This  is a darkly humorous story that follows the lives of some middle-aged best friends who find themselves in a desperate situation.

After their husbands' investment goes terribly wrong, their dreams of a carefree retirement vanish. When one husband dies in a freak accident, the women discover that their husbands have identical, seven-figure life insurance policies. This revelation leads them to hatch a plan involving a hitman, unaware that their husbands have a devious plan of their own

This is just a delightful blend of dark comedy and suspense; If you're a fan of The Thursday Murder Club books this will be a must read for you. The novel's strength lies in its well-developed characters and the intricate, high-stakes plot that kept me turning the pages. The dynamic between the three friends is both heartwarming and hilarious, showcasing the complexities of long-term friendships and marriages.

The plot moves at a brisk pace, and the alternating perspectives between the wives and their husbands add depth to the story, making it a compelling read from start to finish which is an entertaining and thought-provoking debut that balances humor and suspense with skill.

Entertaining and entertainingly. Full of misunderstandings, double bluffs, almost unbelievable characters and twists and turns!

A group of women whose friendships are solidified for all the wrong reasons - the primary one being that their husbands have lost all of their retirement savings; the secondary one being that their husbands are really getting on their nerves; the third being that they can see how much their recently widowed friend is enjoying her freedom and the payout on her husband’s life insurance, and figure their futures would look a lot brighter if they could find a way to cash their own policies in.

At the same time, their husbands have murderous plans of their own!

The novel moves from the perspective of one character to another and we see their plans developing and veering off course in parallel. There is also a cast of supporting characters to enjoy, including Padma the casino boss and Hector the shady barber.

I won’t say much more to avoid spoiling the plot but this is an entertaining read!

Thanks to Net Galley for the advance copy!

Pam, Nancy, Shalisa and Marlene have been friends for years, and always supported each other, even when Pam's husband lost all their savings due to a bad investments. And now Pam resents him, because they are poor and they'll never be able to retire.

Everything changes when Dave (Marlen's husband's) dies and she finds out he had a life insurance, and so have all the other husbands,
So the wives start thinking that collecting their life insurance sounds more appealing than growing old together., and plot how to kill them without knowing they are also up to no good.

This is such a fun light read. Loved it!

The Retirement Plan is a funny book about how a group of friends plot how to get rid of their husbands, and arrange a hit man, and their husbands have the same idea how they can fake their own deaths and arrange the same hit man. One of the husband's actually dies as has a mishap with the garage door. The story line has twists where the husbands steal from the casino they work at, and make out they don't know each other, and they cancel their life insurance before the hit man has done their fake death. The wife's don't know about this until they find out their husbands are dead. Then they are worried how they will pay of the hit man. They eventually meet their husbands again.. It was an easy book to read, and you wanted to get to know the characters more.

I really enjoyed this book. The story was full of twists and turns and despite it being about murder was fun and lighthearted. It follows four lifelong friend couples in their 60s. Who after saving hard their whole lives are looking forward to their retirement and enjoying the better side of life. However this plan is thrown out the window when the husbands lose their life savings in a dodgy investment plan. After one of the husbands dies in an unexpected accident, his wife receives a huge payout on the life insurance, the other wives realise this is the answer to all their problems. Hence follows the fun trying to get rid of their husbands who have well and truly outlived their usefulness.

When Dave, the first of the group of 4 couples to die, dies in unexplained circumstances, the 3 other men take stock of their lives. At the same time, so do their wives. For their wives to be free, the husbands need to be dead and the wives need the life insurance.
Hector, the barber, is now thr focus of their stories.
A light hearted story with many a twist.

Such a chaotic read - in the best way. It does border on silly at times and doesn’t always make a huge amount of rational sense, but it’s fun, fast-paced, quirky, and totally original. A really good holiday read or book to pick up when your brain needs a bit of break.

Absolutely fab book, a definite comedy of errors. I don't want to give any spoilers but the disparities on the way the wives and husbands viewed their marriage and their misadventures along the way were totally compelling and will ring true to anyone who's ever been married. Would highly recommend to anyone who fancies a lighthearted but fascinating insight into peoples lives.

The Retirement Plan is an incredibly entertaining story. It’s hard to believe this is Sue Hincenbergs' debut novel, given the accomplished writing, tight plot with numerous twists and turns, and wonderful characters.
The narrative follows four couples in their 60s, lifelong friends who have saved hard for their retirement dreams. However, when their husbands—Hank, Larry, Andre, and Dave—lose their entire retirement savings on a poor investment, the women—Pam, Nancy, Shalisa, and Marlene—are left feeling lost, angry, and utterly disillusioned with life and their spouses. After Marlene’s husband dies in an unfortunate accident, she receives a million-dollar life insurance pay-out. Her friends soon start to consider that widowhood might not be such a bad idea, especially when they discover all the husbands had the same life insurance policy.
Enter Padma, the manager at the casino where Hank and Dave worked, who suspects the four men of embezzling millions from the casino. Add in Hector, the local barber and man who ‘can get things done’, and his wife Barbara, and the stage is set for a fun adventure filled with confusion, misunderstandings, plot twists, and double-crossing galore.
I had no idea what to expect from this book when I requested it, but it was pure joy. I loved the entire cast, especially Pam, the lead character, and her lovable dog Elmer. The ‘kookiness’ of the story reminded me of Jonas Jonasson’s books, with misunderstandings leading to further confusion. While it may fall under the new umbrella of cosy crime, it is far less predictable than many books in that genre.
I would definitely recommend this book and have already done so to several of my friends. I look forward to seeing what Sue Hincenbergs writes next.

What a fun book! And considering the subject is paid-for murder, that’s not something I expected to say. The set up is skilfully handled, the characters understandable, if not always exactly likeable (though even the worst have their redeeming features) and the plot twists are great fun. Definitely one to recommend as a light and entertaining holiday read.

Absolutely hilarious. I loved this book. It’s an easy, entertaining and at times laugh out loud story about four couples; a mob boss; a grand plan and miscommunication.
I loved the twists and turns and was genuinely entertained by the author weaving the ins and outs of the concept.
Brilliant.

Hank has invested all of his and Pam’s life savings in a scheme which was ‘too good to be missed’. His close friends Dave, Larry and Andre also invest and all of them lose everything. Dave and Hank work in the local casino and that is where the plan is hatched to steal from the casino so that they can all retire in the way they thought they were going to. The wives know nothing of this scheme but all of their marriages are in trouble because of the worry about funding their retirement. Pam and Hank have had to sell their lovely home and move to a poorer part of town and as a result of losing all their savings they have had to change their lifestyle. When Dave dies Hank is convinced that they are all being targeted by thugs from the casino where he and Dave work who have worked out that they are stealing. The manager of the casino is an Indian lady called Padma. Padma is the daughter of the casino owner who lives in India. Padma’s mother is desperate to find Padma a husband and employs someone to make this happen. These are the main threads of the story which is quite fun with lots of things happening which could all have been resolved if there hadn’t been so many misunderstandings. Hector is another key character in the book and he is the local barber who can turn his hand to many things including being a hitman for the right price. I wasn’t sure I was going to like this book to begin with but I really wanted to know what would happen by the end. The characters are colourful and brought to life on the page. Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me an ARC of this book.

A very funny book, with a great story, and excellent characters. Yes, the story is ridiculous, but it is great fun, and actually very good-hearted.

Loved this book, I felt as if I was reading a Westend farce. It was funny, entertaining, witty so much so I found myself giggling. It was so well written, the characters amazing and extremely realistic, in fact I found myself wishing I was in their ‘gang’. They were so down to earth and echoed the reality of being married for 30+years. They were so storyline was exceptionally well constructed and it flowed so well from beginning to end. Would thoroughly recommend it.

I absolutely loved this book. I thought I had it sussed and another curve ball came flying. It had me giggling out loud in places and worried for the ladies at others. A perfect fun and very clever read.

Retirement is close, but the husbands of Pam, Nancy and Shalisa are really infuriating them. So they come to hatch a plan to dispatch of them. But how? And then, it appears, the men seem to be having ideas of their own.

I cannot believe that this is a debut novel, so polished, so entertaining, so fantastic. I can’t wait for more books from Sue Hincenberg.

Three wives wanting a new life. Three husbands in their way.
This is a book I wouldn’t have necessarily picked up but it did intrigue me!
It was funny and entertaining and a tale of cat and mouse whilst also looking at marriage, friendship and middle age life.
It gave me The Thursday Murder Club vibes but with a twist and I did enjoy it!
However I did think it was predictable and a bit far fetched and I wanted more from Marlene and she kind of just disappeared!
The epilogue and bonus chapter of how Dave died were good additions as they both rounded up the story and I wasn’t left with any unanswered questions.

Be careful what you wish for!
This is a deliciously humorous and exciting novel. 4 married couples, lifelong friends in their 60’s who should be looking forward to retirement. Except that everything has gone tits-up. The women are disillusioned with their men, and the men are hiding a huge secret which will make all their lives turn out better- except they can’t tell their wives about it, Until it’s too late. Great fun and a real page-turner, and full of very dark humour.

What a fabulous read - very engaging and very amusing! It’s a total comedy of errors from the start to the end, told from multiple points of view. This would make a fabulous series on tv, cliffhangers at then end of each episode with a feel good ending - just perfect.

Thank you to Netgalley the author and publishers for an arc in exchange for an honest review

An entertaining read with lots of twists, turns and double crossing. Set in a small ocean side town in America with a group of friends, four couples. Early on one the men dies in a freak accident which sends alarm bells though the rest of the men as they are involved in shady dealings at the local casino. The wives of the men are totally fed up with their husbands who they feel are taking them for granted. What unfolds is a fun tale, a little predictable maybe with the many misunderstandings, but that doesn't detract. I loved the 'go-between' character the barber, Hector and his wife, they really made the book together with the new Casino owner, Padma, whose mother is trying to marry her off in an arranged marriage . The group of friends are what I perceive as typical American friendship group, I am reading this on the other side of the Atlantic, and enjoyed despite this and the American English.

If you’re after a lighthearted tale of some husbands being bumped off by their wives for the insurance, then you’ve come to the right place! This book is hilarious and surprisingly warm, even a little sentimental at times. The characters feel like friends straight away and their hapless husbands certainly reminded me of men I’ve known and loved. With a bit of rom-com, some chick-lit and a healthy dose of mystery, it packs a lot into its very readable pages.