Winter in Paradise is the first book in Hilderbrand’s trio of novels set on St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands. As such, it establishes the central characters and primary plot engine of the series—the death of the Steele family’s patriarch and the subsequent discovery of his double life and second family on St. John. Hilderbrand concludes Winter in Paradise with a cliffhanger final scene in which Irene, her two sons, and Rosie’s stepfather, Huck, all receive phone calls from an FBI agent informing them of a formal, criminal investigation into the helicopter crash that took Russ and Rosie’s lives.

The cliffhanger sets the stage for the second novel in the series, What Happens in Paradise, which provides answers to many of the questions left unanswered in Winter in Paradise. The second novel sees Irene and her sons relocating to St. John to unravel the truth about Russ’s work and the events that led to his death. In the process, all three Steeles pursue new romantic relationships and careers on the island, continuing the arcs Hilderbrand begins in Winter in Paradise in which Russ’s death serves as a catalyst for his wife and sons’ self-discovery and reinvention. The third novel in the trilogy, Troubles in Paradise, details Irene and her sons’ journey to establish their lives on St. John and resolves the remaining elements of the mystery surrounding Russ’s criminal past. Hilderbrand’s series sits in conversation with other contemporary series that explore the complexities of familial and romantic relationships such as Tessa Bailey’s Bellinger Sisters duology, and Hilderbrand’s own Winter Street series set on Nantucket.