India, July 6 -- Marriage is challenging. But what will be harder is getting through this book if you start reading by expecting some heart-thumping Money Heist energy. What you'll end up with instead is finding yourself backtracking a few flips to clarify that you haven't missed out on something. You'll also desperately want to root for the trio of best friends happily plotting their widowhood, but halfway through, you'll be egging yourself on to just make it to the climax. We won't spoil the ending for you, but Sue Hincenbergs' The Retirement Plan is at its best a comedy of errors - and this isn't a Shakespearean compliment. Truth be told, it's no minor feat to balance three protagonists. Taking this to be the author's debut novel, what the reader gets is three additional players (the protagonists' husbands) elbowing themselves in for page time, turning it into a classic case of too many characters spoiling the plot. A crowded novel isn't exactly a cardinal sin, but taking the kitschy quotient of these characters to steroid-level mania definitely is. It's not too soon before what was interesting starts seeming odd and eventually just too exhausting to keep up with. That being said, it's not all mangled. There's something incredibly comforting in knowing that if marriage doesn't work out, at least you'll always have your best friends by your side. Sue gets this bit right. But you'll only be able to enjoy the 30-year-old camaraderie if you're willing to turn your brain off to the commotional writing. If your heart is still precisely set on dunking yourself into a three-way cross-connection murder, then why not stream Horrible Bosses (2011)? At least watching that will give you the giggles and the thrills that Sue fails to deliver on, despite the very slick and enticing cover. Title: The Retirement Plan Author: Sue Hincenbergs Publisher: Hachette Price: Rs.699...