What Strange CreaturesEmily Arsenault
Imprint: William Morrow Paperbacks
On Sale: 07/22/2014
Format: Paperback
Pages: 384
Idgie Says:
I really enjoyed this book. The wordplay was fascinatingly amusing and gripping at the same time. I enjoyed the crazy way Theresa's mind worked. If you scroll below there's an excerpt that you can read through and get the feel for it.
There were many little scenes that made the story human and also laughable... such as when Theresa is trying to have a very intense conversation to help free her brother from prison on the phone, but the cat walks in and starts hurking a hairball on the carpet in front of her.. .naturally distracting! While I couldn't relate to the brother in jail, I could certainly relate to the pet ownership part.
This is written in the classic "Whodunit" manner with many chapters of investigative questioning - not a lot of action, but extensive wordplay. It kept the interest and the humor kept that continual questioning from becoming dry.
I recommend it.
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About the Book
Scandal, love, family, and murder combine in this gripping literary mystery by critically acclaimed author Emily Arsenault, in which a young academic’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, one marriage and divorce, three cats, and a dog later, Theresa 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 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 world. Soon, Kim’s body will be found in the woods, and Jeff will become the prime suspect.
Though the evidence is overwhelming, Theresa knows that her brother is not a cold-blooded murderer. But to clear him she must find out more about Kim. Investigating the dead woman’s past, Theresa 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.