Review: Winter in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand

Winter in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand   

Expected Publication: October 9, 2018

Publisher: Little Brown and Company

Format: via NetGalley

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis

Irene Steele’s idyllic life-house, husband, family-is shattered when she is woken up by a late-night phone call. Her beloved husband has been found dead, but before Irene can process this tragic news, she must confront the perplexing details of her husband’s death. He was found on St. John island, a tropical paradise far removed from their suburban life. Leaving the cold winter behind, Irene flies down to the beautiful Caribbean beaches of St. John only to make another shocking discovery: her husband had a secret second family. As Irene investigates the mysterious circumstances of her husband’s death, she is plunged into a web of intrigue and deceit belied by the pristine white sand beaches of St. John’s. This exciting first book in the Paradise series will transport readers to a new beach locale-another world that Elin knows as well as her beloved Nantucket-and have them longing for winter.

My Thoughts

In Elin Hilderbrand’s new novel Winter in Paradise, we leave her usual setting of her beloved Nantucket and she brings us to the tropical setting of St. John in her newest Winter series. We meet Irene who loves her life and has everything she has wanted except more time with her husband who works so much for all they have. She also has two grown sons who are going through tough times of their own but everyone’s lives are about to change when Irene gets a phone call that her husband has died.

Irene is stunned when she learns that her husband has lead a double life and she begins to wonder who exactly was she married to? She learns that he lead this totally different life in St. John and that he didn’t die alone that he did, in fact, have a mistress and possibly a secret child. So what is Irene to do but go down there and try to find out who her husband really was and decides to bring her two sons along for the ride. One son is trying to find his way in life. He is so different from his father, he is carefree and just wants to enjoy life while his brother is exactly like their dad he is a go-getter and is all about business but he has pushed that away to take care of his son full time while his wife a doctor focuses on her career. However, he is shocked when moments before he finds out about his fathers' death his wife tells him she is leaving him for another woman.

In St. John we meet a cast of other characters who play major parts in this story. We find out more about the mistress and her best friend whom both of Irene sons fall for. We also met the mistresses stepfather who has a spark of sorts with Irene which I’m totally on board with. There are a lot of characters on this small island but you never get confused and they just bring lots of depth to the story.

I really enjoyed this first book in her new series, I think the set up for the next novels is definitely there and the storyline is really good. I like how she has added elements of mystery with this one and how there is so much to explore in regards to Irene’s husbands’ death. What exactly happened? Was it really an accident or was it something more sinister? And what exactly was his job and who did he work for? I can't wait to discover all these things in the future and hopefully, my questions will be answered. This was definitely a good first book and I can't wait to learn more about these really interesting characters.