Winter in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand

Picture this. There I was, on the train to work last week (before I started working from home due to Covid 19) with Elin Hilderbrand’s Winter in Paradise in hand. In my imagination I was at the airport with my suitcase filled with sun hats and beach towels as I waited to fly off on holiday to my beloved (but yet unvisited) Nantucket when I started reading the story and guess what????
This book was not set in Nantucket!!!!
I needed a moment to compose myself.
Okay.
It was okay.
Actually, it was good.
I went to the Caribbean instead!!!!
I’m back now.
And I had a really good time!!!!
Winter in Paradise is the first book Elin Hilderbrand has set outside of Nantucket but it had all the best elements of her stories. Strong, interesting characters, a gorgeous setting and an intriguing mystery.
Irene Steele is happily married to Russ who is never home because he is constantly travelling for work. Russ makes a lot of money though so Irene doesn’t complain (much). She is busy with her own career as editor in chief of a ‘house’ magazine, although on page one of this story is transpires that Irene is furious as she has recently been demoted in favour of a much younger woman. Irene and Russ have two adult sons.
When Irene receives a phone call from Russ’ boss’ secretary telling her that Russ is dead, Irene travels to the island of St John with her sons, where they learn Russ owned a beautiful, expensive property and had a secret life. Russ’ mistress, Rosie, died in the same helicopter accident as him and their pilot.
Luckily Russ was already dead because if I’d been Irene, finding out about my husband’s second family, I’d have killed him myself.
The story follows Irene, her two sons, and Rosie’s family on the island and their friends as they try to unravel the mystery of what happened and what Russ was hiding.
When I got home from work I sat up far too late to finish Winter in Paradise in one sitting. Unfortunately, I still don’t know what happened as the book is part a trilogy. I’m now on the lookout for book two in the series. I don’t believe that book three has been published yet.