Trouble Down The Road [Paperback]

Bettye Griffin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 27, 2010

From the author of The People Next Door comes a smart, sexy new novel that peeks behind the curtains of one very complicated Florida cul-de-sac, where the neighbors are a little too close for comfort...

Suzanne and Brad Betancourt have a lot to be grateful for--their home, their children, and each other. They've even survived the fact that Brad's ex-wife lives next door and Suzanne's intrusive mother and siblings are just down the road. But Suzanne's confidence unravels at Brad's fiftieth birthday blowout, when young, voluptuous, neighbor Micheline brings a specially wrapped gift: herself. Suddenly, Suzanne feels like she's the one having the midlife crisis. . .

Hoping to impress Brad, and ease family troubles that are already straining their relationship, Suzanne goes into business with a friend. But the endeavor stretches her too thin, leaving Brad hurt and alienated. Soon he begins to distance himself from her--moving right into the waiting arms of Micheline, who is all too ready to ditch her own husband.

Now, with marriages on the line across the neighborhood, Suzanne and Brad will have to question their notion of loyalty to one another--and to themselves.

Praise For The Novels Of Bettye Griffin

"Fear and joy practically leap off the pages. A well-written story you will hate to see end." --Romantic Times on Once Upon a Project

"A compelling drama about three families striving for the American dream."--Booklist on If These Walls Could Talk

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The oh-so-complicated passions and power plays in a Jacksonville, Fla., suburb emerge in Griffin's sticky melodrama (after The People Next Door) about just how low some women might go to snag a rich man, even if he belongs to someone else. Middle-aged Suzanne Betancourt is married to her former boss, radiologist Bradley Betancourt, and, in a frustrating twist of fate, lives next door to Bradley's ex-wife, Lisa, and her second husband and children. If that's not bad enough, she suspects that Micheline Trent, the young wife of Bradley's golfing buddy, wants her man. Micheline's got crazy baggage of her own, as do the neighbors down the street, whose son gets quickie married to Suzanne's pregnant sister. Readers may have trouble keeping up with the large cast and all the twists that Griffin packs into this tart and torrid tempest, but those who crave their drama fast and furious will surely enjoy. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Paperback: 338 pages
• Publisher: Dafina; Original edition (April 27, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0758231628
• ISBN-13: 978-0758231628
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,225,852 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bettye Griffin was told by her English professor that she had a gift for writing and might want to consider pursuing writing as a professional career. She promptly dropped out of college and started crafting stories...and just 22 short years later sold her first book. Bettye writes both contemporary romance and women's fiction. A native of Yonkers, New York, Bettye has also lived in Florida and Illinois, and now crafts her compelling, drama-filled tales from her home in the great dairy state of Wisconsin. Bettye thoroughly enjoys Wisconsin's contributions to the American diet and often nibbles on cheese while writing, and she celebrates a good day of writing by having a glass of the beer that made Milwaukee famous.

Since 1998, Bettye has written 6 novels of women's fiction, including Once Upon A Project (2008) and A New Kind of Bliss (2009); and 13 contemporary romances, including A Love For All Seasons (2007) and A Love of Her Own (1999). In 2009, seeing the creative and financial freedom of publishing independent projects, Bettye started her own imprint, Bunderful Books, and to date has published three contemporary romances through this outlet, Save The Best For Last (2009), The Heat of Heat (2010), and A Kiss of a Different Color (2011). Visit her web site at www.bettyegriffin.com, and befriend her at Facebook.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beware of the Neighbors, July 6, 2010

By 

Teresa Beasley (Indianapolis,IN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Trouble Down The Road (Paperback)

In Bettye Griffin's novel, Trouble Down the Road, Suzanne and Brad Betancourt seem to have it all; they are financially stable and living in a nice, upscale neighborhood. Suzanne has even overcome her fear of living next door to her husband's ex-wife. However, Lisa and Darrell Canfield are not the neighbors they should be worrying about. The Betancourts have neighbors down the road that will soon change the lives of everyone with the tangled web they have woven.

Errol and Micheline Trent seem to have a comfortable marriage until Micheline's hidden secrets start to resurface. Errol tries to decide on what to do with the news about his conniving wife, while Micheline has her eyes set on another and is willing to do whatever it takes to get the prize. Flo and Ernie Hickman have worked hard to become part of the neighborhood circle, but seem to keep falling short. The couple's son, George, is everyone's dream and just might be their ticket, if only he would make better choices in women.

The saying goes, "Don't bite the hand that feeds you," and Suzanne's family members are not getting the clue. They put the "M" in mooching but when family takes it too far will Suzanne be strong enough to make a choice? Will she choose her marriage or her family?

Trouble Down the Road is a page-turner of "No, she didn't" and "You have got to be kidding me." The twists in the story are not over the top even though the reader sees them coming. It has a strong storyline and characters the reader can follow throughout the book. The enjoyment of the read and the ending make you overlook the characters that were getting on your nerves. I recommend this book to those who love suspense and a good drama.

Teresa Beasley
APOOO BookClub

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars TTROUBLE+TROUBLE=?????????, May 20, 2010

By 

Cjrobinson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Trouble Down The Road (Paperback)

Noted author Bettye Griffin in parthas successfully integrated characters from 2 previous
novels,"No More Trouble", and "The People Next Door" and put them in a provocative
new novel with a lot of twists and turns and DRAMA.
Main characters,Brad and Suzanne Betancourt,Norell and Vic Bellamy, and Micheline
and Errol Trent all have something in common-----TROUBLE.
Brad and Suzanne, married for 16 years are hitting a rough patch in their marriage
due in part to her trifling mother and siblings who expect a free ride on the coat-
tails of the very rich Betancourts.
Norell and her husband Vic Bellamy meet the Betancourts one evening and Suzanne
and Norell have a grand reunion. They were close friends as children and lost contact over years. It will be surprising to see what they have in common.
Micheline and Errol Trent,a younger married couple,join the circle. Brad and
Errol are golfing buddies. Micheline is lusting after Brad just as she lusted after
Vic 3 years ago. Her affair with Vic resulted in a pregnancy in which Micheline
willingly allowed Vic and his wife to adopt the baby but the wife did not know the
identity of the birth mother at that time.
We now know that Micheline is the common factor in both marriages as she had affairs
with both husbands. All in all Suzanne and Norell are both able to come full circle
learning to accept,forgive, and move forward as the truths come tumbling out.
As for TROUBLE more commonly known as Micheline she gets hers but you have to read
this novel to see how it pans out for her. This is one book you will have
TROUBLE putting down.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Love Thy Neighbor, May 4, 2010

By 

The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers (RAWSISTAZ.com and BlackBookReviews.net) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Trouble Down The Road (Paperback)

Suzanne Betancourt wasn't raised with the finer things in her life. But when she marries Bradley "Brad" Betancourt, a successful radiologist, there isn't anything she doesn't love about her wealthy life. She lives in a palatial home, drives luxurious cars, and has two beautiful children. However, Suzanne feels her life is slowly turning into shambles. Her husband's ex- wife and daughter live next door to them, her meddlesome mother and siblings expect Brad to finance them, and to make matters worse, a sexy, voluptuous neighbor is lusting after Brad.

Brad has voiced his concerns many times to Suzanne about placing their marriage second to her rude and obnoxious family. She disregards his ultimatums, pushing him further away, possibly into the arms of another woman.

The overload of drama in TROUBLE DOWN THE ROAD was so engrossing I had to finish it in one day. The well-developed characters are lifelike with their "keeping up with the joneses" syndrome, superior attitudes, greed, and habitual deceit. The melodramatic subplots blend smoothly into the main plot. I enjoy reading Bettye Griffin's mainstream fiction books because she writes about real family life situations. I recommend TROUBLE DOWN THE ROAD for a great summer time read!

Reviewed by Sharon Lewis
of The RAWSISTAZ(tm) Reviewers