Book 10) - A masterful psychological thriller - The Web (Alex Delaware series

First, though named The Web, this book has nothing to do with the internet. It’s about many unusual topics including WWII history, political and corporate corruption but if I say more I’ll give away the plot surprises revealed late in the story. So, let’s just say it’s fascinating and informative with interesting credible cast of characters led by a congenial couple who unravel its unique mystery and help save the day. If there are any other books with this psychologist and his wife, I’m going to find them and read them. Brilliant and inventive author!

"The Web" is Jonathon Kellerman's eleventh Alex Delaware novel wnd was first published in 1996. Delaware is a psychologist based in LA who earns his living as a consultant - largely working with the courts and the police. However, the action in this book largely takes place on a small island called Aruk.

Alex and his girlfriend, Robin, have been invited to Aruk by Dr Bill Moreland. Moreland, who has gathered a great deal of clinical data in his time on the island, wrote to Alex requesting his assistance in organising and analysing it. Moreland proposes working on the biological aspects of it, with Alex focusing on the psychological aspects. The benefits to Alex include a very nice salary for the duration of the research and, hopefully, joint authorship of a number of journal articles - or possibly even a book.

Aruk is officially part of the Mariana Commonwealth and a self-governing US territory. It is also a very divided island. Moreland lives on the island's leeward side, near Aruk town - the windward side is home to Stanton, a US naval base. The Navy has also blocked the southern beach road, after sailors were blamed by some for the murder of a local girl. This has caused some ill-feeling on the island and has also had a damaging effect on the island's economy. Unfortunately for the Aruk, it's not the last suspicious death the locals will see...

Moreland lives on a 700-acre estate which was originally built by the Japanese and used as their official headquarters when they controlled the island. McArthur forced them out during WW2 and established an American presence. Moreland bought the estate from the government when he left the Navy in 1963 - he had been stationed at Stanton himself. In fact, his former CO is now an influential senator and a possible presidential candidate. Part of the estate now includes Moreland's own `zoo' : the exhibits include a large collection of very unappealing arachnids and a ridiculously large and dangerous centipede. There is also a Banyan forest nearby, which was apparently laid with mines by the Japanese during the war. Alex and Robin aren't the only guests around the house; the others include Jo and Lyman Picker, both scientists. Jo, who works for the defense department, is the reason for their presence - she is on the island to study wind patterns. Lyman, a botanist who works for a wildlife organisation, is a bitter, arrogant and obnoxious man. Moreland's daughter, Pam, is also living there - she has only recently returned from Philadelphia following her divorce.

"The Web" is only the second book by Kellerman I've read - the other being "Flesh and Blood" - and I found this one much better and more credible. However, I wouldn't say it's perfect either. Delaware himself has a tendency to jump to conclusions, desperately clutching at straws in a bid to justify his position. His relationship with Robin is hard to take at times - they make an extremely cheesy couple and some of their conversations can be a little over-dramatic. There's also an occasional bout of pretension, with scientists apparently trying to sound intelligent in front of their peers. However, while I wouldn't call it a classic, it is an easily read and largely enjoyable read.

Love the Alexander Delware character! Very imaginative plot based on the misbehavior of government . Many wonderful twists & turns. Everything comes together as the novel concludes; just a small question remains to tantalize rather than frustrate the reader.

A different setting for Dr. Alex Delaware as he and Robin leave L.A. for an island in the South Pacific where some potentially interesting old case files (or a paid vacation offered by the owner of said case files) beckon. But of course even though Milo Sturgis doesn't follow Alex this time, murder still does, as well as several other mysteries that may or may not all be connected.

There are several interesting elements of this story, including the aforesaid murders, the odd behavior and hobbies of their benefactor, and some of the cases that he shares with Alex. The writing is good, the mystery is interesting, and there is some suspense and some excitement. All in all, it's a fair Alex Delaware book, not the best or most interesting one, but one of a series where even the worst book is probably going to be interesting reading.

This is an extremely quiet, moody book that builds interesting characters in an interesting setting, but doesn't allow much to happen to them. It was my first Kellerman book, and despite my 2-star review, it won't be my last. Ideally, I'd have given it 2.5 stars. It's better than two, but not up to three.
Don't read this book for the mystery. The story deals with an extremely shocking crime, but somehow, the answer to, "Who done it?" is a big, "Who cares?" I think the problem is that the shocking mystery has an extremely pedestrian solution, producing an imbalance between the murder and its solution. That imbalance-which you can sense coming 100 pages in advance--pulls most of the tension out of the plot.
Far more interesting are the book's sub-themes. Kellerman-presumably because of his psychological training-is an astute observer of the dysfunctional manners in which people often interact. And this book is full of dysfunctional relationships, ranging from an embattled couple to an oddly disengaged father/daughter relationship. All of this plays eventually into the finale, but I found watching these people in action to be much more interesting than wondering about what secrets they were hiding.
One note, though, struck badly-not falsely, but irritatingly, in a way I fear might be characteristic of the series. Kellerman's psychologist-detective, Alex, is always addressing other characters by their first names, as in: "I don't think I can do that, Bill," or "Why do you ask, Jo?" That type of first-name engagement helps the reader keep abreast of who's speaking, and it rings true for the psychologist character, but it feels very aggressive. It's as though Alex, by the false intimacy of calling everyone by their first names, is always trying to provoke them. Or maybe he's continuously "shrinking" them. Whatever the reason, after a while I wanted someone to stand up to Alex and make him stop doing it. Since he's otherwise one of the nicer-guy heroes in the detective genre, it's a particularly irritating habit.

For some reason I am unable to fully explain this book held my attention much better than the previous 9 Alex Delaware novels. One of my biggest dislikes, really there are very few, is Kellerman's habit of describing whatever route Alex drives when he has to go somewhere. Being on an island that is 7 square miles and only about 1 mile of that accessible he wasn't really able to do that. So maybe that's it!

Nonetheless, I was captivated by the story. There was this mystery and in hindsight maybe lots of clues, but I didn't see it coming. I had very little expectations for this book, actually thought it would be boring so maybe that helped too. Moreland was strange and yet charming. Beyond him there wasn't much more to most of the other characters. An instant dislike for Creedman, but that was obvious.

Or maybe it was that there was more involvement from Robin. I genuinely like Robin. She seems to subtly make everything more interesting!

This was the first Alex Delaware novel I read (not realizing that it was the tenth in the series), and maybe that was a mistake, but when reading this book I didn't really feel the need for any context of the other nine books before it. This novel stood alone really well, and I enjoyed it. I don't read a lot of mystery novels, but this book had a lot of interesting twists and surprises that kept me on the edge of my seat. It was a good read, and I know that because I finished it. The book is pretty long, and often times long novels discourage me and can't keep my interest. But I finished this book, and I read it pretty quickly, too. It kept my attention.

I have read Kellerman before and really liked his books. I don't know what happened here, but this was pretty much disgusting and unsettling from start to finish. It seemed to go on and on, and ended up flat for me.

This was an extremely deep,psychological thriller.Alex Delaware has his hands full of crime,deep and long standing sinister secrets and lies,along with governmental apartheid.A trip to a beautiful island becomes a calculated nightmare.Alex must use his skills in psychology to investigate brutal crimes and the shocking story behind them.Washington beaurocrats are covering up old government secrets that could end their powerful careers and lucrative wheeling and dealing.Everyone has so many evil secrets that it may destroy the whole island.But it doesn't take Alex Delaware long to bring truth to the forefront and end the nightmarish reality.

Dr. Alex Delaware's new house still isn't finished yet and the lease is up for the little beach house in Malibu, so Alex, his girlfriend Robin and their pooch Spike are about to be out on the street. That's why Dr. Moreland's invitation for Alex to come stay a few months in a tropical paradise to help the old man organize his notes is a very tempting proposition. And since Robin is under doctor's orders to give her wrist a rest so her tendonitis can heal, why not take a little vacation to the tiny island of Aruk?

Thus begins a very tangled web indeed. Alex is really sucked into this one, though. He doesn't even have a choice when it comes to snooping because nothing is as it seems in paradise and Dr. Moreland is fond of games. When murder and mayhem invade the island, Alex's LAPD Detective pal Milo can help only so much from thousands of miles away (but he does try), and it soon becomes clear that Dr. Moreland had ulterior motives for inviting Alex - motives that do not include organizing his notes. The danger becomes very real, though, and Alex does something ... Agh, I don't want to give anything away, but he is forced to do something he is definitely not proud of and he does it in front of Robin, which only makes it worse. MAJOR Angst!

Great, creepy story.

This is not Kellerman's grand mastrpiece he was aiming for, but still a decent and enjoyable read! The premise is really original and could have been developed better, but hey cut him some slack! Some reviews out and out blasted him!
Somebody that has never tried writing a novel does not know the difficulty in doing such. People that just read for the pleasure of reading is fine, but the creative process is quite a grind!! So I allow a little lee-way when writing a review. It's not as easy as it looks by a long shot!!
Having said that, Kellerman hits and misses with this one. His characterization is first-rate, but the novel drags a little at times. The action is good and the ending comes fast and furious; our senses are almost overloaded with all the info thrown at us.
Kellerman may have been experiencing a tight deadline opr any number of things, but still worth the price of admission. I don't think Jon could write a truly "bad book" if he tried.
To the skeptics, try writing a novel. Better yet, try to get one published!

I'm usually a big Jonathan Kellerman fan but this book was a stinker! To be honest, I only got about 25% of the way through it and gave up. He's going on and on about this obscure Pacific island to the point where I suspect that he decided to write this book because he took a long vacation in Tahiti and by writing this book he could call his trip "research" and take a tax deduction. The characters don't gel, there never was a mystery to solve (in the part I read) and it was just bad.

Loved this one...Especially because Alex and Robin are together the whole book, like Nancy Drew and Ned Nickerson! There are even a couple of references to those famous sleuths. Great character development, as always, and a twisted plot. Anyone will enjoy this mystery book, but especially if you like military history, islands, and the ocean...bad guys, good guys, and the in between.

This is a departure from Kellerman's usual mystery focus. And for those Kellerman fans who love Milo, be prepared for disappointment since Milo doesn't appear. I love Kellerman, but the story here was ridiculous. The ending was so far fetched that it made me yank off my iPod (I listened to the audio version). Character development was poor, but that could be because there were too many characters. Only Elizabeth George can get away with that. The book did not keep my interest and this is unusual for a Kellerman book. It was entertaining in parts, but overall a poor effort. I finished the book only because I'm a devoted Kellerman fan. If your goal is to read all the Alex Delaware books, then by all means read it. Otherwise, tick it off your list and move on.

Johnathan Kellerman has hit it on the head, once again, in "The Web", another in the Alex Delaware series. Dr. Alex Delaware is a noted child psychologist with a habit for attracting the most dangerous and mysterious cases. This time he - along with his lover Robin Castagna - are on the tropical island of Aruk so that Alex can help an American scientist assemble reference material from his former cases. The object is to write a book or a formal paper, but instead Alex finds himself caught in the middle of yet another strange situation - the apparent copycat of a savage murder that took place on the island years ago. Can Alex find out the truth before the killer finds him ?
This was yet another great book from Johnathan Kellerman. The characters are so real, and the situation so believable, that I just couldn't put it down! A MUST READ for all mystery fans!

This is a crime story featuring Alex Delaware. In this story, Alex answers a request to help an old doctor in the South Seas organize some medical records for publication. Once Delaware arrives on the doctor's island, people start to die, and it's up to Delaware to pull together the clues of what's been happening and put an end to the deaths.
I found the story to be exceptionally preposterous as a murder/crime story. Kellerman seems to be writing from far beyond his experience, making up details and descriptions from his imagination rather than from fact or experience. One glaring example is when he has his main characters put on swim fins on the beach and then wander into the surf- -if you've ever tried this yourself, you probably still have the bruises to show for it, and won't forget to wait until you're well into the water to put the fins on next time you go snorkeling. Kellerman also manages to place McArthur at the battle of Saipan during World War II, among other gaffes. But worst is the entire premise of Delaware's trip to the island. Supposedly, Delaware, a psychologist who is notable enough to have stories printed about him in the popular press, receives a request to collaborate on a research and writing project with an unknown medical doctor who has lived on an obscure island in the South Pacific for years. The M.D. doesn't have any particular theories or hypotheses in mind that he is working on. Instead, he has some 40-50 years of unorganized records (from patients whom he has never sought consent to involve or use their records in a research project), and he expects Delaware to come out to the island and sort through the records on the off chance that there might be something worth publishing. This is the strangest notion I have ever read of how scientific collaboration operates- -obviously, Kellerman has never discussed scientific collaboration with any researcher friends that he might have. Much of the rest of the book runs at about the same level of quality and plausibility. The story itself takes a while to get laid out, but then picks up a bit through the second half and may hold the attention of determined readers.

I was very disappointed in this book. Very draggy, and I lost interest very quickly. Thank goodness, I still had one credit left to purchase another book! Sorry, Jonathan Kellerman. I am a very big fan of yours, but this book lacked everything I like about your writing.

I was leary of starting this book after reading the reviews on this web-site but I sailed right threw it. I found it a relaxing easy read. It is different then his other wonderful books but sometimes change is good. I didn't go into it thinking it was like his other books so I think that kept me from being the least bit disappointed. It was a little sci-fi but I handled it (I hate sci-fi). I enjoyed it and found it a relaxing read where as his other books keep you on constant pins and needles. I agree with the others on not starting out with this book. I would start with his first one of the series.

Having just finished Over The Edge, I can't believe the same author wrote The Web. This book lacks the intensity and drive I've come to expect from Kellerman. I could not get into it and on page 40 or so still nothing of interest had happened. I kept skipping pages, hoping I would get to the "real" story soon, but I didn't. If you are a diehard Kellerman fan, by all means read this book, but don't expect to find the interesting relationship between Milo and Alex or any of the usual psychological intrigue because it's just not there.

Most recent in the Alex Delaware series. Alex and his significant other find themselves on a remote tropicalisland with little or no outside communications. Problem is (big suprise) people are dying under mysterious circumstances and, much as they would like to leave, they can't. That is until just after they solve the mystery. Nothing original but good steady plot. Moves quickly with lot's of colorful characters and spirited dialogue.

Title should be "Scully & Mulder go to Polynesia". I have enjoyed evey Alex Delaware so far, but this turkey is definitly an X-File wannabe. Only difference is Spooky & friend would have lost the children on the way back to Hawaii, and have no proof of their existence. With luck, the book would have been lost with them.

I was looking forward to reading this book. I should not have wasted my time. It was very unlike most Alex Delaware books, no real sleuthing, no realistic dilemma, ridiculous premise, and no real conclusion. Silly waste of time.

read two books in a row, Lisa Unger "Hearthbroken" and Jonathan Kellerman "WEB". Was lucky to find out main events on both books had happened in small island, almost without or bad phone connections, etc. Sometimes no connections at all. Although there are some differences; in the first case the main hero is woman, in the second-man. Both old, rich, no friends, no real family, dedicated to themselves, with some sensibility to own children.

While some books are a bit unrealistic, but are interesting nonetheless, this one was neither. I could not figure out were Mr. Kellerman was going with the plot line, and apparently neither could he. While I usually enjoy his work, this one just wasn't up to par.

This book was twisted, confusing, misleading, and I loved it. Kellerman went to the other ends with this one. This book took on a direction that was completely baffling; yet, that was the beauty of it.

I enjoy Kellerman's works of fiction that feature the Alex Delaware character and this was no different. It was nice to see a change of pace and setting while maintaining the integrity of the character.

I finished it, my husband couldn't. We have read all his previous books and loved them. Poor research on the area also. If he was within stricking distance of Saipan, the island was definitely subject to typhoons on a regular basis.

For me, the biggest mystery in a Kellerman book is how does this man get an audiance for this shlock? I only finished it to see if he could write anything more preposterous in his 19th book than he did in his 1st, When The Bough Breaks. In this quest, Dr. Kellerman has succeeded. It's laughable.

In this tenth Dr. Alex Delaware book, he and Robin leave Los Angles, where his home is still being repaired for an all expenses paid work vacation on the Pacific island of Aruk, by Dr. Woodrow Mooreland, a scientist, and philanthropist who needs help with his many case files to ready them for publication.

But things are not as they seem. A couple, one a botanist, the other a meteorologist studying weather patterns in the area are to go on a plane ride over the jungle where no one goes because of the land mines left by the Japanese during World War II. They get in a fight before the flight and he goes alone and the plane crashes into the jungle. The Navy base on the other side of the island, which is blocked off by a large iron gate, that went up after the villagers protested the death and mutilation of a local girl who was known to hand around sailors.

The other cases the doctor shares with him besides that of the girl is one of a man who suffered radiation poisoning when the Bikini Islands were bombed and the air shifted and drifted over some of the Pacific Islands, causing death and cancer. The people were compensated monetarily, but in the doctor's opinion, that was not enough. The people of Aruk receive government checks each month because of their poverty, which does not encourage them to try to revive the island's economy and while Dr. Mooreland has the money to help, he does not.

There are also two strange American men on the island who seem to want to drink all day and harass the local women. But they are not the only odd thing on the island. A man who is running for the Senate seat of Washington State, and known for his environmental policies back stateside, is perhaps not so eco-friendly concerning the island. A big business is interested in the island and all the land the doctor owns, which is considerable.

But that is not the biggest secret being kept. The good Dr. Mooreland waits until the end to show and tell his story to Alex and Robin one stormy night. A story that may get them all killed. This book's ending will come as a complete shock. As all of the secrets kept by the various players unravel, a horrendous revelation and a shocking request made by Dr. Mooreland to Alex and Robin could quite possibly end in tragedy for them all.