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.
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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?
The Heaven Spot is a character-driven, emotional thriller. I love mysteries and thrillers--but I especially enjoy novels that combine strong characters and real-world relationships with those mystery elements. This novel is a well-done blend of thrilling mystery solving, the darker aspects of damaged relationships, fragmented pasts pieced together to move the plot along, and emotional character development. Readers piece some of the thriller together along with the main characters and navigate the revelations and realizations along the way.
The Characters Create a Must-Read Novel. While Maggie's character didn't resonate with me, I couldn't help but yearn for a peaceful resolution for her. The mystery was well-coordinated, but it was the characters and their realistic, real-world dramatic storylines that truly made the novel a must-read. The authentic portrayal of the impact of addiction on a person and their relationships, the moments of self-reflection, guilt, and redemption, all serve to keep readers engrossed from start to finish.
Would I Recommend The Heaven Spot by Mary Frances Hill? If you enjoy thrillers with real, human factors driving the scenes--this is a well-done novel for your reading list. If you tend to ask "Why would she..." types of questions, you may find minor faults with some of the mystery development of the novel--but you will find the human nature exploration side of the story more than you could hope for. The book is emotional and will immediately catch your interest and keep you reading through to the end.
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
Thos looks like an enthralling read. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for reading and reviewing my novel! Your perspective is greatly appreciated!
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