Asking For Trouble [Mass Market Paperback]

Millie Criswell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2006

Take a cozy bed-and-breakfast, a missing guest and a mysterious stranger . . . throw in a pile of bones, a past-due bank loan and the cops . . . and it's no wonder innkeeper Beth Randall needs a vacation from her life!

Her dizzy aunts mean the world to Beth, but could their dabblings in the occult have finally gone too far? Now handsome Dr. Brad Donovan has arrived on her doorstep looking for his missing father -- last seen here at the Two Sisters Ordinary. Sure, Beth would love to explore the sudden attraction between them -- but not if it means implicating her family in murder! Dating the doctor could be fun, but it's probably just, well . . . asking for trouble.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Criswell's latest novel is a sweet, standard family tale of trust, hard work and support in the small town of Mediocrity, Pa. Self-doubting divorcée Beth Randall is the new owner of a historic inn, Two Sisters Ordinary, bought from her eccentric live-in aunts, Ivy and Iris. Since the disappearance of Iris's fiancé Lyle McMurtry years ago, Ivy and Iris have garnered a reputation among town gossips as either witches or murderesses—depending on which gossip you talk to. When Beth finds buried bones in the inn's cellar, she can't bear to face the possibility that the gossips may be right, so she keeps mum. But when sexy Virginia pediatrician Brad Donovan, comes sniffing around, he casts further suspicion upon Beth, her aunts and the inn Beth has worked herself into colossal debt over. As much as Beth would like to dismiss Brad, he remains persistent—and none too hard on the eyes. Unfortunately, Criswell does not trust her leads to carry the novel, and the number of supporting characters and subplots she uses to fill it out make for a scattershot story, while awkward family-friendly language ("horse-doody," "running around like the proverbial chicken") dates the narrative. Though heartwarming, that slight virtue is not enough to make this familiar journey worthwhile. (Apr.)
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From Booklist

The amazingly entertaining and consistently upbeat Criswell sets her latest romp in Mediocrity, Pennsylvania. The town has never been a major tourist stop, but Beth Randall is trying her best to make a success out of her inn, the Two Sisters Ordinary, named for her elderly aunts Iris and Ivy, who live on the fourth floor. They took care of Beth during her difficult childhood, and now it is Beth's turn to take care of them, only it appears that they may be involved with the disappearance of one of their guests. Dr. Brad Donovan and his teenage daughter Stacy come looking for Dr. Donovan's father, last seen at the inn, and Beth thinks her aunts are behaving awfully secretively. Brad is quite taken with the beautiful innkeeper, so Beth's aunts start playing matchmaker, unaware of Beth's suspicions. Criswell is always a fun read, and her latest contemporary romance has great small-town appeal and lots of quirky characters. Patty Engelmann
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: HQN Books (April 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0373770537
• ISBN-13: 978-0373770533
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,216,795 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Mediocrity Abounds... and disappoints, July 17, 2006

By 

Tracy Vest (Northern California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Asking For Trouble (Mass Market Paperback)

Newly divorced Beth has turned her ancestral home in the aptly named town of Mediocrity into a B&B, with her quirky elderly spinster great aunts in residence. One is a horn dog who likes to download porn; the other was left by her lover, had a baby out of wedlock, and took up witchcraft. Her lover went missing 50 years ago and everyone suspects that Iris had something to do with it. When Beth finds bones in her basement, she decides to keep them a secret to protect Iris.

Widower Brad has arrived in town with his surly daughter in tow in search of his missing father Armed with a complimentary post card as his dad's last known destination, he starts asking questions and Beth tries to keep him from talking to her aunts or making the discovery in the basement. Meanwhile, all her efforts to get a loan are thwarted, and wealthy entrepreneur Aubrey is trying to buy her out (he is the long lost son of Iris). But somehow she and Brad find the time to ogle each other and have sex in the barn before it goes up in flames.

Millie Criswell is an automatic buy for me, but after this one, I may have to rethink that. This was such a hard book for me to get into. I usually read a book a day - this one took three. Frankly, the story was clunky, the characters unoriginal (Aunt Ivy reminded me of the elderly hookers from "Left turn at Sanity"), and overall, the story was just stale - particularly the dialog. I had a hard time with the romance between Beth and Brad. On the one hand, he did not trust her, and he thought that the aunts were guilty. Yet he continued to let his pre-teen daughter spend time with them so that he could be with Beth. There were also too many subplots that conveniently got wrapped up in the end. Get this one from the library. Or better yet, read her Little Italy (Mary, Annie, Angela, Mia) series instead.

3.0 out of 5 stars The story just dragged., December 8, 2008

By 

R. Lyles - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Asking For Trouble (Mass Market Paperback)

The story line was interesting but the she always drags out her story. I started skipping paragraphs because it was starting to get boring.

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fabulous humorous romantic cozy, April 13, 2006

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Asking For Trouble (Mass Market Paperback)

In Mediocrity, Pennsylvania, thirty-four years old Beth Randall runs the Two Sisters Ordinary Inn out of a converted Victorian home that her two beloved eccentric great aunts gave her. She worries about the septuagenarians as Ivy has discovered internet porn and Iris witchcraft. Worst yet, she has dug up bones in the cellar that she fears is Iris' lover Lyle McMurty, who was allegedly murdered fifty years ago.

Widower Dr. Brad Donovan accompanied by twelve years old daughter Stacy arrives from Virginia in search of his missing father, whose last message was a postcard from the inn. Beth pretends to know very little as she now fears the remains in the cellar is that of Brad's dad. Brad soon realizes that the three females are hiding something from him as none are good liars. As Brad and Beth fall in love over the objection of his daughter and the elation of her aunts, the missing father keeps them apart while businessman Aubrey Fontaine has arrived allegedly to buy property targeting the inn in particular, but in truth for something more personal.

ASKING FOR TROUBLE is a fabulous humorous romantic cozy starring a beleaguered young woman just trying to make it when the skeletons in her family closet decide to come out and rattle quite loudly. The story line is character driven as the support cast provides zaniness (the older generation) and seriousness (the daughter and Aubrey) that either propel or repel the romantic pair. Millie Criswell provides a warm romance with a secondary lighthearted mystery to spice up the relationships.

Harriet Klausner