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.

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.

WILD> absolutely wild. none of the people here were really good people exactly, but they're all FUN ;people so that makes up for it! the misunderstandings were crazyyy! Padma's POV was especially awesome. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

I received a free copy of, The Retirement Plan, by Sue Hincenbergs, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Husbands and wives are keeping secret plans from each other with, deadly consequences. An interesting read.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Retirement Plan.

I liked the premise but didn't like the story as much as I had hoped.

It was too cozy for me, though initially I liked the setup with four BFFs planning to off their husbands.

Then the narrative became too silly, full of coincidences, corny cliches and stereotypes and devolved into a series of misunderstandings and assumptions better suited to a YA novel.

I liked the BFFs more than the men but I think the women were just better developed and we spent more time with them as a reader.

I don't mind humor or dark humor and I thought the plot would be in the latter category.

The only character I loved was Elmer, of course.

This was such a fun, quirky, unexpected comedic thriller! Loved the cast of characters, voice, and plot twists.

Put 4 couples that have been friends for over 40 years together through better and worse and you have "The Retirement Plan". Sue Hincenbergs take on the true meaning of how relationships between spouses and friend change throughout our lives and what each would do for the other. This is a laugh out loud crazy adventure that will leave you asking for more. The last 2 chapters were quite a surprise, great job Sue HIncenbergs. It's very rare to read a book and not be able to predict the ending chapter. I was delighted to have a opportunity to read this and would recommend to my bookclub to read.
I would like to thank William Morrow Books, NetGalley and Sue HIncenbergs for the advanced copy of this book for review.
#Netgalley #TheRetirementPlan #SueHincenbergs

This book is totally wild, and I mean wild in the best way! It’s like a chaotic mashup of over-the-top antics, dark humor, and seriously ridiculous misunderstandings. The plot centers around three middle-aged besties who, instead of sipping margaritas by the pool, decide to off their husbands for a little insurance payout boost. Classic move, right? 😂 But, plot twist, the husbands are also plotting against the wives with their own sketchy plans. I mean, it's like the ultimate game of one-upmanship. And let’s just say, everyone’s communication skills are a mess. If the couples had just talked—but then we wouldn't have this gem of a story, right?

Honestly, the amount of times I laughed out loud was insane. The whole thing kind of reminded me of one of those 80s rom-coms where everyone’s running around like headless chickens and you’re just sitting there like, “What’s going to happen next?” And it’s honestly so much fun to read because of that. There's a lot of lol moments, even if sometimes the coincidences and misunderstandings are too much (like, how many hitmen can one town really have??). 😆

The alternating points of view kept the story fresh, though sometimes it felt like a lot of moving parts. And while I had my moments of frustration with certain characters, like Padma (ugh, she was such a mess), I couldn’t help but be entertained. The situations were just too over the top, but in the best, most addicting way.

The bottom line is that if you’re into totally absurd situations, laugh-out-loud moments, and a little suspense with your dark humor, this book is a total ride. I mean, seriously, what’s not to love about some hitmen, a sketchy barber, and an epic tale of marital mischief?

Thanks so much to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!