Charley's Web

by Joy Fielding

"New York Times" bestselling and award-winning author Joy Fielding tells the story of an ambitious journalist whose foray into the mind of a killer puts her own family in jeopardy.Charley Webb is a beautiful single mother who writes a successful and controversial column for the Palm Beach Post. She's spent years building an emotional wall against scathing critics, snooty neighbors, and her disapproving family. But when she receives a letter from Jill Rohmer, a young woman serving time on death row for the murders of three small children, her boundaries slowly begin to fade. Jill wants Charley to write her biography so that she can share the many hidden truths about the case that failed to surface during her trial. Seeing this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Charley begins her jour-ney into the mind of this deeply troubled woman.Her path takes a twisted turn, however, when the anonymous letters she's recently received from an angry reader evolve into threats, targeting her son and daughter. As Charley races against time to save her family, she begins to understand the value of her seemingly intru-sive neighbors, friends, and relatives. As she discovers, this network of flawed but loving people might just be her only hope of getting out alive.Filled with complex characters and a plot rich with intrigue, "Charley's Web" is Joy Fielding at her heart-skipping, mesmerizing best.

• ISBN10: 074329601X
• ISBN13: 9780743296014
• Publish Date: 1 March 2008
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd
• Imprint: Scribner
• Pages: 400
• Language: English

Reviews

[Joni Reads]

I had never even heard of Joy Fielding until I was browsing my local library last week. I saw a whole row of novels by her and picked up one of the books and was immediately intrigued. I had a hard time figuring out which book to borrow but I chose Charley's Web because of the interesting and unique title.
I was quickly absorbed in this novel. I never wanted to put it down. Charley is such a likable character and and the words just flowed right off the page.
As Charley becomes more involved with interviewing Jill Rohmer, the Beastly Babysitter who is sitting on death row for murdering three children, the book started to truly come alive. I could picture the scenes like I was watching a crime drama, Jill on one side of the table and Charley on the other, each one trying to gain the upperhand in the interviews.
It soon becomes obvious that Jill did indeed have an accomplice in the murders of the children. She will only refer to him as "Jack". Jack and Jill. She thinks it's so clever and Charley is trying so hard to get Jill to divulge who her accomplice is. The answer will shock you as will the series of events leading up to Jack's unmasking.
Truthfully, I figured out who Jack was about half way through the book. It was a guess, a "wouldn't it be funny if soandso is the accomplice" and then it turned out I was right. It was not made obvious and I am sure that a ton of other readers of this novel have been thoroughly surprised with who he turns out to be. I just have a way with guessing who the bad guy is, probably because my tv watching is limited to Criminal Minds, Cold Case, Without A Trace, CSI, and Law and Order SVU.
In any case, I loved this book. Once I got to the end I couldn't put it down. I can't wait to read more from this author.

[ibeforem]

I thought this was a good read. Charley is very independent, and uses her independence to build up a wall that protects her from getting emotionally involved with other people, whether they be her neighbors, the mother who was gone for most of her life, her sisters, or even the fathers of her children. When she begins to dig into Jill Rohmer’s damaged world, cracks appear in her own wall. Despite the tweeness of the title of her newspaper column ("Webb Site", which the author tries painfully hard to make us believe is clever), I also enjoyed that side of Charley. Actually, I kinda wish she had spent more time in the office and less time driving around.

The plot builds well, and there are enough possible outcomes that when the twist occurs, you are surprised but find it believable. And then the second twist hits you and blows all of that out of the water. It’s hard to surprise me, but Fielding did it well. Charley’s Web is a little bit mystery, a little bit suspense, and a little bit family drama, and it all works quite well.