The Octopus By Tess Little

‘The Octopus’ is Tess Little’s debut novel.

When Elspeth arrives at her ex-husband’s LA mansion for his 50th birthday party, she’s expecting a crowd for the British film director. Instead, there are just seven other guests and Richard’s pet octopus, Persephone, watching over them from her tank. Come morning, Richard is dead. In the weeks that follow, each of the guests come under suspicion: the school friend, the studio producer, the actress, the actor, the new boyfriend, the manager, the cinematographer and the ex-wife, Elspeth herself. As stories of Richard’s past surface, colliding with Elspeth’s memories of their marriage, she begins to question not just who killed Richard, but why these eight guests were invited, and what sort of man would want to trap this mysterious, intelligent creature.

This book is a quirky whodunnit tale with an unlikely lead in a shape of an octopus.

The story is seen solely through the narrative of Elspeth and begins at the moment that she arrives at her ex husband’s 50th birthday. The party is a small one for the the narcissist and cruel man containing old and new friends and and old and new lovers. It’s whilst at this party that Richard dies and all 8 friends find themselves suspects in a crime.

The story flows back and forth in past and present tense. Flashbacks to when Elsapeth meets Richard and falls in love with the handsome director but only she knows his cruelty and need for perfection and when he hurts her one too many times, she flees with their only daughter called Lillie. Even though Richard subjected her to physical and mental abuse, Elsapeth always maintained that he was the perfect father and husband. Flashbacks not only feature the relationship between Elsapeth and Richard but also the night when Richard died and how everyone who attended that night all had motive to kill Richard.

Randomly in the background of all this drama, there lurks a huge Octopus called Persephone and her eerie presence throughout the story, really adds a chilling atmosphere to the story. She’s the only creature that really knows what happens that night.

The story is well crafted, fill a room with 8 people all with motives and throw in a great big hulking octopus and this will certainly grab the readers attention. Tess’s attention to detail is prevalent throughout the story and the level of research dedicated to octopus, was truly fascinating.

The past and present tenses to the story make for great reading, as Elsapeth deals with her own hatred for Richard and coming to terms with others, all whilst living in the public eye.

A story of murder, drama and suspense, with a stunning cover, The Octopus’ is an unique debut about the abuse of power and how easily a person can snap when forced.

You can pre-order ‘The Octopus’ from Amazon and will be available to buy from good bookshops from 20th August 2020.