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What Strange Creatures
Scandal, love, family, and murder combine in this gripping literary mystery by critically acclaimed author Emily Arsenault, in which a young woman’s life is turned upside down when her brother is arrested for murder and she must prove his innocence.
The Battle siblings are used to disappointment. Seven years after starting her PhD program—one marriage, one divorce, three cats, and a dog later—Theresa Battle still hasn’t finished her dissertation. Instead of a degree, she’s got a houseful of adoring pets and a dead-end copywriting job for a local candle company.
Jeff, her so-called genius older brother, doesn’t have it together, either. Creative, and loyal, he’s also aimless, in both work and love. But his new girlfriend, Kim, a pretty waitress in her twenties, appears smitten. When Theresa agrees to dog-sit Kim’s puggle for a weekend, she has no idea that it is the beginning of a terrifying nightmare that will shatter her quiet academic world.
Soon, Kim’s body is found in the woods, and Jeff becomes the prime suspect.
Though the evidence is overwhelming, Theresa knows that her brother is not a murderer. As she investigates Kim’s past, she uncovers a treacherous secret involving politics, murder, and scandal—and becomes entangled in a potentially dangerous romance. But the deeper she falls into this troubling case, the more it becomes clear that, in trying to save her brother’s life, she may be sacrificing her own.
The Battle siblings are used to disappointment. Seven years after starting her PhD program—one marriage, one divorce, three cats, and a dog later—Theresa Battle still hasn’t finished her dissertation. Instead of a degree, she’s got a houseful of adoring pets and a dead-end copywriting job for a local candle company.
Jeff, her so-called genius older brother, doesn’t have it together, either. Creative, and loyal, he’s also aimless, in both work and love. But his new girlfriend, Kim, a pretty waitress in her twenties, appears smitten. When Theresa agrees to dog-sit Kim’s puggle for a weekend, she has no idea that it is the beginning of a terrifying nightmare that will shatter her quiet academic world.
Soon, Kim’s body is found in the woods, and Jeff becomes the prime suspect.
Though the evidence is overwhelming, Theresa knows that her brother is not a murderer. As she investigates Kim’s past, she uncovers a treacherous secret involving politics, murder, and scandal—and becomes entangled in a potentially dangerous romance. But the deeper she falls into this troubling case, the more it becomes clear that, in trying to save her brother’s life, she may be sacrificing her own.
366 pages, Paperback
First published July 22, 2014
48 people are currently reading
1176 people want to read
About the author
Emily Arsenault
12 books403 followersI haven’t had a terribly interesting life, so I won’t share too many details. But the highlights include:
• When I was a preschooler and a kindergartner, I had a lazy eye and I was Connecticut’s “Miss Prevent Blindness,” appearing on pamphlets and television urging parents to get their kids’ eyes checked. I wore an eye patch and clutched a blonde doll wearing a similar patch. I imagine it was all rather maudlin, but at the time I wouldn’t have known that word.
• I wrote my first novel when I was in fifth grade. It was over a hundred pages and took me the whole school year to write. (It was about five girls at a summer camp. I’d never been to a summer camp, but had always wanted to attend one.) When I was all finished, I turned back to the first page, eager to read it all from the beginning. I was horrified at how bad it was.
• At age thirteen, I got to go to a real sleepaway camp. It was nothing like the book I had written.
• I studied philosophy in college. So did my husband. We met in a Hegel class, which is awfully romantic.
• I worked as an editorial assistant at Merriam-Webster from 1998-2002, and got to help write definitions for their dictionaries.
• My husband and I served in the Peace Corps together, working in rural South Africa. I miss Losasaneng, miss many of the people we met there, and dream about it often.
• I am now working on my third novel. It is tentatively titled Just Someone I Used to Know, named after and old song Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton used to sing together.
• When I was a preschooler and a kindergartner, I had a lazy eye and I was Connecticut’s “Miss Prevent Blindness,” appearing on pamphlets and television urging parents to get their kids’ eyes checked. I wore an eye patch and clutched a blonde doll wearing a similar patch. I imagine it was all rather maudlin, but at the time I wouldn’t have known that word.
• I wrote my first novel when I was in fifth grade. It was over a hundred pages and took me the whole school year to write. (It was about five girls at a summer camp. I’d never been to a summer camp, but had always wanted to attend one.) When I was all finished, I turned back to the first page, eager to read it all from the beginning. I was horrified at how bad it was.
• At age thirteen, I got to go to a real sleepaway camp. It was nothing like the book I had written.
• I studied philosophy in college. So did my husband. We met in a Hegel class, which is awfully romantic.
• I worked as an editorial assistant at Merriam-Webster from 1998-2002, and got to help write definitions for their dictionaries.
• My husband and I served in the Peace Corps together, working in rural South Africa. I miss Losasaneng, miss many of the people we met there, and dream about it often.
• I am now working on my third novel. It is tentatively titled Just Someone I Used to Know, named after and old song Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton used to sing together.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 144 reviews
August 4, 2014
What drew me to Emily Arsenault's book was that it revolved around an adult brother-sister relationship. That's not something you see all that frequently; there are many books with sisters' stories- Lisa See's Shanghai Girls, John Searles' Help For The Haunted and Louisa May Alcott's classic Little Women to name a few- but stories featuring brother-sister relationships are not as numerous.
Arsenault's book pulled me in from it's opening line: "What are you supposed to do on the second night your brother is in jail on a murder charge?" Like Searles' brilliant novel, What Strange Creatures successfully combines a murder mystery with a family character study that makes your heart ache for the people involved.
Theresa Battles is a thirty-something divorced woman who has been working for seven long years on her doctoral thesis about Margery Kempe, who is credited with writing the first autobiography in the English language. Kempe was a religious pilgrim, who had visions and believed that Jesus spoke to her. She was not a popular woman in her community, as her wailing and crying disturbed the neighbors.
Theresa's brother Jeff is one year older than her and he's "supposed to be some kind of genius." Theresa believes that "while Jeff has many enviable skills- creativity, origami skill, loyalty, and superfast metabolism", she has never thought him a genius.
Jeff drove a school bus for awhile, and then an ice cream truck. Now he was unemployed and spent his days drinking and his nights at Theresa's, hoping she has leftover takeout in her fridge. He finally has a girlfriend, Kim, who leaves home to visit her sister one weekend and never returns.
Kim's body is found in a wooded area. A screwdriver with her blood on it is found in Jeff's car trunk and he is arrested for her murder. Theresa doesn't believe her brother is capable of killing Kim, and sets out to find the real murderer.
Jeff seems to to think there is nothing he can do to help his situation. He lets things happen to him, instead of making things happen for him. Their last name "Battles" is ironic here; Jeff does nothing to fight for himself. He just wallows in his defeatist attitude about his life.
Theresa says of their family dynamic:
"Driving home, I considered the concept of enabler. It was something I'd been thinking about a lot lately. I never meant to be one, you see. I've noticed there is little sympathy out there for enablers. Not that there should be a great deal, but this is something I wish people understood: It's a role that sneaks up on you."
and
"If we were a family that talked directly about feelings or worries or troubling behaviors or anything at all, really, this would perhaps have been when we talked about it. But we don't, so we didn't. That's how it sneaks up on you, see?"
When Jeff is arrested, Theresa says "We're used to disappointment." They believe their family motto should be "We're Battles. What chance did we have?" Their propensity to believe that bad things will happen to them is maddening and sad. We never discover where exactly this attitude comes from, and I was pleased not to find some deep, dark secret behind it. They are the way they are, and though their divorced parents can be difficult to deal with, they are no more difficult than anybody else's parents.
They mystery of who killed Kim is satisfying and a careful reader may pick up on clues to the conclusion, although there is no shortage of suspects. Theresa gets herself into some tight spots trying to save her brother, and the sense of dread and panic builds as the story goes along.
The title What Strange Creatures comes from a Jane Austen quote in Mansfield Park- "What strange creatures brothers are!" This is an astute, sharp psychological mystery that captured me from the opening line and didn't let go until the very end. The brother-sister dynamic is so heartfelt and realistic, I felt like I probably knew Jeff and Theresa Battles somewhere along the way.
Arsenault's book pulled me in from it's opening line: "What are you supposed to do on the second night your brother is in jail on a murder charge?" Like Searles' brilliant novel, What Strange Creatures successfully combines a murder mystery with a family character study that makes your heart ache for the people involved.
Theresa Battles is a thirty-something divorced woman who has been working for seven long years on her doctoral thesis about Margery Kempe, who is credited with writing the first autobiography in the English language. Kempe was a religious pilgrim, who had visions and believed that Jesus spoke to her. She was not a popular woman in her community, as her wailing and crying disturbed the neighbors.
Theresa's brother Jeff is one year older than her and he's "supposed to be some kind of genius." Theresa believes that "while Jeff has many enviable skills- creativity, origami skill, loyalty, and superfast metabolism", she has never thought him a genius.
Jeff drove a school bus for awhile, and then an ice cream truck. Now he was unemployed and spent his days drinking and his nights at Theresa's, hoping she has leftover takeout in her fridge. He finally has a girlfriend, Kim, who leaves home to visit her sister one weekend and never returns.
Kim's body is found in a wooded area. A screwdriver with her blood on it is found in Jeff's car trunk and he is arrested for her murder. Theresa doesn't believe her brother is capable of killing Kim, and sets out to find the real murderer.
Jeff seems to to think there is nothing he can do to help his situation. He lets things happen to him, instead of making things happen for him. Their last name "Battles" is ironic here; Jeff does nothing to fight for himself. He just wallows in his defeatist attitude about his life.
Theresa says of their family dynamic:
"Driving home, I considered the concept of enabler. It was something I'd been thinking about a lot lately. I never meant to be one, you see. I've noticed there is little sympathy out there for enablers. Not that there should be a great deal, but this is something I wish people understood: It's a role that sneaks up on you."
and
"If we were a family that talked directly about feelings or worries or troubling behaviors or anything at all, really, this would perhaps have been when we talked about it. But we don't, so we didn't. That's how it sneaks up on you, see?"
When Jeff is arrested, Theresa says "We're used to disappointment." They believe their family motto should be "We're Battles. What chance did we have?" Their propensity to believe that bad things will happen to them is maddening and sad. We never discover where exactly this attitude comes from, and I was pleased not to find some deep, dark secret behind it. They are the way they are, and though their divorced parents can be difficult to deal with, they are no more difficult than anybody else's parents.
They mystery of who killed Kim is satisfying and a careful reader may pick up on clues to the conclusion, although there is no shortage of suspects. Theresa gets herself into some tight spots trying to save her brother, and the sense of dread and panic builds as the story goes along.
The title What Strange Creatures comes from a Jane Austen quote in Mansfield Park- "What strange creatures brothers are!" This is an astute, sharp psychological mystery that captured me from the opening line and didn't let go until the very end. The brother-sister dynamic is so heartfelt and realistic, I felt like I probably knew Jeff and Theresa Battles somewhere along the way.
September 22, 2014
The description on the book jacket is a lot more exciting than the actual book. Not that it's terrible. But if you're like me, "not terrible" isn't really a sufficient reason to read a book. One thing that stood out to me (and that has never stood out to me in a novel before) is the descriptive filler the author used whenever the characters in the book would engage in dialogue. It really felt pointless a lot of the time. It was so mundane. Here's a paragraph from p. 244 of the paperback, to give you an example:
"I didn't say that." Kyle exhaled smoke through his nostrils. "Nothing that dramatic."
Is it just me, or is that dull as hell? Maybe once in a while it wouldn't be bad to have a simple, factual description like this. But the book seems full of them. It feels effortful and boring at the same time. I could be more forgiving if the mystery itself had been more suspenseful or surprising or gripping. But it wasn't. It was just ho-hum.
"I didn't say that." Kyle exhaled smoke through his nostrils. "Nothing that dramatic."
Is it just me, or is that dull as hell? Maybe once in a while it wouldn't be bad to have a simple, factual description like this. But the book seems full of them. It feels effortful and boring at the same time. I could be more forgiving if the mystery itself had been more suspenseful or surprising or gripping. But it wasn't. It was just ho-hum.
May 5, 2014
Theresa Battle has already been divorced, and she has the houseful of pets, an unfinished dissertation, and a dead-end job to prove it. She’s not surprised though – as she says repeatedly, the Battles are used to disappointment. Even her brother Jeff wanders through life, with his girlfriend Kim as his only solace. When Kim is found dead, and the evidence stacks up against Jeff, Theresa is determined to prove her brother’s innocence. And no, it’s not just to get rid of Theresa’s puggle, who she was pet-sitting before the tragedy. When she discovers a possible conspiracy, Theresa finds herself in terrible danger.
Man, this book. Theresa was snarky, and I really dig that. The dialogue was witty, and I found myself smirking fairly often. There was a little too much talk about the subject for her dissertation – a veritable crazy woman from the 14th century named Margery Kempe who is known for writing the first autobiography - but I'm a nerd so all in all I really enjoyed that.
The mystery is also a real mystery. Which was refreshing, especially since I normally guess who did it within a few chapters of starting a book (or a TV show, which is why my father HATES watching Law & Order: SVU with me. Hint: it’s almost always the celebrity guest star.)
So I had to throw in an extra star for an actual surprise ending. I honestly didn't expect that AT ALL.
Cross-posted to http://off-the-book.org
http://www.off-the-book.org/2014/05/f...
Man, this book. Theresa was snarky, and I really dig that. The dialogue was witty, and I found myself smirking fairly often. There was a little too much talk about the subject for her dissertation – a veritable crazy woman from the 14th century named Margery Kempe who is known for writing the first autobiography - but I'm a nerd so all in all I really enjoyed that.
The mystery is also a real mystery. Which was refreshing, especially since I normally guess who did it within a few chapters of starting a book (or a TV show, which is why my father HATES watching Law & Order: SVU with me. Hint: it’s almost always the celebrity guest star.)
So I had to throw in an extra star for an actual surprise ending. I honestly didn't expect that AT ALL.
Cross-posted to http://off-the-book.org
http://www.off-the-book.org/2014/05/f...
October 31, 2018
This is a mystery by this author written in 2014. In it, Theresa Battle's brother, Jeff, is arrested for the murder of young Kim Graber, who had been researching possible miscarriages of justice by a politician currently in office. Kim ends up dead; she had been strangled. Kim had been Jeff's girlfriend, and his sister Theresa was dog-sitting Kim's dog, when she disappeared. Theresa decides that she will take up Kim's search in order to prove that her brother had nothing to do with Kim's murder. What ends up happening is that Theresa meets some new people, including Nathan who owns a python, and a current professor who has written a book about his time in juvenile hall, along with interviews of other inmates. Theresa follows every thread she can find that Kim was working on, and almost loses her own life in order to help her brother. She does not realize until almost the last minute that one of the people she least suspected just may have been involved in Kim's death, and all over a crime that was very old news.
October 5, 2023
This was just one big reminder of why I don't really read whodunits.
Almost as soon as the killer appeared for the first time, I was like, "Oh, yeah, it was probably that person." And it was. Not that I got any massive, revealing clues from this person right off the bat. It's just that whodunits tend to follow a formula, and this character was the most likely one to fit into that particular groove of the formula. This happens a lot when I read whodunits and it's more fun to be surprised than proven right.
And I could hardly believe how willing absolutely everyone was to tell the main character all their deepest darkest secrets in connection to the case, almost as soon as she met them.
And I didn't really understand why we had to hear, at great length, about the main character's completely unconnected Ph.D. dissertation.
Not much happens - the book was almost entirely conversations between the main characters and everyone connected to the case, hardly anything to make it suspenseful or even interesting. I kind of ho-hummed my way through the book, but I really appreciate how into their pets everyone is in this book, so . . . it gets an extra star for that.
Almost as soon as the killer appeared for the first time, I was like, "Oh, yeah, it was probably that person." And it was. Not that I got any massive, revealing clues from this person right off the bat. It's just that whodunits tend to follow a formula, and this character was the most likely one to fit into that particular groove of the formula. This happens a lot when I read whodunits and it's more fun to be surprised than proven right.
And I could hardly believe how willing absolutely everyone was to tell the main character all their deepest darkest secrets in connection to the case, almost as soon as she met them.
And I didn't really understand why we had to hear, at great length, about the main character's completely unconnected Ph.D. dissertation.
Not much happens - the book was almost entirely conversations between the main characters and everyone connected to the case, hardly anything to make it suspenseful or even interesting. I kind of ho-hummed my way through the book, but I really appreciate how into their pets everyone is in this book, so . . . it gets an extra star for that.
Read
August 2, 2014Arsenault's offering 'What Strange Creatures' is itself quite the strange creature. The novel can't seem to work out whether it is a thriller, Nancy Drew mystery, or literary novel of family dynamics. Unfortunately this is not a brilliant piece that melds all three, but a mediocre tale that falls short in each.
The first warning sign was the beginning, the dramatic start of a the protagonist's brother being accused of murder very quickly prompts a massive groan at we jump back 3 weeks in a blatant attempt to maintain interest while the characters are fleshed out.
Problem is the characters feel a bit to fake, the issues too contrived to be believable. Our lead actress is a PhD candidate (and has been so some time) in what I suspect is meant to be insightful a minor character points out that she cannot finish her thesis because she doesn't have any faith. A pretty heady statement for a theme that is featured no-where else in the book (i.e. no prior focus on faith or religion that I noticed)
Anyways the plot struggles along bouncing between chapters which are a bit like 'meet my quirky family aren't they literary?' and sequences which read more like a John Grisham, where a potentially crooked prosecutor is investigated (how or why the main character thinks she has the right to or the appropriate skills or the naivety to believe anything she finds will hold up in court is not questioned)
Obviously I found the book underwhelming, while there where patches of humor, insight and moments of compelling characterization (Jeff has a few moments where one actually feels something for his predicament) overall the piece was just a bit too 'novelly'
The first warning sign was the beginning, the dramatic start of a the protagonist's brother being accused of murder very quickly prompts a massive groan at we jump back 3 weeks in a blatant attempt to maintain interest while the characters are fleshed out.
Problem is the characters feel a bit to fake, the issues too contrived to be believable. Our lead actress is a PhD candidate (and has been so some time) in what I suspect is meant to be insightful a minor character points out that she cannot finish her thesis because she doesn't have any faith. A pretty heady statement for a theme that is featured no-where else in the book (i.e. no prior focus on faith or religion that I noticed)
Anyways the plot struggles along bouncing between chapters which are a bit like 'meet my quirky family aren't they literary?' and sequences which read more like a John Grisham, where a potentially crooked prosecutor is investigated (how or why the main character thinks she has the right to or the appropriate skills or the naivety to believe anything she finds will hold up in court is not questioned)
Obviously I found the book underwhelming, while there where patches of humor, insight and moments of compelling characterization (Jeff has a few moments where one actually feels something for his predicament) overall the piece was just a bit too 'novelly'
December 4, 2014
Two star on Goodreads says "it was ok," and that describes this book quite well.
Theresa Battle and her brother, Jeff, have always had bad luck. Theresa is divorced, works in an unfulfilling job, and can't finish her doctoral dissertation on Margery Kempe. Jeff seems aimless, working odd jobs, and not really amounting to much, considering he's supposed to be a 'genius.' Then, Jeff's girlfriend goes missing and is found dead, and Jeff is the primary suspect. Theresa doesn't believe that her brother did it, and sets out to uncover the truth.
It's a decent book, with enough of a story to keep you interested, and it's a pretty easy read. I was surprised by the end, but overall, I think it's an unremarkable book.
Theresa means well, but I found her to be annoying, and unable to properly cope with negative emotions. Her relationship with Jeff was less substantial than I had anticipated, especially because it seems to be a selling point of the novel.
tl;dr I'm not disappointed by this book, but I was far from impressed by it.
Theresa Battle and her brother, Jeff, have always had bad luck. Theresa is divorced, works in an unfulfilling job, and can't finish her doctoral dissertation on Margery Kempe. Jeff seems aimless, working odd jobs, and not really amounting to much, considering he's supposed to be a 'genius.' Then, Jeff's girlfriend goes missing and is found dead, and Jeff is the primary suspect. Theresa doesn't believe that her brother did it, and sets out to uncover the truth.
It's a decent book, with enough of a story to keep you interested, and it's a pretty easy read. I was surprised by the end, but overall, I think it's an unremarkable book.
Theresa means well, but I found her to be annoying, and unable to properly cope with negative emotions. Her relationship with Jeff was less substantial than I had anticipated, especially because it seems to be a selling point of the novel.
tl;dr I'm not disappointed by this book, but I was far from impressed by it.
May 30, 2014
I have read and enjoyed two of Arsenault’s previous novels, so I admit to having some high expectations for this latest novel. And it actually surpasses those hopes! The humour and realism of the relationship between the adult siblings, Theresa and Jeff, leaps off the page. Jeff’s first appearance on the page actually made me laugh out loud! It is this consistent humour that really sets this book apart from her other novels. The mystery itself, while certainly engaging, is far from unpredictable. The tension builds steadily, but with plenty of bantering dialogue to breathe in freshness. Theresa’s unique observations also work well to dispel any emotional heaviness, making this an absorbing and thoroughly entertaining read.
I think this is Arsenault’s strongest novel to date. She has a definite knack for including elements that will resonate with readers who grew up in the 1970s and ‘80s. This one touches on the rash of “Satanic” murders that swept t across the news stations. I like the characters a lot here and she nicely weaves in Theresa’s unique dissertation topic as well as other elements like news articles and essays from Jeff’s writing class. And, of course, I am always a bit of a sucker for a mystery novel that stars a “regular” person (unaffiliated with the law or crime in any way). I am very anxious to see what she follows this one up with!
I think this is Arsenault’s strongest novel to date. She has a definite knack for including elements that will resonate with readers who grew up in the 1970s and ‘80s. This one touches on the rash of “Satanic” murders that swept t across the news stations. I like the characters a lot here and she nicely weaves in Theresa’s unique dissertation topic as well as other elements like news articles and essays from Jeff’s writing class. And, of course, I am always a bit of a sucker for a mystery novel that stars a “regular” person (unaffiliated with the law or crime in any way). I am very anxious to see what she follows this one up with!
May 24, 2014
Emily Arsenault is a wonderful writer, and Theresa, her protagonist in WHAT STRANGE CREATURE, is very likeable. Charming, strange ... but not unlike someone you might know. She has a weakness for men (including her brother - although not in a sexual way) who are just plain strange .. and I won't even mention Emily's mother. This is a mystery .. Emily's brother's girlfriend is found dead, and he is blamed for the crime. But her investigation heads in sundry corners ... where she finds out a lot more than she wanted to know about many fairly quirky people. They all, despite their quirks (and they have more quirks than actual personalitites or depth, which is unfortunate,) tell Emily their secrets -- or those of others. The mystery is solved .. but left me feeling unsatisfied. And happy I didn't live in the same town with these folks. I loved IN SEARCH OF ROSE NOTES, and would read Arsenault's books again. I just don't think this is her best. But read it anyway -- you'll love her prose!
December 15, 2021
On the lower end of 3 stars. I was never really pulled into the mystery, nor did the political aspect of it interest me at all. I wanted something more thrilling, more suspenseful. This was mostly just quirky.
November 17, 2018
an easy & enjoyable read, though I didn’t love the ending. doesn’t really stack up against say a Liane Moriarty mystery, but wasn’t terrible either.
September 17, 2014
I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway.
The first paragraph of Emily Arsenault’s What Strange Creatures sets the tone for the entire book. “What are you supposed to do on the second night your brother is in jail on a murder charge? Should you watch The Colbert Report? Should you clean the black crud from behind your kitchen faucet? Should you make yourself a smoothie with protein powder?” The protagonist doesn’t get much further than that in making decisions or solving problems. I suppose, at its best, the book’s humor is considered rather avant-garde. On the other end of the scale, it is rather trite, trying too hard to be funny.
This book—less mystery than expose about a family of misfits with lackluster dreams and a weak work ethic—had a hard time holding my interest. I wanted the characters to do something interesting, to prove me wrong, to reveal a literary mystery worth reading. Lines like “I was in my kitchen buttering my toast when I saw a woman…” and “It was tough. I had to speed a little. Out of my comfort zone.” had me shaking my head, wanting to breathe life into it. The plot is predictable and pedestrian. The protagonist, who has made a career of seeking her Ph.D. (seven years) plays with an old knit glove, unraveling the knots in the knit, when she is nervous, which is fine as tics go. Unfortunately, she does it in public, in meetings, with strangers, and no one calls her on it. Maybe they think she has a screw loose. Maybe she does.
I am a devotee of literary fiction and adore a good character study, the ordinariness of life, the interplay of relationships. This book did not give me what I wanted. On a side note, I kept flipping back to look at the cover, searching for the relationship between the cover picture and the story. I never found one.
The first paragraph of Emily Arsenault’s What Strange Creatures sets the tone for the entire book. “What are you supposed to do on the second night your brother is in jail on a murder charge? Should you watch The Colbert Report? Should you clean the black crud from behind your kitchen faucet? Should you make yourself a smoothie with protein powder?” The protagonist doesn’t get much further than that in making decisions or solving problems. I suppose, at its best, the book’s humor is considered rather avant-garde. On the other end of the scale, it is rather trite, trying too hard to be funny.
This book—less mystery than expose about a family of misfits with lackluster dreams and a weak work ethic—had a hard time holding my interest. I wanted the characters to do something interesting, to prove me wrong, to reveal a literary mystery worth reading. Lines like “I was in my kitchen buttering my toast when I saw a woman…” and “It was tough. I had to speed a little. Out of my comfort zone.” had me shaking my head, wanting to breathe life into it. The plot is predictable and pedestrian. The protagonist, who has made a career of seeking her Ph.D. (seven years) plays with an old knit glove, unraveling the knots in the knit, when she is nervous, which is fine as tics go. Unfortunately, she does it in public, in meetings, with strangers, and no one calls her on it. Maybe they think she has a screw loose. Maybe she does.
I am a devotee of literary fiction and adore a good character study, the ordinariness of life, the interplay of relationships. This book did not give me what I wanted. On a side note, I kept flipping back to look at the cover, searching for the relationship between the cover picture and the story. I never found one.
July 28, 2014
3.5 star read
You wouldn't think a divorced doctoral student, her older unemployed brother, a former juvenile delinquent turned author turned college professor, a former Hare Krishna member cum bartender, and a waitress would have much in common (especially when the waitress winds up dead). Throw into the mix the life lessons learned from a 14th century holy woman (want-to-be saint and author of the first autobiography) and murder and you have the makings for what first sounds like a disaster. Amazingly enough, Ms. Arsenault has the ability to take all of these disparate subjects and people and bring forth a wonderfully engrossing mystery. Theresa Battle is in her mid-thirties, divorced with one dog and three cats. She's been working on her doctoral dissertation for more years that she wants to think about and the subject is Margery Kempe, a 14th century housewife and author of the first autobiography. (Is it really an autobiography if the person is dictating the story and can't read it for authenticity and editorial purposes?) Theresa's older brother, Jeff is unemployed and stands accused of murdering his girlfriend, Kim. In an effort to clear her brother's name, Theresa sets off on quest to find out what Kim was researching. This quest takes quite a few twists and turns along the way and the wisdom of Margery is what keeps Theresa going strong. I found all of the characters in What Strange Creatures to be a little quirky, bordering on eccentric, but it worked. There were a few times when I wasn't quite sure where the action was taking me, but again it worked. If you want to read a mystery that leaves you guessing until the very end, then What Strange Creatures is the book for you.
You wouldn't think a divorced doctoral student, her older unemployed brother, a former juvenile delinquent turned author turned college professor, a former Hare Krishna member cum bartender, and a waitress would have much in common (especially when the waitress winds up dead). Throw into the mix the life lessons learned from a 14th century holy woman (want-to-be saint and author of the first autobiography) and murder and you have the makings for what first sounds like a disaster. Amazingly enough, Ms. Arsenault has the ability to take all of these disparate subjects and people and bring forth a wonderfully engrossing mystery. Theresa Battle is in her mid-thirties, divorced with one dog and three cats. She's been working on her doctoral dissertation for more years that she wants to think about and the subject is Margery Kempe, a 14th century housewife and author of the first autobiography. (Is it really an autobiography if the person is dictating the story and can't read it for authenticity and editorial purposes?) Theresa's older brother, Jeff is unemployed and stands accused of murdering his girlfriend, Kim. In an effort to clear her brother's name, Theresa sets off on quest to find out what Kim was researching. This quest takes quite a few twists and turns along the way and the wisdom of Margery is what keeps Theresa going strong. I found all of the characters in What Strange Creatures to be a little quirky, bordering on eccentric, but it worked. There were a few times when I wasn't quite sure where the action was taking me, but again it worked. If you want to read a mystery that leaves you guessing until the very end, then What Strange Creatures is the book for you.
August 7, 2014
WHAT STRANGE CREATURES is an entertaining, well-crafted mystery that had me hooked from the beginning. Theresa is a divorced 35-year old who adopts a pet after every failed relationship – she’s up to four now. She works an unfulfilling job writing descriptions of scented candles, and in her spare time she struggles with her never ending dissertation on Margery Kempe, a medieval Christian mystic.
Theresa’s ordinary life is shaken up when her brother Jeff is arrested for murdering his girlfriend, a young waitress named Kim. Desperately wanting to believe that Jeff is innocent despite the incriminating evidence against him, Theresa starts investigating Kim’s recent activities and is surprised by what she discovers. Theresa finds herself in a multi-layered mystery involving political scandals and older murder cases dating back to the early 90s. I enjoyed trying to fit the pieces of the puzzle together, and there were some nice twists along the way. I did have an inkling about who the culprit was, but what stumped me most was the “why.”
This is the first book by Emily Arsenault I’ve read, and I enjoyed her engaging writing-style and quirky, yet realistic, characters. Theresa is witty, snarky, and easily relatable, and many of her observations had me snickering. I especially loved how she threw in anecdotes from Margery Kempe’s eccentric life – both strange and funny. The animals in this book were a hoot too, especially the “puggle” called Wayne.
WHAT STRANGE CREATURES was an exciting murder mystery with plenty of humor mixed in.
Rating: 4.25 Stars
Disclosure: Review copy from Edelweiss
Theresa’s ordinary life is shaken up when her brother Jeff is arrested for murdering his girlfriend, a young waitress named Kim. Desperately wanting to believe that Jeff is innocent despite the incriminating evidence against him, Theresa starts investigating Kim’s recent activities and is surprised by what she discovers. Theresa finds herself in a multi-layered mystery involving political scandals and older murder cases dating back to the early 90s. I enjoyed trying to fit the pieces of the puzzle together, and there were some nice twists along the way. I did have an inkling about who the culprit was, but what stumped me most was the “why.”
This is the first book by Emily Arsenault I’ve read, and I enjoyed her engaging writing-style and quirky, yet realistic, characters. Theresa is witty, snarky, and easily relatable, and many of her observations had me snickering. I especially loved how she threw in anecdotes from Margery Kempe’s eccentric life – both strange and funny. The animals in this book were a hoot too, especially the “puggle” called Wayne.
WHAT STRANGE CREATURES was an exciting murder mystery with plenty of humor mixed in.
Rating: 4.25 Stars
Disclosure: Review copy from Edelweiss
February 5, 2016
I loved the first novel I read by Emily Arsenault ("In Search of the Rose Notes"), but I found this one so boring that I nearly stopped reading it 3 or 4 times within the week-and-a-half it took me to finish it. I didn't particularly like any of the characters, and instead their quirks just made me dislike them. It dragged on and on while nothing happened for about 80% of the novel.
1.5 stars
1.5 stars
September 10, 2016
Bought on a whim because I could relate to the main character's bio and ended up liking it a lot more than I thought. Will have to check out the author's other books now.
June 5, 2020
An engrossing mystery and family drama, What Strange Creatures combines quirky characters (including non-human ones), crimes from the past, and plot twists in the present to tell the story of Theresa Battle and her brother Jeff, who (no spoilers here; this detail is on the book jacket) has been jailed for the murder of his girlfriend. Because she cannot imagine that her brother could have committed such a violent act, Theresa sets about proving his innocence. I don’t want to give away much more than that.
Theresa narrates the story with wry humor; I enjoyed her company, even as she made me slap my forehead in a “don’t EVEN go into that basement” kind of way. For years she has been working on a dissertation on Margery Kempe, a medieval middle-class woman in England who had a singular relationship with God (and who also wrote the first autobiography ever to be written in English; if you enjoy learning bits of arcane information, this book may be for you). Although I only ever thought about being an academic, the details of Theresa’s attempts at working on her dissertation were delicious, and I was delighted to read in the notes after the novel that its author, Emily Arsenault, had also considered being an academic and considered Theresa to be an alter ego.
Lots of delightful details are here and plenty of laugh-out-loud moments in the midst of the tense central story; Theresa’s day job is writing copy for a popular jar candle company, so if you’ve ever written blurbs for awful products that you’re trying to get people to buy, you will find some of her real and imagined product descriptions very, very funny. Descriptions of various dogs, cats, and other animals—Theresa’s and other characters’ companions—are also entertaining and keep the tale from being any darker than it is.
Because What Strange Creatures is dark—very dark. Horrific crimes from the past haunt Arsenault’s characters in the present day—and not always the characters we expect.
Theresa narrates the story with wry humor; I enjoyed her company, even as she made me slap my forehead in a “don’t EVEN go into that basement” kind of way. For years she has been working on a dissertation on Margery Kempe, a medieval middle-class woman in England who had a singular relationship with God (and who also wrote the first autobiography ever to be written in English; if you enjoy learning bits of arcane information, this book may be for you). Although I only ever thought about being an academic, the details of Theresa’s attempts at working on her dissertation were delicious, and I was delighted to read in the notes after the novel that its author, Emily Arsenault, had also considered being an academic and considered Theresa to be an alter ego.
Lots of delightful details are here and plenty of laugh-out-loud moments in the midst of the tense central story; Theresa’s day job is writing copy for a popular jar candle company, so if you’ve ever written blurbs for awful products that you’re trying to get people to buy, you will find some of her real and imagined product descriptions very, very funny. Descriptions of various dogs, cats, and other animals—Theresa’s and other characters’ companions—are also entertaining and keep the tale from being any darker than it is.
Because What Strange Creatures is dark—very dark. Horrific crimes from the past haunt Arsenault’s characters in the present day—and not always the characters we expect.
February 22, 2018
I've recently discovered Arsenault and binge-read four of her books, this one being the fourth. Unfortunately, it was definitely my least favorite, and had I read it first, I probably would not have read the other three, which I very much enjoyed.
This one had neither a historical (The Evening Spider) nor an occult (The Leaf Reader) angle, nor a bibliophilic (if that word exists - The Broken Teaglass) slant, so it left me with a regular mystery in the modern day which was just so-so.
Basically, it is the story of a woman whose life is going nowhere (she is divorced, has been through several relationships with losers, has a boring job writing flyer material for a candle company, and is about to give up her longterm PhD project about a medieval mystic) and has to solve a mystery to save he brother from prison. Her brother is an even bigger loser, supposedly in the genius category but chronically unemployed, who has just been indicted for the murder of his girlfriend. Since all he does is feel sorry for himself and occasionally lash out, it really makes you wonder why she should be willing to take all kinds of wild risks to save him, including falling into the sack with a guy she barely knows in order to collect evidence, but she does.
We are subjected to much information about the Medieval mystic, her dysfunctional family, and her self-pity. People have pointed out she has a sense of humor, but it is rather snarky, and at the end, with the mystery solved, her life doesn't seem to have improved much. So except for the solving-the-puzzle bit, there wasn't much there that was satisfying.
Too bad. Not sure I want to keep going with this writer and I was quite taken with her before.
This one had neither a historical (The Evening Spider) nor an occult (The Leaf Reader) angle, nor a bibliophilic (if that word exists - The Broken Teaglass) slant, so it left me with a regular mystery in the modern day which was just so-so.
Basically, it is the story of a woman whose life is going nowhere (she is divorced, has been through several relationships with losers, has a boring job writing flyer material for a candle company, and is about to give up her longterm PhD project about a medieval mystic) and has to solve a mystery to save he brother from prison. Her brother is an even bigger loser, supposedly in the genius category but chronically unemployed, who has just been indicted for the murder of his girlfriend. Since all he does is feel sorry for himself and occasionally lash out, it really makes you wonder why she should be willing to take all kinds of wild risks to save him, including falling into the sack with a guy she barely knows in order to collect evidence, but she does.
We are subjected to much information about the Medieval mystic, her dysfunctional family, and her self-pity. People have pointed out she has a sense of humor, but it is rather snarky, and at the end, with the mystery solved, her life doesn't seem to have improved much. So except for the solving-the-puzzle bit, there wasn't much there that was satisfying.
Too bad. Not sure I want to keep going with this writer and I was quite taken with her before.
December 29, 2017
“We’re Battles. What chance did we have?” That one sentence says it all. This is the main characters’ view of their lot in life – and it make them approachable, believable and interesting. I don’t see them as pathetic or self-pitying, but as sardonic with a wry sense of humor – and oh so likable.
Arsenault once again shows her skill in wrapping an interesting mystery inside a semi-non-fiction story about the life and writings of Margery Kempe. That subject matter could be dry or boring, but she weaves it in so skillfully that it is a pleasant learning experience.
I love Arsenault’s writing style – it is engaging, observant, sometimes poignant and sometimes funny. Overall, her spot-on descriptions of people’s lives draw you into the story. She also makes me chuckle. “’Do you now or have you ever owned a pinball machine?’”. The whole situation that leads to this question is both sad and funny and crazy and ‘yes it could happen’. I often wonder how the author thinks of these situations – or has she, strangely, observed them. And I laughed at the “break up pets” – we all do have our own mechanisms for dealing with those.
Arsenault once again shows her skill in wrapping an interesting mystery inside a semi-non-fiction story about the life and writings of Margery Kempe. That subject matter could be dry or boring, but she weaves it in so skillfully that it is a pleasant learning experience.
I love Arsenault’s writing style – it is engaging, observant, sometimes poignant and sometimes funny. Overall, her spot-on descriptions of people’s lives draw you into the story. She also makes me chuckle. “’Do you now or have you ever owned a pinball machine?’”. The whole situation that leads to this question is both sad and funny and crazy and ‘yes it could happen’. I often wonder how the author thinks of these situations – or has she, strangely, observed them. And I laughed at the “break up pets” – we all do have our own mechanisms for dealing with those.
July 1, 2017
I received an ARC of this book in a Goodreads giveaway in 2014 in exchange for an honest review. I tend not to read my books right away - rather, I save them for when I am in the right emotional space and context to do so in order to be able to absorb the book wholly. Three years later, I found myself in that space, and I am glad I waited. I loved this book. Arsenault spoke to existentialist thoughts that we all have in a very real way - I felt each character's unique personality and believed in their quirks and narratives. I appreciated the analytical stance each character took in relation to one another, and the overarching seemingly unconnected themes that subtly (and eventually not to subtly) came together. My only critique is that the pacing, while quick already, felt all a bit too quick with a bit too easy of a reveal toward the end. Overall, this was really well written.
February 22, 2021
This is an interesting and somewhat different mystery. The main character looks into the activities of her brothers girlfriend when she is murdered and the brother is charged. The main character has been working on her PhD for longer than she should have and the book has a lot relating to the subject of the PhD: Margery Kempe, a sort of quarrelsome mystic in the middle ages in England. The book looks at the relationship between the siblings, and also at the main character's relationships with 2 men that she gets involved with during her investigation. I was surprised at the direction her love life took at the end of the book.
October 7, 2017
I liked this author's style of writing. Her characters were obviously flawed but you still liked them, which is quite a difficult thing to do. I enjoyed the mystery unfolding most likely because I haven't read a mystery book in a while! So I'm giving it an average review because it wasn't ground-breaking, but it was enjoyable.
July 23, 2020
If an amateur-sleuth murder mystery can be cute, then that's what this is. It's not going to become a classic, but it was enjoyable. I'd recommend this to fans of Stephanie Plum novels, especially if you're ok having a female lead written by an author who doesn't feel the need to get too explicit with the love scenes.
August 15, 2021
I bought this book because a note on the cover by Jacqueline Sheehan says "This is literary mystery at it's best." Great description. The characters are fun to get to know, the writing wonderful, just a great escapist read. But don't read it when you have a lot to do. I haven't been able to put it down!
January 30, 2022
Actually, I am surprised by how much i enjoyed this. I didn't know what to expect but I found the main characters highly relatable and humorous where they were meant to elicit humor, and tragic where intended. I gave 4 rather than 5 stars only because it was fairly evident "whodunnit" but the ending was very excellent! I will read more of this author's books for sure.
June 15, 2025
Hmmm I am not sure what to feel about this book… it was compelling at points while being a bit too mundane at other points. I feel like a lot of the book could have been cut out as some aspects felt like it didn’t add much to the story. Nothing much happens in this book apart from Theresa trying to piece together what happened to Jeff’s girlfriend as she had a strong feeling he’s innocent. Very much a character study.
While I understood the “sibling love” she felt for him (I have a brother too), often, I felt that he took advantage of Theresa and she just let him do that??? Some parts of Theresa bothered me. Often, she did things that didn’t make sense or felt out of character?? The mother was extremely frustrating too, she never really acknowledged Theresa’s accomplishments and kept expecting her shoulder everything like the bail money just because she was earning. Jeff was her beloved son after all, right? Typical boy mom, and I really don’t like boy moms!
When we find out everything, I was a little surprised admittedly but overall, it didn’t quite make up for the whole reading experience. Just felt like an average book in the end.
While I understood the “sibling love” she felt for him (I have a brother too), often, I felt that he took advantage of Theresa and she just let him do that??? Some parts of Theresa bothered me. Often, she did things that didn’t make sense or felt out of character?? The mother was extremely frustrating too, she never really acknowledged Theresa’s accomplishments and kept expecting her shoulder everything like the bail money just because she was earning. Jeff was her beloved son after all, right? Typical boy mom, and I really don’t like boy moms!
When we find out everything, I was a little surprised admittedly but overall, it didn’t quite make up for the whole reading experience. Just felt like an average book in the end.
January 14, 2018
Ok, I settled on the bad guy pretty early on, but I still enjoyed the book because of that tension: was I right, or wasn't I, as well as for the characters. Also, this book was given to me by a student, which makes it special.
April 9, 2018
This book was a very unique mystery. It seems a bit more plausible than other mysteries and has a bunch of characters with very original personalities. They are flawed, well-rounded characters that do not fall into any cliched characters. I also found the sections about Margery Kempe surprisingly interesting and I want to learn more about her. The plot was complex and interesting, but I have to admit that I was a bit lost a few times. Still, it was a refreshingly different standalone mystery.
June 20, 2018
This is my second book by this author. I am truly enjoying how she spins a tale. I am looking for more books form this author.
I really can't describe what it is that draws me into the story but once in, I am hooked.
I really can't describe what it is that draws me into the story but once in, I am hooked.
December 24, 2021
Excellent! One of those serendipitous library finds—doubly because worn and otherwise on the chopping block. “What strange creatures brothers are” and this strong sibling bond keeps Theresa driving for the evidence. Wanting now to check out other Arsenault works.
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