Book Title: The Heaven Spot (A Novel) by Mary Frances Hill
Category: Adult Fiction (18+), 296 pages
Genre: Thriller/Mystery
Publisher: Mary Frances Hill
Release date: February 2024
Content Rating: PG-13 + M:
The story is about a recovering opioid addict (previously a soccer mom from Virginia) who travels to Florida to solve her estranged daughter's (a runaway's) murder and to learn about the life her daughter was leading.
- There are curse words. The F-word is used once.
- There are no sex scenes, but the mom discovers that her daughter was sexually fluid and in relationships with a woman and an older man. (separately/not a throuple)
- There is no graphic violence.
- The novel does deal with mature themes like addiction, suicide, and adultery as well as grief, guilt, the power of friendship, and forgiveness. However, given the protagonist's addiction issues, it can be a bit raw at times.
The Heaven Spot is a modern-day mystery set in Palm Beach, Florida, that depicts opioid addict Maggie Robert’s desperate attempt to come to terms with her estranged daughter, Lilly’s, murder.
When divorcée Maggie Roberts stumbles into her Virginia bookstore for the last time to close up shop, she expects the morning to be rough. The business failure is hers alone. She took all those opioids. She relapsed. She vows to stay clean and regroup. But as she packs up her books, two cops appear and inform her that her estranged daughter, Lilly, has died in West Palm Beach.
Heartbroken, Maggie heads to Florida to find out why Lilly passed and how she lived. But when she arrives in the Sunshine State, she barely recognizes the young woman in the morgue.
Maggie doubts she’ll ever forgive herself for her past mistakes with Lilly but believes that if she remains local, she can push the detective to focus on Lilly’s case and learn about her daughter. But as she connects the dots, Maggie wonders the unthinkable—could she have played a part in Lilly’s death while relapsing and blackout-high? Can she live with herself if she did?
Review: Maggie had just lost her
bookstore, her home, and now her only daughter. Upon realizing that her
daughter was murdered, Maggie resolves to find her killer.
The narrative was nice and simple, and it naturally draws you in. Memories flood Maggie’s mind as she battles the grief and looks into her daughter’s life. Right away, you feel for the grieving mother that was still kicking a substance abuse problem. You really get into the mystery here. Things get more complex when the homicide detective suspects Maggie of the murder. Maggie knows that she could never kill anyone, let alone her own daughter. But how could you explain your whereabouts when you couldn’t remember them because of a drug binge? And what can you do when the memory flashes you do get end up putting you at the crime scene? Did Maggie kill her daughter after all?
A gripping mystery for sure! Keeps
you invested from start to finish. I found Lily’s hidden letter game to be the
most interesting. Six clues that would lead to her killer. Wow! This is all
turned into a desperate search for the Heaven Spot. You won’t believe how this
all ends. A must read!
Rating: 5 stars
Mary Frances Hill was born in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. The daughter of a music professor and an elementary school teacher, Mary obtained a master's degree in counseling psychology and worked as a therapist before raising two children. Though Mary currently lives in Southern California with her Russian Blue and Scottish Straight cats, her Pyredoodle puppy, her golfer husband, and her adult son and daughter, she spent many happy vacations at her house on Palm Beach Island—the setting of her most recent novel, The Heaven Spot. Mary is an avid dog walker and home renovator and loves binge-watching true crime documentaries and mysteries. Mary’s debut novel, The Worm Man, was published in 2022.
Connect with the author: Website ~ Goodreads
This looks like a fantastic novel. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for reading and reviewing my novel! Your thoughtful perspective is greatly appreciated!
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