I will start this review by saying this book was not what I expected (in a good way) while I didn’t find myself absorbing the story and unable to put the book down the plot was interesting and the characters kept me engaged. The blurb really caught my eye but unfortunately my expectations were set a bit too high for the reality of the book, if you love a casual kind of mystery novel that gives summery vibes you will most likely enjoy this book though.

The Retirement Plan was a fun, fast-paced read, full of suspense, drama, betrayal, and crazy twists.

It started off really well, and it drew me in immediately. I loved the premise but felt a bit disappointed by the way the story unfolded.
There were a few good things, like the humour and the friendships between the characters. I also enjoyed Sue's writing style.
I just felt it ended up being a bit too outlandish and unbelievable. It was also a bit all over the place with four or so different perspectives.
I didn't think Padma's point of view was necessary to the storyline, nor was it particularly interesting. I really liked Pam's perspective, but I found Hank's a little boring.

I loved Dave's final line. It was genius.👏

Overall, it was an entertaining read.

3 stars from me. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to Netgalley, Hachette Australia & New Zealand, and Sue Hincenbergs for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was such an entertaining read mixed with dark humour and a cosy mystery vibe.

The Retirement Plan follows the story of a group of friends - Pam, Nancy, Shalisa and Marlene. They've been friends for 30 years. When an investment goes bust Pam and Hank have to sell the house and move out of the neighbourhood. The retirement plan just isn't going to work. When Marlene's husband dies in a freak accident and ends up getting paid out a massive insurance settlement, it gets the other women talking. They go and see a hitman. Meanwhile the husbands have a secret retirement plan that they haven't shared.

This book had me laughing hysterically. It had a few golden girls vibes and that I thoroughly enjoyed. The mixture of bad characters and good ones was the perfect blend for the book. I knew it would be a great read when I had a sneak peak at the blurb and yes I can safely say it was a big hit for me.

Thank you Hachette Australia and Netgalley for gifting me a copy of this book for my honest review.

Though an easy read and definitely a page-turner, I think this book struggled deciding what it wanted to be - an over the top caper or a more serious story meant to comment on modern marriage, greed and adult relationships.

When one husband dies in a horrible accident, a close-knit group of couple friends start to unravel - the wives, all unhappy in their marriages, focus on the huge life insurance policies their husbands have; while the husbands start sweating that the mob bosses that own the local casino have realised they’re skimming.

Overall I enjoyed the book but after some reflection I just didn’t buy many of the motives of the characters and the decisions they made, with the overall tone a little too morose and depressing to be a fun crime story full of hilarious hijinks.

For fans who love White Lotus

The retirement plan is a witty murder mystery, cosy crime read that will have you on your toes until the end, with twist and turns. It will take you on a fun ride of what's going to happen and who will out run the rest.

Thank you netgalley and hachette for gifting me an earc for an honest review.

TV producer, Sue Hincenbergs’ debut crime novel is fun and quirky and pure entertainment! Three middle aged women who have been best friends for over thirty years, socialising regularly together and watching their children grow up and start lives of their own. Now they’re all counting down the years until they can afford to give up their jobs and retire. The only problem is that a few years ago their husbands invested all their savings into an investment plan that crashed, ending their dream of buying side by side condos somewhere warm and sunny.

When another friend loses her husband in a freak accident, his generous life insurance allows her to move to Boca Raton to start a new glamorous life. The three women become jealous and wonder if there might be a way for them to also shed their boring husbands, who take them for granted. They hatch a cunning plan, but little do they know that their husbands have been hatching their own retirement plan, and they might just be about to throw a huge spanner in the works.

This comedy of errors and misunderstandings is delightfully written. I loved all the characters, including the hapless husbands, who totally fail at communication and have no understanding of their wives and what they want. Other entertaining characters include Hector, a very shady barber with a death stare, who has a very interesting sideline doing ‘Whatever needs doin’ as well as Padma, the female boss at the casino, where one of the husbands works. Sent from the parent company in India by her wealthy mother, the owner of the company, who has decided it’s high time her short, plain daughter finds a husband.

So, if you’re looking for something different in the cosy crime genre, this clever, amusing novel with a fun streak of humour and plenty of twists, might be just what you’re looking for.

A rollercoaster read, with so many brilliant plot twists!

This is such a funny and cleverly written story, about mid-life, marriage, money and murder.

After thirty years of friendship, four women are dreaming of a perfect retirement featuring beachfront condos in a beautiful location. Until their husbands pool their money for an investment that goes terribly wrong. Soon enough, their retirement plan looks as dreary as their marriages.

When one husband dies in an unexpected accident, the other women are surprised to see his widow (their long-time friend) rebound with a huge life insurance payout. Soon enough they are dreaming of their very own re-invented retirement plan. Meanwhile the husbands have a secret retirement plan of their own. What follows is a darkly funny, cat-and-mouse chase to see who will be outmaneuvered.

I enjoyed this fast-paced, entertaining suspenseful story, including a wide variety of characters and many laugh-out-loud moments. There were so many mentions of brilliant movies in this book, and I think this would make a darkly funny movie.

This is a fantastic debut novel. I am very excited to read what Sue Hincenbergs writes in the future!

With many thanks to Hachette Australia, Sue Hincenbergs and NetGalley for this e-ARC, to read and review.

Give this one a read if you enjoy a fun who-dunnit story, with plenty of dark humor!

🎰🍹 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓡𝓮𝓽𝓲𝓻𝓮𝓶𝓮𝓷𝓽 𝓟𝓵𝓪𝓷 🍹🎰

𝑩𝒍𝒖𝒓𝒃
After an investment deal went south and a freak accidental death, three middle aged best friends turn to murder to collect on their husband’s life insurance policies, completely unaware that the husbands have a scheme of their own.

𝑴𝒚 𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔
If you like The White Lotus then this one’s for you. I’d describe this as a middle aged murder mystery. It was actually so absurd and chaotic, but it was fun, witty and quite entertaining.
The whole pad thai thing had me laughing, as I’ve also cracked it when someone’s eaten my leftovers.
The plot twists were a little predictable but I feel like this could be a netflix movie!!

Thankyou to Netgalley, Hachette Aus and Sue Hincenbergs for this ARC

"Pam licked the margarita salt from her lips, looked around her backyard table and wondered which of her friends would die first."

Three middle age friends learn of their husbands 7 figure life insurance policy and make a plan to murder them and cash it in to live out their dreams. Their husbands have their own plan for retirement. However things go astray in this amusing high stakes game of cat and mouse. With the husbands trying to stay alive and the wife's being one step ahead.

I really enjoyed this book. With the cliffhangers, intense storyline and character development I struggled to put this book down. It constantly had me hooked wanting to know what was going to happen next and what twist was going to occur. It made me laugh and cry with and want to scream.

Thank you so much to netgallery for an advanced copy.

The Retirement Plan - Review

4.5 Stars (5 rounded up)

This was such a hilarious and great read. I finished this book weeks ago and I’m still thinking about.

This story follows three middle aged best friends who turn to murder to collect their husbands life insurance. However, they are completely unaware that their husbands have a plan of their own… and so the chaos begins..

This was such an entertaining story! It had me hooked from the beginning and kept my attention all the way through until the last page. So much of the plot was beyond ridiculous that you couldn’t help but laugh and go along for the ride. This story switches POV’s throughout which I think was so important for us to get a holistic view of the story. I loved seeing everyone’s perspectives and the same events happening across different timelines!

I LOVED all the different problems, twists and turns popping up left right and centre for the plot and all the characters - it absolutely felt like whack-a-mole at one point 😂 It was so chaotic and entertaining that for the first time in a while - I just let myself enjoy the story. I wasn’t worried about trying to figure everything out (which intrinsically goes against everything I am as a person) but that just shows how good the writing was!! I had no idea how everything was going to tie nicely together but the ending was actually so stunning.

I would absolutely read anything else Sue has to offer because this was perfect. It’s hard to discuss this book without giving away spoilers but just expect; chaos, wit, humour, snark and just …a whole lot of everything in between !

Thankyou so much to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book!

This is just so much fun! it is dark, twisty, clever and just brilliant. I laughed, I cried, I laughed some more. Hector and his wife are my favourites although the whole book was filled with entertaining characters even while most were trying to work out how to kill their spouses. Intrigue, mystery, payback and so much more all feature and we are kept on our toes a lot of the time! Fabulously dark and fabulously entertaining! Thanks so much for letting me read this in exchange for a review. Due out 29 April 2025.

An entertaining who-dunnit style story (but you know who’s done it). When a group of husbands come up with their own retirement plan, all while their wives up have planned their own (by getting them out of the picture), what unfolds is a level of chaos involving money, fake deaths and a whole lot of chaos.

It was funny and heart warming at times, I really enjoyed reading this one. Dropped a star because it was a tiny bit predictable to me, but still thoroughly enjoyed it!

Perfect if you’re a White Lotus fan!