The Sixth Station

Multimedia journalist Stasi (Boomer Babes: A Woman's Guide to the New Middle Ages) tries her hand at a religious thriller with mixed results. New York City reporter Ali Russo is covering the U.N. tribunal of Demiel ben Yusef, "a known terrorist who was believed by most of the reasonable people on the planet, as well as the worldwide coalition of governments who'd hunted him and finally captured him, to be the one responsible for terrorist bombings around the world." On the other hand, some believe Yusef is "the second Son of God." When fate allows the heavily guarded Yusef to plant a kiss on a stunned Russo's lips outside the General Assembly building, she not only becomes the object of media frenzy but soon finds herself a murder suspect and the target of an international hunt. Unwillingly cast in the role of "the Chosen One," Russo remains more pawn than queen in Stasi's clumsy chess game. Still, the author deserves credit for an imaginative if far-fetched premise. Agent: Liza Flessig, Liza Royce Literary Agency. (Jan.)