Night Fever

November 28, 2005
A selfless young woman's loyalties waver between a crusading district attorney and her family in Palmer's conventional novel. At 24, Rebecca Cullen is the sole support for her family: brothers Clay, a high school senior, and fifth-grader Mack, as well as her ailing grandfather. Strict frugality, weekend work on the family's struggling farm and a job at a law firm get them through. The latter provides Becky with her only social outlet, including playful conversations each morning with an intriguing man. After Clay is caught with drugs, the man turns out to be Rourke Kilpatrick, a zero tolerance prosecutor. Against his better judgment, Rourke drops the charges, and a chance encounter leads Rourke to invite Becky to lunch, where each is unnervingly interested in the other. Meanwhile, Clay's former employers, the Harris brothers, are ready to expand their empire into Mack's elementary school, and force Clay to get information from his little brother, who balks. Tensions in Becky's household escalate, not helped by her budding relationship with Rourke, whom the family resents (except for Mack, who accepts him unconditionally). Becky and Rourke's passion ignites, and almost immediately she faces crises on several fronts. Becky's extreme naivete is part of the show here, offering a gentle escape mixed with real-life menace for fans of Palmer's more than 100 novels.