I went into Winter in Paradise thinking that it would be the perfect beachy blend of mystery and family drama. Irene gets a phone call on New Years that her devoted husband has died from a helicopter crash while away on business. What follows is the dangling of the proverbial mystery bait, where hints abound that not everything is as it seems. And then some more bait dangling. And then the book just ends, on a cliffhanger, without anything being resolved.
Ugh! That was not at all what I expected. I knew this book was the first in a series, but I assumed that the mysteries of this book would be solved by the end of the book (or at least big parts of it), and the following books would have new mysteries to uncover and unravel. A big reason I even picked up this book in the first place was for the mystery, and to have it end without any forward progress is a huge disappointment.
Most of this book is just fluffy drama between the characters, and unfortunately, the main characters are not likable. Irene is a mother who plays favorites but can't see it. The two brothers both act like spoiled children, trying to best each other. The whole family keeps secrets from each other, sometimes for no particular reason. And there is so much insta-love I feel like I got whiplash.
Will I read the rest of the series when those books come out? Maybe, but only because I have been so thoroughly baited with this mystery. I do hope the payoff is good eventually, if it's going to take three whole books to get there.
Readaroo Rating: 2 stars
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