When love dies, or does it?
This is a lovely book that is a joy to read. The humour in it shines out from every page.
Four couples have been friends for over thirty years. The husbands lost their retirement funds in a dodgy investment that went bust, and after that, each of them kept getting on their partners nerves. The husbands come up with a radical plan to secure their futures, and later, the wives do the same. However, neither side has a clue to what the other is planning. From then on, it's a joyful ever more complicated romp.
One of these complications is Padma, the diminutive new boss of the local casino that is owned by an Indian owned conglomerate. She is being pressured by her overbearing mother to choose a husband from those offered by a matchmaker. Padma unwittingly plays a key role in what happens with the couples.
It's definitely worth five stars. An outstanding first offering from author Sue Hincenbergs.

What a brilliant book and a great debut!
Good friends with boredom and marriage issues, get drawn into the world of grand theft and hitmen.
Circumstances lead to misunderstandings and events spiral.
A fun read which I couldn't put down.

I’ve decided cozy crime is not for me!
The book reads like a retirement plan which doesn’t happen and everything goes wrong.
I became bored with this very quickly - it wasn’t an awful read, just not for me and I didn’t find it interesting.

Finished it in a single sitting! Really helped pull me out of a very long reading slump. Such a fun book. Full of humour and chaos.

This was absolutely brilliant - I binged it within a day! I loved the simplicity of it; a group of friends just living their lives… with a few twists and turns keeping them on their toes!
Hector gave me MAJOR Rio from Good Girl vibes! I secretly loved him! He was probably my favourite character. I have to admit though, Marlene was definitely my least favourite!
The ending was brilliant - it was like a lovely gift tied up perfectly with a bow. I’d say this could easily be your next cosy crime read!

I had so much fun reading this book! The plot is completely absurd in the best way possible, and it got me out of a serious reading slump. Even though some of the characters' decisions made me want to scream, that just made it more entertaining. The mix of humor, chaos, and suspense kept me going, and I loved how the story balanced all of that without taking itself too seriously.
One of my favorite things about this book was the multiple POVs. Getting inside different characters' heads added so much to the story, especially with all the miscommunication going on. Every time I thought things couldn't spiral further out of control, they absolutely did. If you like books with wild, unpredictable plots and characters who keep you on your toes, this is definitely worth a read.

The retirement plan reads like many people’s, great plans for a golden retirement that disappears when life happens! However this is a story so events are a much more dramatic and inevitably everything goes horribly wrong! I found that once started I was interested but then became bored and skipped to the end.
Not an awful read but also not that interesting .
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC

"The Retirement Plan" was rather different to what I expected, and very enjoyable. There are some great, feisty female characters who are all fighting for what they want, in their own ways. The plot is complex enough to keep you guessing as to what will happen next, with some unexpected twists and turns along the way. The very last chapter explains the truth behind what happened to kick off the sometimes farcical events in the story.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Four couples, friends for decades, not just as couples but the ladies are friends and the men are friends.
After an investment goes wrong the retirement plans are put indefinitely on hold.
Guilt and resentment fester undermining the whole relationships.
An unusual and entertaining story about what you believe to be true, perceptions and paranoia.
Plans change and adapt in so many different ways.
Enjoy and smile I did. The ending surprised me, in a good way

This book was so my cup of tea. A great cast of characters with a great flowing pace. This is one of my favourite reads this year

The Retirement Plan is a black comedy about a group of long term married couples whose plans for retirement go awry when one of the husband's dies. I struggled to like the characters with the exception of lovely dog Elmer and the story was overlong. However, a light, enjoyable read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group for the ARC.

Hell yeah, I had a really good time with this! This is a fun and witty book which doesn't take itself too seriously, but still manages to not be too cartoonish. I even laughed out loud a few times. I kept thinking of this as something that could be adapted really well to a made-by-Netflix movie. It even has a scene where the characters are discussing which actors would play them in a movie, so maybe I'm onto something.

It could have been more compact, it felt slightly too long, and the epilogue wasn't necessary at all. The post script was a fun surprise, at that point I didn't think we would get the full resolution. At a few points throughout the book, information is kept from the reader. At the points the reader is up-to-date, and the characters are still figuring out some puzzle pieces, it felt a bit repetitive, because you're getting the information twice, sometimes even three times. But it was fun to sometimes know what's up and other times not at all!

I think this is a perfect book to take on holiday. It has short chapters, its silliness is highly entertaining, and at the same time it also gives you opportunity to think about the good and bad about relationships. Also, the dog is a great addition!

A great idea and it flowed along nicely at the start but I became bored fairly quickly. The characters were fairly interchangeable and the only one I really liked, strangely enough, was Hector. Padma's sections were dull and I skimmed most of those. A clever plot, nicely wrapped up but not for me although I'm sure it will have its fans.

Totally refreshing, hilarious and very entertaining.

Not my usual style of book but it made a refreshing change. It’s absolutely ridiculous but very witty. It was like golden girls meets white lotus. I could picture this being made into some crazy American hit comedy.

It’s a lighthearted funny read. Very much enjoyed it

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. As someone who is over retirement age and still working this was the perfect read for me. Really enjoyed it.

This book started out as a light frothy chic lit but somewhere quite early in became a multi dimensional story with great depth and twists. I particularly enjoyed the various points of view and I ended up empathising with many of the characters. Please don’t be put off by the cover or the book blurb, this book is so much better than it seems.

Book Review: The Retirement Plan by Sue Hincenbergs

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5

Three women nearing retirement decide to get rid of their husbands for the life insurance money.

What could possibly go wrong?

Turns out—everything.

This book is a mix of dark humor, chaos, and crime, with plenty of misunderstandings, plot twists, and moments where you think you know what’s coming… only to be completely wrong (or, sometimes, absolutely right).

Plot

The premise alone is ridiculous in the best way possible. It’s fast-paced, full of surprises, and doesn’t take itself too seriously. Some of the twists are totally unexpected, while others you can see coming a mile away—but that’s part of the fun.

Characters

The three women at the center of this mess are quirky, likable, and full of personality. Their interactions and dialogue really make the book shine. Even when their decisions are questionable, you can’t help but root for them.

Pacing

It moves quickly, which keeps things engaging. The humor and twists make it easy to fly through. That said, some parts are so absurd that you just have to go with it.

Humor

This is where the book really works. The dialogue is sharp, the situations are ridiculous in a way that somehow makes sense, and it genuinely made me laugh. If you like crime stories with a side of dark humor, this one delivers.

Overall

The Retirement Plan is a fun, over-the-top crime caper that doesn’t hold back on the absurdity. Was it a bit too ridiculous at times? Sure. But did I still have a great time reading it? Absolutely. If you’re into dark humor, crime comedies, and a little bit of chaos, you’ll probably love this one.

Well this is an amusing story that initially feels like The first Wives Club but quickly evolved into something else completely. The wives are devious and clumsy rather than calculating and it's not quite revenge they're after.

The plot unfolds slowly as a number of twists reveal a more complex story than imagined.

It's quite funny as people are making assumptions left, right and centre and it makes for an interesting read. A comedy-crime story! I think in some respects there's a big moral to the story and that is to not take your partner for granted and actually communicate. However, if they'd been good communicators then we would have had their adventures unfold before us.

I really enjoyed this madcap tale of four couples who, thanks to a bad investment, find their retirement plans up in smoke and their marriages all but over. Now, they have plans of a different kind, the wives independently of their husbands. Crossed wires and miscommunication follow.🍸
The story is told from several POV's; the men, the women, the casino boss and the barber. All but one of the characters are likeable, but as always, the dog (Elmer) was my favourite. 🐶
Fast paced, funny, and at times ridiculous, The Retirement Plan is a book you will either love or hate. I loved it because it made me laugh out loud, but don't take my word for it. Read it for yourself. Go on, you know you want to. 🍸
Thanks to Little Brown Book Group UK and Netgalley for the digital ARC. 🍸

Light hearted and darkly humorous, I wanted to enjoy this more than I did. I didn’t relate to any of the characters and found it difficult to remember who was who. I can see it’s appeal, just not for me.