by Shelby Van Pelt
Audio is highly recommended!
The PW Book Review Circle meets the third Monday of every month at 7:00pm in the church library and by Zoom. Anyone is welcome to join us at any time. We try to select books that are readily available at public libraries or are out in paperback.
Questions? Contact Susie Highley at shighley@aol.com
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.
Future Book Review Circles
- November 17, 2025: My Next Breath by Jeremy Renner (Audio highly recommended!)
- or another memoir
- January 26, 2026: The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon (4th Monday)
- February 16, 2026: Author in Chief by Craig Fehrman
- or The President’s Wife by Tracy Emerson Wood
- March 16, 2026: The Good Part by Sophie Cousens
- April 20, 2026: TBD Wendell Berry Book
- May 18, 2026: The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick
- June 15, 2026: The Martha’s Vineyard Beach & Book Club by Martha Hall Kelly
- July 20, 2026: The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
