writing Festival and have been anticipating it ever since. It has the perfect blend of humor, suspense, and the complexities of long-term friendships and marriages. The Retirement Plan follows 3 middle-aged best friends witnessed a fellow widow's newfound wealth from a life insurance payout and then contemplate orchestrating their own husbands' demise. Unfortunately for them, their husbands are devising their own secret plans, leading to a series of unexpected twists and turns. I really enjoyed this one! If you are a fan of The Thursday. Murder Club or The Marlow Murder Club then I think you will really enjoy this one!!

The story kept me guessing and engaged. I liked the writing style that was easy to follow for all of the characters. I found myself enjoying the story and laughing throughout

The dark humor on this book reminds me so much of a combination of oceans movies and tarantino.
It was entertaining and honestly this book got me out of a slump!

A true screwball comedy that was very twisty, went in a lot of unexpected directions, and was a very fun read.

Wildly implausible but a lot of fun.



Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for the DRC

Thanks @netgalley @harpercollins and @hincenbergs for the chance to read Sue's debut, The Retirement Plan. It releases on May 6, 2025.

Y'all, this book is SO MUCH FUN. I can already imagine buying it for friends and relatives. I have a feeling that it will make a big splash when it comes out. It has a great combination of humor, twists, double crosses, and men who get the job done.

Four women have been friends for thirty years and dream of a great retirement together. But those dreams were dashed when their husbands made a bad investment and lost all their money several years ago. When one of their husbands dies in an accident, his widow winds up with an unexpected payout of $1 million from a life insurance policy--it seems all their husbands took out policies and the women stand to have a big payoff if they die. So, naturally, they turn to planning the remaining three husbands' murders so they can join their BFF in Boca Raton and live out their Golden Girls dreams. (They all want to be Blanche. No one wants to be Sophia). Unfortunately, the husbands have their own secret retirement scheme and worried that their buddy's death might not have been an accident.

I don't want to give away any more of this darkly hilarious, twisty story. Read it and let me know what you think!

Three female friends plot the demise of their husbands to collect the insurance money and start a new life. This is filled with dark humor and loved all the frank conversations the ladies had discussing their husbands.

The husbands had a plan of their own. This had some unique twists along the way as each person is out for themselves.

Some great one liners and very entertaining.

Humorous. Over the top. Delightfully twisted. These are just a few of the ways to describe The Retirement Plan by Sue Hincenbergs. Packing the frenetic chaos of a Finlay Donovan or Stephanie Plumb novel, The Retirement Plan tells the tale of some best friends who find out their dreams of a peaceful retirement may have been derailed because their husbands have blown their savings on a bad investment, but they also happen to discover that each of them has massive life insurance policy. And with that…as they say…let the games begin! This is definitely an impressive debut for Ms. Hincenbergs, and I’ll definitely be interested in seeing what she comes up with next. Also with the right set of actors this would make an excellent movie/mini series. (Amazon or Netflix make it happen!) Thanks so much to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me access to an ARC of The Retirement Plan.

This is absolutely a delightful book! I know, a murder. sure. But the hilarious
chaos in the lives of the four women, and eventually the husbands, Casino
rats, etc. is just the best. I doubt I will look at Barbers or slot machines in
their unadulterated form ever again.
From the murder, and poor Dave being offed by his old manual open
garage door, to the rest of the gang learning about the supposed
money the husbands were insured for, all the way to most of them
reuniting with wonderful stories to tell, thus book just keeps moving.
I discovered some interesting twists at the halfway mark. But, this
was just the beginning of the story! By the time I was reading the
the last chapter I realized that this is really an excellent, fun story.
My thanks to the Publishing folks at William Morrow for the down
load copy of the book via NetGalley for review purposes!

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.

I am definitely in the minority in not liking this book. It was entirely predictable and over the top ridiculous. I thought all the characters came across as just plain stupid. Except Hector - oddly enough, he was my favorite. And Elmer! Gotta love the dog. I was expecting this to be funny and it wasn't. There was too much going on. I skimmed almost all of the Padma scenes as they added nothing to the story, especially the matchmaking parts.

A quick read, but somewhat predictable in a "it's all gonna work out in the end" sort of way. Plowed through it in a day, enjoyable, but not remarkable.

This was a good mystery. We have 3 female friends that wants their husbands dead so that they can collect their life insurance and have a good life. What they didn’t know what their husbands got plans of their own. That was an enjoyable cat and mouse game with secrets. Will read more book in this series in the future.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishing for the eARC.—these are my honest opinions.

An outstanding book!!! From beginning to end, this book grabs your attention and you won’t be able to put it down. 4 couples and craziness ensues! One death early on, then more, then twists and more twists. And the ending was perfect. I highly recommend this book to everyone.

I loved it! It’s funny, hilariously ridiculous, and such a good ride! If you’re like me and you gravitate towards darker books and need a break, this is such a good refreshing read! You won’t regret it!

Gripping, Funny, and Un-put-down-able!!

Probably one of the BEST thriller novels I have ever read. The constant twists, eclectic ensemble, delightful hitman and vibrant casino backdrop.

10/10 HIGHLY recommend-- I'm SO excited for this author!!

This book had me laughing, gasping, and marveling at the cleverness of the author. I love a good debut novel and this one hit it out of the park! I would say this is the perfect February romance for those who don’t want the mushy gushy books, haha. An absolute joy of a dark comedy!

This one was giving major ‘Killers of a Certain Age’ vibes. It’s a cute dark comedy about 3 wives who are fed up with their husbands and decide to hire a hit on them. While I thought this storyline had potential, and can really see it as a movie, I had a hard time staying invested and interested in the characters and plot. It took me a couple weeks to read this because I’d read one chapter and then something else would distract me. That said - while it’s definitely predictable it’s a wild ride for how we get to the end.