The Beauty Room

The story of a daughter's liberation from her mother by "a superb writer . . . It's incredibly sensual and physically realized . . . also very sexy" (Lesley Glaister, award-winning author of As Far as You Can Go).   After the death of her mother, Celia Roth begins life anew by redecorating the house where they lived together—the house containing the room where her beautician mother treated her clients. But as the new paint covers their shared history, layer upon layer of dark truths begin to surface. Celia's attempts to wrestle free from her mother's shadow falter when she receives a bouquet of black tulips—and realizes she is being watched.   The revelation of long-held family secrets and a passionate new affair combine to shatter Celia's secure life in the Swiss gem trade. Forced to confront her own grief and guilt, she must finally find the strength and courage to lay her family's past to rest. The Beauty Room is a compelling story of intense family relations. With a beautifully compassionate voice, Regi Claire speaks of the pain of coping with the loss of those you loved and those you secretly grew to hate.   "A search for love is at the heart of this ambitious first novel . . . dramatic . . . shocking and rebarbative . . . an impressive debut novel, elegantly written with a generous cast of cleverly drawn complementary characters." — The Herald   " A sensitive account of the process of bereavement . . . full of insight and fine writing." — The Scotsman   "As the . . . family history unfolds, Celia's repressed sexuality emerges with a bristling electricity that fairly crackles off the pages . . . Strange and menacing . . . beautiful writing." — Scottish Book Collector