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A follow-up to the best-selling Winter in Paradise finds Irene and her sons returning to St. John to investigate her late husband's secret double life before uncovering surprising truths about their own realities and futures. (romance). Simultaneous.
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Elin Hilderbrand is the mother of three three-sport athletes, an aspiring fashionista, a dedicated jogger, a world explorer, an enthusiastic foodie, and a grateful three-year breast cancer survivor. She spends part of every winter writing on St. John. What Happens in Paradise is her twenty-fourth novel.
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*Starred Review* After the events of Winter in Paradise (2018), everyone is back where they belong. Irene Steele is in Iowa City with her younger son, Cash; older son Baker is in Houston negotiating a custody arrangement with his soon-to-be ex-wife; and boat captain Huck, free-spirited Ayers, and 12-year-old Maia are still on St. John. But the events of the previous New Year's, when Irene discovered her husband's secret life in St. John after he and Maia's mother, Rosie, were killed in a helicopter crash, are not over, and now the FBI is involved. Irene still feels drawn to the island, so when Huck offers her a job, she jumps right in, joined by Cash and Baker, both of whom are in love with Ayers. Once again, Hilderbrand demonstrates her mastery of immersive escapism with a carefully deployed pineapple-banana smoothie or the blue tile of an outdoor shower. The cautious steadiness of Irene and Huck counterbalances the drama of the younger cast (honestly, Baker!), though there are plenty of complicated feelings to go around, especially when Ayers discovers Rosie's diary. The absolute pleasure of the reading experience combined with a cliff-hanger ending will have readers anxiously awaiting the conclusion to the trilogy.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: One bestseller in Hilderbrand's enthralling trilogy ensures another. Copyright 2019 Booklist Reviews.
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Back to St. John with the Steele family, whose tragic loss and horrifying discovery have yielded an exciting new life. In Winter in Paradise (2018), Hilderbrand introduced Midwestern magazine editor Irene Steele and her adult sons, Baker and Cash, then swept them off to the island of St. John after paterfamilias Russell Steele was killed in a helicopter crash with his secret mistress, leaving a preteen love child and a spectacular villa. While the first volume left a lot up in the air about Russell's dubious business dealings and the manner of his death, this installment fills in many of the blanks. All three Steeles made new friends during their unexpected visit to the island in January, and now that's resulted in job offers for Irene and Cash and the promise of new love for single dad Baker. Why not move to St. John and into the empty villa? Mother, sons, and grandson do just that. Both the dead mistress's diary and a cadre of FBI agents begin to provide answers to the questions left dangling in Volume 1, and romantic prospects unfold for all three Steeles. Nevertheless, as a wise person on ce said, shit happens, combusting the family's prospects and leading to a cliffhanger ending. On the way, there will be luscious island atmosphere, cute sundresses, frozen drinks, "slender baguette sandwiches with duck, arugula and fig jam," lemongrass sugar cookies, and numerous bottles of both Krug and Dom Pérignon, the latter served by a wiseass who offers one of his trademark tasting notes: "This storied bubbly has notes of Canadian pennies, your dad's Members Only jacket, and...'We Are Never, Ever, Ever Getting Back Together.' " You'll be counting the days until you can return to the Virgin Islands with these characters in the concluding volume of the trilogy. Print the bumper sticker-"I'd Rather Be Living in an Elin Hilderbrand Novel." Copyright Kirkus 2019 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved.
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