Four lifelong friends have lost their retirement funds in a bad investment and so their wives are very unhappy with them. They come up with a new money-making scheme but when one of them is found dead, a series of coincidences and misunderstandings leads to both the husbands and the wives taking some drastic action.
This book is such great, escapist fun. There are so many twists and turns, shady characters, mafia threats and darkly funny moments, all set against a fairly mundane domestic background.

Phenomenal concept but the writing got a little too tangled for me in places and keeping track of who was plotting to do what to whom was a little confusing unless you read in big chunks.
That said the characters are all excellent and very real with bitterness exuding from every page!

I received this ARC and intended to read it - then got busy. However, I read that it was going to be a big read for next year so promoted it on my TBR pile.

This is an entertaining read, a novel about four couples whose lives take a very unexpected turn. When one of the men dies in an accident, his widow moves to Florida, leaving her three friends behind to manage their unhappy marriages. Before long, things take another surprising turn and the lives of the people become fragmented and complicated.

The premise is quite clever. However, I don't find this well-written. Prose is clunky and dialogue is weak and cliched. The women use the ‘f’ word far too often which I don’t think is indicative of 60-something females in their life stages. It’s unclear where this is set - possibly NE USA or Canada. The author is Canadian and the prose feels quite British in places.

This will be successful and is going to be made into a film. I believe the writer works in film. It has, I feel, been written for the screen. I can imagine actors (like Diane Keaton) who might play the females. Having said this, characters are not richly-drawn and it left me wanting to finish this somewhat unoriginal read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I absolutely loved this debut novel!
We follow three 60-something couples, who seem to be in a marital rut. The wives are beginning to hate their husbands, and when one of their friends gets a million dollar life insurance cash out after her husband Dave dies in an accident, they decide to hire their local barber-hitman so they can get rid of their husbands too. Plus, a condo in Florida doesn't sound too bad either!
What they don't know, is that Dave discovered a glitch in one of the local casino's slot machines, and their husbands have been running a retirement scheme, scamming their local casino out of almost $10 million! After Dave's death, they start thinking it was a sign that someone is onto them, and they realize it's time to do something before they get murdered too.

This was such a hilarious story full of misunderstanding and interesting characters and it all worked so well! It featured a lot of greatly timed twists and turns, and even though some could be predicted, it didn't degrade the story whatsoever. The writing style was so easy to read and I flew through the book. The side characters were so well developed and I also really enjoyed the story behind the casino's boss Padma's life and how she got to be the boss. Everything was so well thought-out and I just enjoyed myself the entire time of reading! I think this will be a perfect summer read and I can't wait to display it on my shelf when it comes out next May :)

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is so much fun - a hilarious premise with a great sense of pace. A funny and sharp debut, with a great voice and a lot of charm.

I loved this! An intricate and clever plot, written with humour and an excellent lightness of touch. Perfect characterisations. Not wishing to give too much away, assumptions are dangerous things when piled one atop another. Oh, and the dog is fine!

Ooh this is very very good, excellent even. Full of interesting characters. Lots of superb plot twists and turns. Engaging characters, extremely unputdownable. A unique story. Would suit all adult age groups not just those nearing or in retirement. A Fantastic Read.
Strongly recommend!

I loved this book.
Four couples who are lifelong friends fall on hard times as a result of a bad investment
Dave and Hank work at the casino and Dave discovers a glitch in the slot machine which could give them money for an early retirement
Not everything goes to plan and there are some laugh out loud moments with Indian mafia, the hitman barber, assassination attempts.
Most enjoyable

Mayhem and Murder..
New retirement plan causes mayhem and murder plotting in this entertaining and engaging tale of twisted love and marriage. Three friends who have had enough, three husbands who are most certainly worth more dead than alive. The plan? To get rid of them and cash in on the life insurance pots - of course it is, but what could possibly go wrong? Well, firstly that these husbands just might have a plan of their own… Pacy, darkly funny and compelling and with an eclectic and well drawn cast of characters. Rather perfect escapism.

There are just so many good things I could say about this book. I absolutely tore (pun intended) through this read . Everyone needs to go read it

I thought I would identify with the characters as I am a 69 year old female but alas no. I just could not get into the story. Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC ebook

I've eagerly anticipated reading this since it was first announced - and the payoff more than delivered! So refreshing to see older protagonists breaking the mould.

This book was a very entertaining read. While the plot does often require suspension of disbelief, it truly is just a surprisingly funny, enjoyable story. If you are looking for a book with mystery, murder, and hilariously funny hijinks, this is the book for you.

Highlights:
- The multiple POVs were useful in keeping the story engaging as well as providing the opportunity for multiple instances of (amusing) dramatic irony
- Brenda and Hector were top notch side characters
- So many twists and turns - the mystery of it all really kept me guessing
- The writing style was very easy to read and, at times, laugh out loud funny
- Usually misunderstandings can get on my nerves but in this story, it really is a driver of the plot and was more entertaining than anything else
- While the story really is dark - I mean wives are putting out hits on their husbands for insurance money after all - this was surprisingly light hearted which made for a fun ride
- Pam's dog, Elmer, is a treasure

4* Fun and entertaining

At the start of this book I seriously doubted the intelligence of the three women who thought they could murder their respective husbands without any suspicion falling upon them. Their plan was to do away with their husbands, who were worth more to them dead, and collect the payout from their million dollar life insurance policy. What could go wrong!

Due to the continual misunderstandings and a total lack of communications, everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. The many characters were believable - with a pinch of salt - the plot twisted and turned throughout the pages. Good fun and an ideal read for when you just want to sit back and be entertained.

ARC generously supplied by Little, Brown Book Group UK and NetGalley, this review is my personal, unbiased opinion.

What an amazing book. Pam and the ladies, Hank and the guys, Hector, Padma and many more. Twists, turns, gasps of WHAT!!!!!! Great story cleverly told.
100% recommend you read this...

WHAT A BOOK!!!!!!!! MORE TWISTS AND TURNS THAN A ROLLERCOASTER!!!!!!!

Four old friends have had enough of their marriages. The men have lost their retirement money and the wives aren't happy so they decide to take drastic action....Murder!!!
Meanwhile the husbands are cooking their own plan.
Introduce a few more dodgy characters and the writer has given us the most brilliant plot.
I couldn't put it down. Every time I thought I had sussed it out, there was another plot twist.

Fantastic book...... highly recommended!!!!!

#suehincenbergs

This book follows Pam and Hank and their friends. Pam and her friends have had enough of their husbands, living paycheck to paycheck. Their husbands lost their savings in a bad investment. The ladies decide on a new retirement plan, hiring a hitman to kill their husbands. What the ladies don't know is that their husbands have their own plan.

This book was a very slow burner. I was about 70% in before I felt it was going somewhere. There was a lot of characters to keep up with. I did enjoy this book and their was some laugh out loud moments. I would recommend this book. And it was an enjoyable debut.

Pam and her friends Nancy and Shalisa have had enough. Enough of scraping by and enough of their bothersome husbands. Husbands who lost their life savings to a dodgy investment but also happen to have hefty life insurance policies.
Their new retirement plan? Why murder, of course.
But they don't know that their husbands have a new retirement plan of their own.
And now someone is going to be killed . . . but who?
This deliciously twisty story kept me up late at night, desperate to know the outcome. A definite 5 stars

A fantastic book with a lot of funny moments. The characters and their marriages were realistic and at times relatable. I really enjoyed this book.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for my honest and unbiased opinion.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. This book was an absolute gem. It was laugh-out-loud funny in places, surprisingly wholesome, and a really compelling read. I usually dislike dramatic irony, but for the most part, things were discovered quite quickly - there were just so many twists and turns that things kept changing! Hector and Brenda were stellar side characters, and I loved the way they used film quotes in conversation. Overall, this was just such a fun book - I wholeheartedly recommend it.