Pawpaw Patch (a novel--first published in 1996)

At forty, Chanell Foster is proud and popular in her hometown. Her beauty shop is more than her business--it is the town's social hub--and one's status in Cornervill is ensured by a standing weekly appointment in Chanell's book. But life in a small southern town can change without warning. For Chanell, it begins when several of her regular customers fail to appear for their appointments...