THE ROAD TO ROSWELL

A skeptic abducted by an extraterrestrial with a mission finds herself on a road trip around the desert in Willis’ latest cheerily frenetic genre-blending romp.

Francie Driscoll’s college roommate and best friend, Serena, has a habit of getting engaged to the wrong guy. So when Serena announces that she’s marrying a true believer at the UFO museum in Roswell, New Mexico, Francie agrees to be her maid of honor, hoping she can help bring her friend back down to Earth. As Francie is retrieving wedding decorations from Serena’s car, a tentacled life form resembling a tumbleweed grabs her and forces her on the road. They pick up oddballs like burrs: Wade, a hitchhiker; Eula Mae, a retiree who frequents casinos for the free buffets; Lyle, a UFO nut; Joseph, a fan of classic Western movies who’s touring his favorite film locations in an RV (though he insists on calling it a Western trail wagon). Francie and Wade nickname their captor Indy, for Indiana Jones, and try to figure out what “he” wants, where “he” is trying to get to, and how to communicate with “him,” soon concluding that Indy is benevolent and needs help. Willis shapes readers’ expectations by tossing around hints and clues in the form of references to various genres—science fiction, Western, romantic comedy—until it’s not a surprise but a pleasantly satisfied expectation to discover that this or that character is not who he or she (or it) appears to be. A few logic problems strain credulity: For example, how does Francie survive more than 24 hours in the desert without water with no sign of heat stroke or even much thirst? How does Indy both understand everything Francie and Wade are saying and need to be taught English? But it’s easy to suspend disbelief, and churlish not to.

There’s nobody quite like Willis for good-hearted, fast-paced fun.