4.5 stars

War of the Wives is a very intriguing and riveting novel about two women who discover they were both married to the same man at the same time. While the premise of the story seems improbable, Tamar Cohen is simply brilliant at creating an entirely plausible scenario for the long lasting deception.

Selina Busfield has been married to Simon for twenty-eight years and they enjoy a lavish, privileged lifestyle. They have three children who range in age from late teens to their early twenties with only the youngest living at home. Selina is pampered and self-indulgent with a bit of a superior attitude. She is happy with her mostly long distance marriage and readily admits she is stingy with her affection to her husband and children. Selina is naturally stunned to discover that Simon has been living a double life, but she absolves him of all blame for falling for the second Mrs. Busfield, whom she fully believes is a nothing but a money-grubbing husband stealer.

Although Lottie has been married to Simon for seventeen years, she is completely unaware of his other family. She is nothing like Selina and their marriage is also very different from the one he has with Selina. Lottie is laid back, a bit of a spendthrift and unconcerned about their financial future. Although he is only around part of the time, Simon is a very hands on and doting father to their teenage daughter. Lottie is shocked to learn of Simon's death and she cannot fathom why his funeral has been planned without her input. Needless to say, her appearance at the service brings the whole sordid mess out into the open and leaves both women struggling to understand Simon's betrayal.

The differences between Selina and Lottie don't end with their appearances and lifestyles. They each cope with Simon's death in completely opposite ways. Selina remains organized and she faces the problems that arise head on whereas Lottie completely falls apart. Strangely enough, neither woman blames Simon for their current situation and as a result, Selina and Lottie's relationship is incredibly antagonistic. However, the women do find themselves turning to one another as unexpected information is revealed, but their truce is fragile and easily broken.

The circumstances surrounding Simon's death are rather perplexing and remain a mystery for much of the novel. Was his death a tragic accident? Did he commit suicide? Or is there a far more sinister reason for his untimely death? As more of his secrets come to light, each of these scenarios is conceivable, and when the answer is finally revealed, I immediately wanted to re-read the novel to see what, if any, clues I might have missed.

War of the Wives is a very compelling novel that is incredibly engrossing. Lottie and Selina are interesting characters that, while sympathetic, are not always easy to like. The plot is unique with numerous twists and turns and Tamar Cohen brings the story to an absolutely jaw-dropping and stunning conclusion. The remaining loose ends are wrapped up with a lovely epilogue that is quite heartwarming. All in all, it is a delightful gem of a story that I highly recommend. ( )

War of the Wives
Simon leaves two wives when he dies. Selina is poised and has 3 children and runs the family home married for 28 years.
Lottie lives with a teen in the city, married for 17 years. They are both married to Simon and he's now dead.
Book follows both up til the point where they learn of the will and how things are going to be for each of them....
Find this hard to believe, that it even happened, the law allowed him to marry to 2 different people...
Crazy what they must do, together.... ( )

Review & Book Giveaway: I have to sheepishly admit that when I opted in for War of the Wives by Tamar Cohen I didn’t read the publisher’s description as thoroughly as I normally do. I actually thought this was a story about a current wife and an ex-wife. I could think about all kinds of cat-fight kinds of things that could evoke, and I guess I was in an odd mood that day, because normally I don’t like to read about those kinds of dynamics. When I picked the book up to read it, I was actually relieved to discover it was about something else entirely. There’s nothing like two women scorned to make for an interesting read. Two women get an up close and personal look at loyalty, deception, betrayal, and how life can change in an instant. How will they be changed by that? I’m paying it forward with a giveaway of the copy I received because I really want to share this novel with at least one lucky reader…so be sure to enter at http://popcornreads.com/?p=8372. ( )

My deepest sympathies, ​M​rs. Busfield. What? I am Mrs Busfield. ​Everyone was confused, but the cat was out of the bag.
​
Mr. ​Simon Busfield ​had two lives and two wives, and he was the only one who knew. Well only he and his accountant and his financial advisor, but definitely not the two women he claimed to be in love with and married to...one for 28 years and one for 17 years.

Despite the serious situations in the book, THE WAR OF THE WIVES is entertaining and humorous. Once you think the surprises are over, another one pops up.

WAR OF THE WIVES moves back and forth between Selina and Lottie's life telling how Simon managed to lie and cheat and remain married to both women at the same time without their knowing it. He must have been some major organizer to pull that off.

​I enjoyed WAR OF THE WIVES even though some parts were a bit hard to believe. I actually didn't like ​the two wives, Selina and Lottie. They both were self-centered and if you ask me a bit naive. How could they not know? Their children were a bit odd as well.

If you need a light, entertaining read, I suggest reading WAR OF THE WIVES. The ending was heartwarming and one that had yet another surprise. 4/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review. ( )

Told from the perspectives of two women, Tamar Cohen's War of the Wives is a story of love, loss and devastating betrayal.

Selina Busfield is devastated when her husband's body is found in the Thames River, especially as Simon was supposed to be working in Dubai and not due home until the next day. The police suspect suicide, but Selina is convinced her husband would simply not be capable of such a selfish act and, after twenty eight years of marriage and three children, she is certain she knows him better than anyone.
Lottie is stunned when she receives a phone call from an old colleague offering her condolences on the death of her husband. Lottie is confused, as far as she knows Simon, her husband of 17 years and the father of her teenage daughter, is in Dubai, working, but when she fails to reach him and as more details come to light, a shocking truth dawns.
Simon has been living a double life, he was two wives, two families... and their worlds about to collide.

It is a plot ripped from the tabloid headlines - a man with two families, each oblivious to the other, whose shocking secret is revealed after his death, devastating those left behind. Cohen allows the new widows to tell the story as they struggle with their grief and the chaos of the aftermath.

Selena and Lottie are opposites in temperament, lifestyle and looks, both however are crushed by hurt in the wake of Simon's betrayal. Trying to hang on to a thread of loyalty to the man each believed was their loving husband, they blame each other, and themselves, for the untenable situation they have found themselves in. I feel like Cohen portrayed the emotions of both women well, I believed in their bitterness, their self doubt, their grief and their rivalry. I also liked the way in which Cohen involved the young adult children in the story, their anger, distress and confusion felt real.

Additional complications arise when it becomes clear that in order to finance his double life, Simon had become involved in something unsavoury. I'm not sure though that this thread really adds much to the story except to act as a distraction.

I liked War of The Wives, the characters in particular were interesting, and it was a quick read but I didn't find it particularly gripping. ( )