I just read Elin Hilderbrand’s new novel Winter in Paradise. It sure had me dreaming of sandy beaches and rum cocktails. This book is to be the first of a trilogy so it certainly left me hanging at the end. Unlike, most of Hilderbrand’s novels that take place in Nantucket, this one took place in St. John. It was nice to get a change of scenery, although I did miss the little New England island.

I’m not even sure what to share in this review here. I don’t want to give anything away. This book was filled with puzzle pieces that I kept trying to piece together page by page. When Irene gets a phone call that her dotting husband has been killed in a helicopter crash off the island of St. John, she is floored. What was he doing in St. John? Irene along with her two sons head to the island to get some answers and collect his remains. They uncover that the devoting husband and supportive father wasn’t who they thought he was. Who was Russell Steele?

There is heartbreak followed by life-altering betrayal on all fronts. Irene’s sons are desperately trying to get more information from the locals without letting anyone know who they are, seeing that when their father’s helicopter crashed, he was with a local woman who also perished in the accident leaving a broken family behind.

Hilderbrand writes with such detail about the island that you can visualize it all. You can definitely tell she did her homework. This book was a great little escape, but be forewarned. There is a cliffhanger at the end. I can’t wait for the second installment.