Worlds Collide
The daughter of bestselling Christian apologist and writer Lee Strobel (The Case for Christ) pens an overly long, evangelistic story with likable Christian characters. The plot revolves around a real-time interview that celebrity biographer Jada Eastman conducts with Hollywood TV and movie star Jack Harrington (one ofPeople's "Top 25 Most Beautiful People") and his wife, Grace. First-person chapters switch back and forth as Jack and Grace (with occasional interjections by Jada), narrate the story of their pasts, their romance and the daunting illness that now threatens Jack's life. The chronicling of the couple's spiritual quests soon bogs down into lengthy descriptions of church services and Jack's clichéd descent into alcohol and sex as he desperately seeks to know who he really is. Feeling "stalked by God," Jack wrestles with the idea of Christianity in earnest for almost a dozen pages, while the "ordinary gal" Grace plays out every female reader's fantasy of having a glamorous Hollywood hunk single her out (Grace: "But you're surrounded by women every day who look like goddesses...." Jack: "I would never, never want another woman over you"). Hollywood glamour, evangelical conversions, mostly competent writing and spiritual introspection should make this novel appeal to CBA market readers looking for an entertaining read to give their non-Christian friends.(Mar.)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.