National Network for Equitable Library Service

Kay puts forth a collection of stories that plumb the depths of what it means to love--the vulnerability, the tenderness, and the elusive search that is both chaotic and wondrous.

In a hospice in Bury St. Edmunds, Daniel is slowly fading away. His friend Maggie sists with him every day and she listens to the story of his life, to his regrets and secrets. He tells her about the children he has never met and never will. Lydia, Dean and Robyn don't know each other yet but when they slowly find their way into each other's lives, everything starts to change.

It's February, and Carnival time in Venice. Bright blue skies and freezing temperatures welcome Teresa Lupo, forensic pathologist to the Rome Questura, to the city. She is greeted off the vaporetto by an anonymous masked man dressed as The Plague Doctor. Teresa has taken time out from her job to find her beloved bohemian aunt Sofia who has mysteriously disappeared. There seem to be no clues as to her whereabouts, but a visit to Sofia's very strange apartment in the Dorsoduro confirms Teresa's suspicions that all is not well.

Will stage fright prevent a very funny bear from becoming a stand-up comedian?

Pinch and Dash's disagreement over the use of pepper and hot sauce in their soup ends up spoiling the meal.

Vampire queen Betsy's up to her fangs in paranormal trouble. Still heartbroken over her friend Marc's sacrifice, Betsy is further plagued by nagging suspicions that her half-sister Laura is up to no good. It seems that Laura has received an offer to assume her mother's duties overseeing Hell--but only if she first kills Betsy.

While investigating a double homicide in an isolated northern Wisconsin tonw, FBI Special Agent Patrick Bowers uncovers a high-tech conspiracy that twists through long-buried Cold-War secrets and targets present-day tensions in the Middle East.

Amanda Gleason's infant son Justin suffers from a rare immune deficiency. His best chance for survival died with his father, Paul, who was murdered before Justin was born. But when a recent photo surfaces of a man who looks like a very-much-alive Paul, Amanda hires Forensic Instincts to investigate.

Paris Simmons-Holyfield is facing a dilemma--she's pregnant but is not sure who the father is. After spending a night with Darius Connors, her ex-colleague, the baby could belong to him, but she doesn't want to ruin her marriage. Darius has his own problems; his wife, Tiffany, has kicked him out. But he doesn't want to give up on his marriage just yet--even if Tiffany has found company in the arms of Clarence Walker, the Minister of Music at Followers of Jesus Faith Worship Center.

Determined to adopt Jasmine Noble, who is currently in the custody of an ex-stripper, Paris Simmons-Holyfield, met with resistance from both her husband and her father, is plunged into a reality that is far more scandalous than she ever could imagined.