Mutton

What's a woman to do when she wakes up one morning and finds her looks seem to have vanished overnight? When she saunters past building sites, and whistles come there none? When she catches the eye of a nice young man and is rewarded with the kind, patient smile people give their grannies?

These questions trouble Clara Hutt as she strides, or tries to, towards her fiftieth birthday. Her husband adores her and her children think her wrinkles are characterful - but her dissatisfaction persists. Perhaps a new wardrobe? And perhaps a little Botox. A little filler. A little nip, a little tuck . . . but where do you draw the line? And what happens if, having reinvented yourself, you feel a new life beckoning?

A hilarious, heartfelt exploration of women's relationship with their looks, India Knight's fourth novel will strike a chord with anyone who's ever held up a dress in a changing room, asked 'Is it too young? . . . and bought it anyway.