Holy F*ck

Swiss novelist Incardona’s audacious but underwhelming English-language debut centers on Stella Thibodeaux, a 19-year-old American prostitute gifted with a supernatural ability to heal her clients. After Georgia family man Robert Smith explains to his priest, Father Brown, how his carnal relations with Stella cured his psoriasis, the Vatican decides that Stella is better off being a martyr than a living, breathing miracle worker, and sends a pair of assassins to kill her. A farcical cross-country chase ensues, with Stella fleeing both certain death and hordes of desperately ill Americans who flock to her after word of her powers spreads. Meanwhile, Savannah reporter Luis Molina tries to find and interview Stella himself. Incardona’s premise is as attention-grabbing as they come, but all the wacky action wears thin, with the chase plot losing steam and the quirky cast devolving into little more than a series of irritating tics. What begins as a promising picaresque about America’s absurdities turns into a wild goose chase. (May)