There’s a pretty high degree of chutzpah involved in taking a Jane Austen quote for your novel’s title but Emily Arsenault’s WHAT STRANGE CREATURES is equal to the challenge. The book is often deliciously funny and its protagonist, struggling academic and potential crazy cat lady Theresa Battle, could well be a 21st century descendant of Austen’s favourite heroines.

The book focuses on the relationship between Theresa and her older brother Jeff who we learn in the opening pages is accused of having murdered his girlfriend. In what might be evidence that names matter the Battles have low expectations for their lives

Sometimes, when my father would scratch off a losing lottery ticket or arrive at the movie theatre after all the seats had sold out, he would say cheerfully, “Oh well. We’re Battles. We’re used to disappointment.” Or worse: “We’re Battles. What chance did we have?”

Jeff, the designated family genius who nevertheless couldn’t hang on to his job as a bus driver, seems almost resigned to his fate. Theresa though is not prepared to settle for this and goes to bat for her brother by attempting to uncover who else might have murdered Kim.

The character of Theresa is fabulous. Not fabulous as in she has it all together and can kick ass and bake cupcakes too. But fabulous in the way she is totally believable. She has one failed marriage behind her, a half-finished PhD thesis about a really obscure subject, a growing menagerie of pets and a dull job that was meant to be a fill-in while she finished her dissertation. She also has a wicked sense of humour and is just as willing to turn her humorous observations on herself as on those around her. Without the funny she’d have just been rude and/or morose but with it she is endlessly readable.

The story itself was a little patchier in execution. It’s not bad but it’s not brilliant. The number of references to Theresa’s obscure thesis subject was a little high for me.The first one or two passages in which the 14th Century religious eccentric featured were vaguely interesting but after a while I was just glad I would never have to read the completed thesis. The larger story concerning Kim’s death and Theresa’s ‘investigation’ was a bit rambly too. There’s meant to be a sort of political intrigue in that Kim had become obsessed with some local politician and how she was going to show him up via a viral video. But I never really bought this. Looking back I’m going to blame the book blurb partly for this (I know, I know I don’t read book blurbs anymore. Except that I did just this once. I. Have. Learned. My. Lesson.) because it made this angle seem a lot more substantial than it ever actually was. If I hadn’t been expecting it perhaps I would have felt differently about the fact it was never really a strong theme. Still I liked the way Theresa dove into things, even the way she put herself in danger seemed realistic (if somewhat daft on occasion) and the resolution was a good one.

Given that I read the book for yet another stop on my virtual tour of the US via its crime fiction I’d have liked to gain more of a sense of this book’s location. It took me until three quarters of the way through to confirm it is actually set in Massachusetts (the state I had assigned it to on my reading list) as there is really nothing that sets it anywhere other than “small-ish University town USA”. But this is more a book of inner places than external ones and Theresa’s inner life and her relationship with Jeff is well worth the price of admission. Sibling relationships – especially between a brother and sister – are something of a rarity in fiction and this one is thoughtfully and credibly drawn. So Arsenault’s borrowing from Austen (the full quote is ‘what strange creatures brothers are‘ from MANSFIELD PARK) is indeed well-earned.

Perhaps not one for the die-hard crime fiction fans but if you enjoy a character-driven novel with self-deprecating humour and a hint of mystery I can definitely recommend WHAT STRANGE CREATURES.

A great mystery read, as well as a brother-sister relationship story. The subject matter was heavy, but there was plenty of humor--and snark--in the dialogue to help keep it from getting TOO heavy. The conversations between the Battle siblings, Theresa and Jeff, were very realistic for two people who don't really know how to talk about their feelings, and therefore cover them up with shallow conversations.

The mystery component was a REAL mystery, in that I didn't have it figured out in the first three chapters. The ending was a total surprise that I never saw coming.

My only real complaint is that there was a little too much discussion of Theresa's thesis subject..many times it didn't seem to fit in the plot, and honestly it was pretty boring to me.

I would definitely recommend this to any lover of mysteries, however, and will be looking at some of the author's earlier work, as well. ( )

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 ( )

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. ( )

When I finished reading Miss me when I'm gone, I immediately looked for another Emily Arsenault novel. Her latest, What Strange Creatures fell into my lap. Another well-crafted story, centering on Theresa Battle, an ABD (all but dissertation ) PhD candidate. She's got thee cats and a dog (she acquired one after each breakup, starting with her divorce), a slightly dysfunctional family, and a totally boring copy-writing job at the local candle company. She has been given a deadline to finish her dissertation (which she's been writing for 7 years) on Margery Kempe, the Medieval mystic and pilgrim, who also wrote the first known autobiography. But at the same time, her brother, (brilliant, a bit hapless, jobless, and somewhat of a drinker) finds himself being accused of the murder of his girlfriend. What's a loving sister to do? Theresa sets out to find the truth.

I've somewhat butchering my summary, but let me just say I really enjoyed this book. The characters felt real, the plot revolving around them, not them around the plot. And there was all this stuff about Margery that was absolutely fascinating.

Have already started scouting for the remaining Arsenault left for me to read. Yay!

Tags: an-author-i-read, books-about-books, great-title, literary-mystery, made-me-look-something-up, read, thank-you-charleston-county-library, will-look-for-more-by-this-author