Thank you Libro.fm / Harper Audio for the ALC of The Retirement Plan in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: Harper Audio
Published: May 6, 2025
Summary:
Three middle-aged best friends turn to murder in order to collect on their husbands’ life insurance policies…but are unaware that their husbands have a devious plan of their own, in this darkly funny debut—perfect for fans of The Thursday Murder Club and Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone.
Three wives wanting a new life, three husbands in their way…
After thirty years of friendship, Pam dreams of her perfect retirement with Nancy, Shalisa, Marlene, and their husbands—until their husbands pool their funds for an investment that goes terribly wrong, and their dreams of beachfront condos and a sunny, carefree retirement vanish. The golden years are looking as dreary as their marriages.
But when one husband dies in a freak accident, the other three women are shocked to see his widow rebound with a huge life insurance payout and a new life in Florida. In the aftermath, the women discover that their husbands have identical, seven-figure life insurance policies. A new dream forms, and this time, it involves a hitman.
Meanwhile, their husbands have a secret retirement plan of their own. So, when things begin to go awry, they fear their own scheme may have backfired…with deadly consequences. The husbands scramble to stay alive, but they may not be fast enough to outmaneuver their wives.
What follows is a high-stakes tale of cat and mouse, both laugh-out-loud funny and unbearably tense, while ultimately a bighearted look at marriage, friendship, and middle-age.
My thoughts:
This is a dark, humorous thriller that had a Desperate Housewives meets Finlay Donovan feel to it. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I found I quite enjoyed it, especially as the characters were all of the middle-aged set! To me, that made them so much more relatable!!!
One thing is for sure, I wasn’t expecting this to be as dark as it got at times, but I couldn’t have loved it more! I ended up not being able to put this one down because I just had to find out where it was going and so I listened to it in one day – this is just so bingeable, which I loved!
This book is all about recognizing that sometimes we don’t realize what we have until it’s almost gone. It’s also about friendship and living your best life with what you have. I think it would make a good book club pick as it’s a fun read with lots to unpack – the characters are so dynamic and sympathetic to a point; the situations they find themselves in are hilarious, to say the least, and don’t we all find ourselves to be misunderstood at times? An entertaining, laugh-out-loud story that isn’t quite as predictable as you may think!
Audio thoughts:
This book was narrated by Kiiri Sandy and John Pirhalla, and both did a fantastic job in bringing the story and characters to life. It was such a fun listen!!!
Purchasing from the link below supports independent bookstores and my blog!
