Wife Goes On

Lehr turns out a frothy escape novel that examines a cross-section of contemporary Los Angeles divorcées who become fast friends despite themselves. There’s Diane, a mom of two whose husband’s gambling led to bankruptcy and divorce. Then there’s Lana, the former wife of a Hollywood heartthrob whose public breakup became a national punch line and led her to change her name and find work at a furniture store. Rounding out the cast is sweet-as-sugar Bonnie, a former homecoming queen now saddled with two children and an overbearing husband, and icy divorce attorney Annette, whose husband left her for another man. After a chance encounter in Lana’s furniture store, Diane discovers Annette is living in the house she lost, and Bonnie has a mini-breakdown while choosing a coffee table; the four eventually find themselves looking to each other for support, insight and favors. Although occasionally veering toward the implausible or clichéd—such as when Lana spurns her ex on national television—Lehr keeps the plot moving with madcap hijinks and tender moments. (Mar.)