Winter in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand

This is the first book of a trilogy. I wasn't sure how Hilderbrand could drag out one of her stories into three different books, to be honest. Now that I have read the first book, I can certainly see what (hopefully) the second book will be about at least. There are a lot of unanswered questions that left us hanging! This book introduces us to the Steele family: Irene, Baker (Anna & Floyd), Cash, and to some extent, Russ (in memoriam). We are also introduced to Rosie (in memoriam), Rosie's best friend Ayers , Rosie's daughter Maia and Rosie's stepfather Huck. Russ had a secret life with Rosie, which his family discovers upon his death in a helicopter crash (with Rosie) on the island of St. Johns.

When Irene and her sons, Baker & Cash, arrived on St. John's, Russ' body had already been recovered and cremated. What?? Apparently, Russ' boss gave his approval for the cremation. Well that is the number one clue that something fishy is going on. That would always fall to the next of kin, which would be his wife of 35 years, Irene! Then, as they try to figure out the details of the helicopter crash, and what Russ & Rosie were doing, all the phone numbers they called were "out of service". Russ' Villa (worth roughly $15 million!) has been wiped clean of all personal items. And how did Russ buy a Villa on St. Johns for $15 million? Well, no one knows what he did for a living, including his wife and sons.

Irene connects with Huck, in an attempt to find out information about Rosie. Irene actually tells Huck she was Russ' wife though, so he knows what he is getting into. Both Baker & Cash connect with Ayers, but they both omit telling Ayers who they are (Russ' sons) and they both fall in love with Ayers. Well, Ayers is definitely upset when she discovers the truth about who everyone is. She returns to her former, cheating boyfriend, even though she has developed feelings for Baker. Irene has also developed feelings for Huck. Apparently, Russ developed feelings for Rosie after spending one weekend with her. So, the "love at first sight" theme runs rampant in this book!

So hopefully we find out more about Russ' business dealings and his mysterious, unreachable boss in book two. It was suggested that the helicopter did not necessarily crash due to bad weather as reported. On to book two....

Wendy's Rating: ****