Reborn

In 1968 Jim Stevens is 26 years old, an aspiring writer with, it should be noted, hair on the palms of his hands. Adopted in infancy, he is now driven to locate his biological parents. When he inherits the estate of scientist Roderick Hanley, he rejoices, believing he has discovered the identity of his father. But in perusing Hanley's notebooks, Jim learns he was cloned from Hanley's cells in a secret wartime experiment. Literally, he has no parents. Feeling freakish, tormented--more so when his story becomes public--he becomes careless in his misery and dies in an accident. Days later his widow finds out she is pregnant, and is immediately plagued by a cult of religious fanatics accusing her of carrying the Anti-Christ, the child of a soulless man. As death and destruction dog her every step, she begins to believe their claims may be true. This accomplished thriller, the first in a projected trilogy, is a page-turner--fast-paced, violent, provocative. (May)