#TheHeavenSpot – Rosepoint Publishing

Rosepoint Reviews - April Recap

I’ve always enjoyed May—still some transition weather—but generally warming and the kick-off of my gardening activities, both veggies and flower bed. (The fairy garden has been hit by gremlins.) I did manage to get in both seeds and seedlings. Unfortunately, that was followed quickly by a Spring freeze. I’ll be replacing tomatoes and peppers.

For those following Punkin the Pom, we are still one step forward, two back. This poor little thing…only Heaven (and the breeder) knows her history. Hoping she is gradually gaining a little trust in us while trying ever so subtly now to push her boundaries a bit as she still spends most of her days safely ensconced in her crate (almost seven months now). We took her to a groomer who cut all her guard hair off down to her undercoat. I told her I didn’t want it that short, but she now looks like a little puff ball.

This year is flying by; where did April go? We read and reviewed thirteen books in April. Leaning more heavily on audiobooks and burning through two to each I read. I’ll be catching up with a few of those reviews soon!

In the meantime, links on titles are to our reviews that include purchase or source information.

Rosepoint Reviews-April Recap

The Mystery Writer by Sulari Gentill
Down Range by Taylor Moore (audiobook)
Ahab and Jezebel by Joseph Bringman (CE review)
Blood Mountain by Alisa Lynn Valdés
The Hunter by Tana French (audiobook)
I Have Your Back by Tom Sileo (CE review)
Closer Than You Think by Jean Grainger
The Drifter by Nick Petrie (audiobook)
The Debt Collector by Steven Max Russo (CE review)
The Heaven Spot by Mary Frances Hill (book tour)
Iron Lake by William Kent Krueger (audiobook)
The Boys Are Back in Town by Karl Kling (CE review)
The Wharton Plot by Mariah Fredericks

Favorite Book of the Month

I had several books that I just couldn’t quite give all five stars—but the CE thoroughly enjoyed one. So he gets the nod for favorite of April.

Book of the Month for April—The Debt Collector

My Reading Challenges page, as always, is behind. I’ll get to it after the garden is in. Not unsurprising, the Goodreads Challenge is five books behind schedule at 44 of 150. (See excuse noted above.)

May is solid and I’m planning on having a multiple review post shortly. Of course, I’m also looking forward to doing some bike riding. My first of the year ride had some muscles screaming at me—we lose it so fast in the winter—don’t we?

Welcome to my new subscribers. I’m loving getting in some blog hopping and looking forward to spending time with more of you.

k-luv-u-bye

Book Blurb

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 Details

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.

My Thoughts

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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About the Author

Mary Frances Hill - author 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.