What Strange Creatures

Scandal, love, family, and murder combine in this gripping literary mystery by critically acclaimed author Emily Arsenault, in which a young academics 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 hasnt finished her dissertation. Instead of a degree, shes got a houseful of adoring pets and a dead-end copywriting job for a local candle company.Jeff, her so-called genius older brother, doesnt have it together, either. Creative, and loyal, hes 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 Kims puggle for a weekend, she has no idea that it is the beginning of a terrifying nightmare that will shatter her quiet world. Soon, Kims 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 womans past, Theresa uncovers a treacherous secret involving politics, murder, and scandaland 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 brothers life, she may be sacrificing her own.