Book Title: THE BEAUTY DOCTOR: A NOVEL
Author: Elizabeth Hutchison Bernard
Publication Date: January 4, 2024
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
Page Length: 327
Genre: Historical Mystery Suspense
Twitter Handle: @EHBernardAuthor @cathiedunn
Instagram Handle: @EHBernardAuthor @thecoffeepotbookclub
Hashtags: #historicalfiction #historicalmystery #cosmeticsurgeryhistory #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub
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Book Title and Author Name:
THE BEAUTY DOCTOR: A NOVEL
Elizabeth Hutchison Bernard
Audiobook narrator: Lisa Bozek
Blurb:
A Bone-Chilling Mystery-Suspense-Thriller Set in the Edwardian Era
Finalist, Eric Hoffer Book Award
“Beauty is power,” Dr. Rome told her. “And with enough power, one can achieve anything.”
Straightening noses, trimming eyelids, lifting jowls . . . In the year 1907, his revolutionary beauty surgery is considered daring, perhaps dangerous. Still, women want what Dr. Rome promises. Neither is his young assistant Abigail Platford immune to Dr. Rome’s persuasive charm.
Abigail once dreamed of becoming a doctor, though of a much different sort. That dream ended with her father’s tragic death from a medical error for which she holds herself responsible. Dr. Rome, who proudly displays his medical degree from Johns Hopkins, seems to believe in her. If he were willing to act as her mentor, might there still be a chance to realize her dream of someday becoming a doctor serving New York City’s poor?
But something feels terribly wrong, as though an insidious evil is closing in. Broken promises, lies, and intrigues abound. The powerful are threatening to destroy the weak, and a doctor’s sacred duty hangs in the balance. Abigail no longer knows who to believe; but with Dr. Rome now her mentor and her lover, she desperately wants to trust him.
Even when she discovers that one of their patients has mysteriously disappeared.
From bestselling author Elizabeth Hutchison Bernard, a suspenseful work of historical fiction grounded in the social and moral issues of the Edwardian era in America. Second Edition with Author’s Preface.
Excerpt from Chapter Twenty-One of THE BEAUTY DOCTOR by Elizabeth Hutchison Bernard
Work Count: 888
The air in Mama Sally’s front room was dense with the smoke of incense and cigars. The drapes were drawn closed, and the only light came from an overhead gasolier. Several women wearing silk robes left open to afford a glimpse of creamy flesh lay about on red velvet sofas, talking and laughing with half a dozen men. Seemed that Mama Sally’s attracted patrons from outside the neighborhood, as these gentlemen were somewhat fashionably dressed in jackets and ties. Everyone was having a fine time—except for one girl, thin and honey-toned, who appeared younger than the rest and sat off to the side, staring into space.
“Mama Sally!” One of the lounging women had spotted the new arrival. A moment later, Abigail heard the click of heels and a rustling of silk. The velvet curtain in a doorway to her immediate left opened with the harsh scraping of rings on the metal rod.
“Yeah?” The woman standing on the threshold was notable first for her size—not tall but extremely wide—and then her age, which was likely three times that of any other woman in the room. She wore an elaborately flounced gown, fancy but out-of-date, her reddish hair piled high in a mass of curls and adorned with several brightly colored feathers. Her powdery-white face looked as if it might crack if she were to smile; it did not appear she was likely to do so.
“Good evening. I’m looking for the proprietor of this—this establishment,” Abigail said, her voice faltering.
“You’re lookin’ at her.”
“You’re Mama Sally?”
“I said so, didn’t I?” She did not move from the threshold.
“I’m a friend of Riana, the young woman who—”
“Hung herself,” Sally broke in. “Could have done it easier some other way, but in the end it don’t matter. She’s out of her misery now.” She eyed Abigail suspiciously. “If you’ve come lookin’ to collect her things, you can forget it. She didn’t have a pot to piss in. I only let her stay here out of the goodness of my heart.”
“I’m not here for her things. I’ve come about the little girl— Shaena.”
Sally raised an eyebrow. “What about her?”
“I just wondered who will take care of her now.”
“And what business is it of yours?”
Abigail suddenly noticed how quiet the room had become. She looked behind her. Everyone had left, except for the young girl sitting alone. She turned back to Sally, who was lighting up a cigar. “I told you, I’m a friend of Riana’s.”
Sally extinguished the match with a flick of her wrist. “Riana didn’t have no friends.” She took a step toward Abigail, eyeing her up and down. “You’re not one of them do-gooders, are you? Wantin’ to stick your nose where it don’t belong?”
“I just came by to make sure Shaena is all right.” Abigail held her gaze steady. “I wondered what arrangements have been made for her.”
“Arrangements?” Sally sniffed derisively. “As long as she does her work, I’ll let her stay here. That’s what her mother wanted.”
“But Riana wasn’t her mother.”
“I’m well aware of that, missy. I guess you don’t know—her mother was one of my girls, too. And that little one, she would have made a pretty whore one day. A shame her face got ruined. But I’m holdin’ out hope for her yet. Men are funny that way; sometimes they don’t mind a girl who’s different, even like that.”
Abigail felt woozy from the smoke and incense, or maybe it was because of what Mama Sally had just said. It seemed there was nothing she could do to help Shaena. But there had to be. She couldn’t just walk away and leave her here.
“I’m taking Shaena with me.”
Sally showed no emotion, leisurely blowing a couple of smoke rings before she finally spoke. “It’ll cost you. Three hundred.”
“Why, that’s absurd! You don’t own her.”
Sally’s eyes narrowed. “She may be young, but she’s still worth something. I ain’t just givin’ her away.”
Abigail drew herself up. “I can have her removed from here, you know. There are laws—”
Sally clenched the cigar between her teeth, regarding Abigail as she would a harmless insect. “I’ll give her to you for two fifty, but that’s my last offer.”
Abigail couldn’t believe it. Here she was, engaging in the same despicable game as Joe Radcliff when he’d sent Franklin to bargain with Ludwik for the twins. Except, of course, she meant to rescue Shaena.
“All right, two fifty,” she agreed, realizing she would have to bluff her way out. “I’ll take her now and bring you the money tomorrow.”
“Afraid I don’t do business like that, honey. Bring me the money, I give you the girl. Until then, we got no deal. And if I get a better offer in the meantime, you can bet I’ll take it. So you best not dilly-dally.” She smiled smugly. “Now, I suggest you be on your way. A fine young lady such as you don’t want to be caught in a place like this, I’m sure.”
“But—”
Mama Sally’s smile vanished abruptly. “Good day to you, miss.” Turning her back with an air of finality, she passed through the doorway and drew the velvet curtain closed.
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Author Bio:
Elizabeth Hutchison Bernard is the author of bestselling historical novels. Her 2023 release, Sisters of Castle Leod, is an Amazon Kindle #1 Bestseller (Historical Biographical Fiction, Historical Literary Fiction), winner of the 2023 Maxy Award for Historical and Adventure Fiction, and an Editors’ Choice of the Historical Novel Society. Her biographical novel Temptation Rag (2018) was hailed by Publishers Weekly as a “resonant novel . . . about the birth and demise of ragtime . . . in which romance and creative passions abound.” Elizabeth’s 2017 historical mystery-suspense-thriller, The Beauty Doctor, was a finalist for the prestigious Eric Hoffer Book Award. The book’s re-release (Jan. 4, 2024) features a stunning new cover and an Author Preface with insights into social and moral issues of the Edwardian era that frame this shocking fictional story set in the early days of cosmetic surgery. Before becoming a full-time author, Elizabeth was executive editor of an international aesthetic surgery journal, and senior consultant to the National Cosmetic Network in conjunction with Johns Hopkins University’s plastic surgery educational program. Learn more about Elizabeth and her books at http://www.EHBernard.com.
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When Angels Fly 