Hostage One

Fisher ( Crisis ) and Albertazzie (former pilot of Air Force One) have pooled their resources to come up with a twisting page-turner of a thriller. In 1990, Col. Qadaffi plots to kidnap President Bush in delayed revenge for Reagan's attack on Libya. Ex-Marine flying ace and now Gulf Coast drug- smuggler Gee Hardy takes the job to suit his own purposes, and sets up a series of baffles to confuse the Feds and the Libyans. ``Operation Dallas'' involves, among others, a Syrian jet pilot, anti-Castro Cubans, a Japanese assassin, a 707, a jet fighter, a DC-3 and various hiding places in Los Angeles, San Francisco and the Everglades. Mossad agent David Melnik and FBI man Charlie Werther are teamed up to cut through the intrigue and avert what they think is an assassination attempt. But Hardy's devious moves keep Melnik and Werther, and readers, in the dark until the climactic moment of Air Force One's ``destruction.'' Sudden turns of plot, lively pace, skeptical views of society and politicians and authentic in-the-air scenes add up to an exhilarating, gripping tale. (July)