This was a book club pick. Good thing too or I wouldn't likely have read it. Not because it isn't well written. It's simply not my go-to genre.
I admit I was skeptical when I read the premise. An octopus solves the mystery of a long lost son and restores joy to the night cleaning lady in an aquarium?
But it works. Really it does. In fact, the octopus might even be my favorite character.
There are several threads to follow but as the book matures, the threads weave tighter forming a beautiful picture of the characters' lives and how they blend together and form attachments. An excellent tapestry with heartfelt humor.
After Tova Sullivan’s husband died, she began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and tidying up. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which she’s been doing since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in Puget Sound over thirty years ago.
Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus knows more than anyone can imagine but wouldn’t dream of lifting one of his eight arms for his human captors—until he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova.
Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova’s son disappeared. And now Marcellus must use every trick his old invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it’s too late.
Shelby Van Pelt’s debut novel is a gentle reminder that sometimes taking a hard look at the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible.
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