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...