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?
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.
A thriller mystery that is heavily family drama, the storyline is unique with flawed characters and tragic loss.
Maggie Roberts is an opioid addict who saw the disappearance of her daughter Lilly three years ago. Now having been informed of her death in Palm Beach, Florida, she is obsessed with discovering why and who would have killed her.
Lilly was apparently an exceptionally talented artist. Her art was expressed in large graffiti murals placed in very unusual locations.
“The heaven spot? The most dangerous place to do her art. Risk…it’s how you gain cred from fellow writers.”
It’s a whole artistic world out there I’ve only marveled at from afar on occasion.
Lilly had created a reputation, traveled with both unique and dangerous characters, and was herself deeply flawed.
Seeking to find the truth and finding difficult answers both broke Maggie’s heart and gave her a new fierce admiration for her daughter. The realization that she’d never be able to right the wrongs now or say she was sorry redoubled her grief.
I had difficulty investing in Maggie or her daughter, a society alien to me, though the author does a terrific job of developing both her main and support characters. Tension gradually builds as Maggie gains each new nugget of information and there are twists and turns with Maggie questioning her own culpability at every turn.
It’s a rather sad story that includes triggers of murder and addiction. There were several edit misses though they did not change my investment in figuring out Lilly’s story. I was given a copy of this book for the book tour and these opinions are my own.
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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
Win a signed copy of THE HEAVEN SPOT (a novel) by Mary Frances Hill (one winner / USA and Canada only) (ends May 17)
V Williams
Rosepoint Publishing 
I’m excited to read this book. It looks intriguing. Thanks for sharing.
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thank you and appreciate the comment!
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This book sounds interesting. Thank you for the book review. I may just read it!
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thank you, it’s a world of “tagging” i never understood but have often appreciated the artistic aspect of it. something different, Cheryl.
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