Diane Lefer: 4 books

Stories that affirm the indelible bond among humans and animals The relationships among human and non-human animals go back to the beginning of time—and the ways in which these relationships have evolved (and sometimes not) is the inspiration for this collection of contemporary short fiction,...

It’s dangerous for a girl to be a mathematical prodigy in eighteenth-century Rome. Daniela Messo and her father withdraw themselves from the world until Giuseppe Balsamo, occultist and charlatan, finds them, convinced Daniela has inherited the secrets of a long-dead Jewish mystic. In Balsamo’s...

After Rae's ear is shot off by a jittery security guard at the health food store, the insurance settlement allows her to take a year off from teaching. She spends it volunteering at the Los Angeles Zoo. These days, except for her best friend Jennie, Rae has little use for human beings. She loves cats–lots...

Two households on a back road: a devastated family and an apocalyptic cult. Here are people driven to the edge, forced to draw the line that can't be crossed and learn what happens after you cross it.