BEST BET
by Laura Pedersen

BEST BET is the fourth and final book in the Hallie Palmer series after BEGINNER'S LUCK, HEART'S DESIRE and THE BIG SHUFFLE.

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Since Hallie's father died, money at the Palmer household is tighter than ever. Just when Hallie thought she was graduating from college, she finds that she's four credits short. A friend leads her to a professor with a grant to go around the world and examine the ethics of local populations, who needs one more student for the project.

Meantime, Craig, now almost 23, has another proposition for Hallie, or rather a proposal. His business is going well and he wants to stick with their plan of living together in Cincinnati. Craig offers to help fund the final semester of Hallie's schooling and suggests that once she graduates they get married. Only Hallie decides it's best to take the professor's offer and use the time to think about Craig's.

Thus begins Hallie's odyssey, where for the first time she ventures outside the safety of Cosgrove County and the sixty-mile radius in which she's operated her entire life. Hallie meets all kinds of people, has adventures, runs into difficulties, and learns about the world. At one point, when she and her professor discover they've been robbed (that particular city will not get a good grade for honesty!), Hallie is able to put her old gambling skills to work at a casino in Kuala Lumpur.

Eventually Hallie returns to her hometown with new perspectives and a deeper appreciation for what she left behind. She's also made up her mind about Craig's offer of marriage, and it transpires that in her absence another couple has been moving steadily toward the altar.