WHAT HAPPENS IN PARADISE
by Elin Hilderbrand
Sometimes when I’m choosing what to read next, I just want a really good story, a book that’s fun to read. Elin Hilderbrand is one of my go-to authors for that kind of book. She has written 19 books set on Nantucket in the summertime, each of them chock full of memorable characters and stories of family, romance and drama. A few years ago, Hilderbrand wrote The Winter Street Series, four books set on Nantucket in the wintertime. More recently, she’s been working on a trilogy that’s set in St. John. What Happens In Paradise is the second book in that trilogy.
The Paradise Series follows Irene Steele whose entire life is upended when her husband dies in a helicopter crash in the Virgin Islands. Russell Steele had taken a new job – something having to do with hedge funds – Irene wasn’t too clear on the details. When Irene and her adult sons head to St. John and the investigation heats up, Irene discovers that Russell had been leading a double life, complete with another family on St. John. And he had been accumulating tons of money along the way. What exactly was Russell’s job? Why does Irene have a gut feeling that the circumstances of his death are sinister?
Hilderbrand fills What Happens in Paradise with vibrant, sympathetic characters: Irene, her adult sons, Rosie – the “other” woman, Rosie’s stepfather and many others. The story is compelling – definitely a page-turner. You won’t want to put this book down and when it ends you’ll be craving the final book in the trilogy to get some answers to the mysteries. (Liz)
