When her brother Lars dies, she resigns herself to sell her house and move into the retirement home where he spent his last years. Meanwhile, Tova constantly wonders about her missing son, and begins to worry about who will take care of her in old age as she watches her friends from the Knit-Wits secure end-of-life arrangements. Though Cameron's search for Simon Brinks continues to turn up empty handed, he is holding down steady employment and meets a new girlfriend named Avery. Tova shows up nightly to check in on the new employee and they slowly develop a friendship. When Tova sprains her ankle at work, Ethan recommends Cameron to the job. Cameron meets Ethan Mack, the manager of the local grocery store, who helps him when his camper breaks down. He believes the man to be a wealthy real estate developer by the name of Simon Brinks. She lacks real human connection after his disappearance and the more recent death of her husband, Will.Īfter losing his job again and being dumped by his girlfriend, Cameron Cassmore follows a lead to Sowell Bay, in search of his estranged father. Tova is distant and removed at these meetings, still consumed with grief from the loss of her son Erik, who drowned in Puget Sound and whose death still remains a mystery 30 years later.

They share town gossip and tell stories about their children and grandchildren. When not working, Tova spends quiet time alone at home or meets with her friends in a group they call the Knit-Wits. One night, she finds an escaped Marcellus tangled in a mess of power chords and saves his life, but not before she is left with a series of sucker marks on her arm from his tentacles. While working, she thinks often of her deceased son, Erik.

A widow named Tova Sullivan works her night shift cleaning the aquarium, a job she takes very seriously. Marcellus McSquiddles is a Giant Pacific Octopus who displays his intellectual prowess from captivity in his tank at the Sowell Bay Aquarium. Chapters from the human perspective alternate between the point of view of Tova Sullivan, Cameron Cassmore, and Ethan Mack, are titled as a quote from that chapter, and are presented in the third-person narrative style. Chapters from Marcellus's point of view are presented in the first-person and are titled as days in captivity, counting down to his imminent death. Van Pelt's novel takes place in the fictional town of Sowell Bay, Washington, and alternates between the perspective of humans and Marcellus the octopus. The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Van Pelt, Shelby.

Remarkably bright