Separately or together, siblings Kate and Jeff Battle might be thought of as underachievers. Still, things are looking up when Kate, struggling to finish her PhD dissertation, agrees to dog-sit for Jeff's new girlfriend, Kim. But when Kim is found murdered and Jeff is charged with the crime, Kate's going to have to kick into a new gear of assertion and discipline if she's going to prove his innocence. What she finds out about Kim is, well, let's just say there's no shortage of scandal, murder, political intrigue and ill-advised romance.

Such is the bare-bones premise of Emily Arsenault's much-lauded new novel, "Such Strange Creatures." The author, whose "Miss Me When I'm Gone," "The Broken Teaglass" and "In Search of the Rose Notes" are earlier bestsellers, will read from "Such Strange Creatures" and sign books tonight at R.J. Julia in Madison.

- RICK KOSTER

Emily Arsenault, 7 tonight, R.J. Julia, 768 Boston Post Road, Madison; free, call to reserve a seat; (203) 245-3959.