Central Kansas Library System

Oscar Starling never wanted to come to Chicago. But then Oscar finds himself not just in the heart of the big city but in the middle of a terrible fire! No one knows exactly how it began, but one thing is clear: Chicago is like a giant powder keg about to explode. An army of firemen is trying to help, but this fire is a ferocious beast that wants to devour everything in its path, including Oscar! Will Oscar survive one of the most famous and devastating...

Cris Burks won widespread acclaim for her engaging first novel Silky Dream Girl. Burks' second offering follows the life of a determined girl struggling toward adulthood in 1950s Chicago. The devastating discovery that "Daddy" is not her real father opens a great chasm in Neecey's world and leads to Neecey's abusive mother bringing a succession of no-good men into the home. Nevertheless, as she grows into a woman, the resilient Neecey strives to overcome...

"Piper Dove is a woman with a dream--to become the best detective in the city of Chicago. First job? Trail former Chicago Stars quarterback Cooper Graham. The problem? Graham's spotted her, and he's not happy. Piper soon finds herself working for Graham, although not as the bodyguard he refuses to admit he needs. Instead, he's hired her to keep an eye on the employees at his exclusive new nightclub. But Coop's life might be in danger, and Piper's...

The daughter of notorious, high-profile thief Bobby Rose, journalist Sophie Rose leaves her job at a major Chicago newspaper for a small local paper, but when she stumbles into the middle of a bizarre story, she follows the trail of the mystery north to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, accompanied by a bodyguard, Jack Prescott, a sexy FBI agent.

In all his years in the Chicago fire department, Lieutenant Reed Solliday AHS never experienced anything like this recent outbreak of house fires, devastating, vicious and in one case, homicidal. He has another problem, his new partner, Detective Mia Mitchell. She's brash, bossy, and taking the case in a direction he never imagined.

If not for her loving but controlling parents, Beth Prudhomme might never have taken charge of her life and moved from her native Chicago to Portland, Oregon, where she has reconnected with her spirited Aunt Sunshine and found a job as a high school music teacher. If not for her friend Nichole Nyquist, Beth would never have met Sam Carney, although first impressions have left Beth with serious doubts. Sam is everything Beth is not -- and her conservative...

Against the backdrop of 1930s Chicago, three teenagers from different sides of the tracks make difficult, life-changing decisions. Zane and Fred share a love of cartooning, but Fred notices a dark undercurrent in Zane's relationship with Maizy, a working-class neighborhood girl. Soon Maizy and Fred discover that Zane's father harbors a shocking secret.

In the year 2035, robots are a common, trusted part of life. But that trust is broken when a scientist is found dead, and a skeptical Chicago police detective investigating the murder believes that a robot is responsible. It seems impossible for a robot to break the Three Laws of Robotics, for if that were to happen there would be nothing to stop them from taking over the world. Aiding the detective in his investigation is a psychologist who specializes...