Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #103177 in Books
• Published on: 2007-09-24
• Binding: Paperback
• 464 pages

Sunday Times
'Driven and passionate.'

Synopsis
The powerful new bestseller from Josephine Cox -- the nation's favourite storyteller. Home is where the heart is -- but it's also where the pain lies! Young Davie Adams is all alone. Devastated, he flees his hometown of Blackburn to escape the memories of the worst night of his life. With little more than the shirt on his back he sets off on a lonely, friendless road, determined to find his father. Two people are stricken by his departure -- Judy, his childhood friend who is desperate to reveal a secret she has kept close to her heart for so long, and Joseph, his grandfather, who is racked with guilt about that fateful night. Exhausted and afraid, Davie finds friendship and a place to stay but when fate deals him another disastrous blow, he must decide whether to keep running or return to face his demons!

About the Author
Josephine Cox was born in Blackburn, one of ten children. At the
age of sixteen, Josephine met and married her husband Ken, and had two
sons. When the boys started school, she decided to go to college and
eventually gained a place at Cambridge University. She was unable to take
this up as it would have meant living away from home, but she went into
teaching - and started to write her first full-length novel. She won the
'Superwoman of Great Britain' Award, for which her family had secretly
entered her, at the same time as her novel was accepted for publication.

Customer Reviews

The Loner by Josephine Cox I really enjoyed
The Loner by Josephine Cox I really enjoyed. The central character in the book was Davie Adams who when the book began was a frightened boy due to everything that had happened to him and by the end of the book he appeared to be a strong man.

As the story begins Rita Adams (Davie's mother) is walking down the street very drunk and clinging to the wall for support, it was dark so I imagine the street lighting wasn't too good and as I read I sensed that Rita was a very frightening figure.

Davie looked on Judy (his friend) as a real support and while she had a good background family wise he didn't so her family seemed to welcome him.

What I really like about Jo's books is that she is very descriptive and in those times people rallied round and me being the reader you could imagine the characters talking and helping where necessary.

The book had surprises; Judy's friend Annie who was or we are led to believe was a very strong character but I'm not going to spoil it for anyone but you will be quite surprised at what Annie had to endure.

A good read and thanks Jo for another great book.

predictable, unimaginative and lacking in substance
I have never read Josphine Cox before, but "The Loner" was advertised heavily and the reviews appeared good, so I gave it a try. The writing style indicated it might have been written either by a 12 year or for a 12 year old - there was just no substance to this book. As if the situations weren't predictable enough, the author actually gave open clues as to what was coming next, which rather insulted the reader's intelligence and made the book even more tedious. One reviewer described it as "chewing gum for the mind" - agreed, but chewing gum without any flavour. If this is a sample Josphine Cox's writing, I won't be reading a novel by her again - even for a light bedtime read this really was just too soporific.

Mrs Lynne Park

A bitter disappointment
I'd never heard of Josephine Cox when I picked up this book at the book shop. I liked the subject matter so I bought it. At first I was enthusiastic. It's nice to read a story set in England for a change. She had good strong characters and although her writing style seemed old fashioned, I was never bored.

About half way through I found myself getting increasingly frustrated with what seemed like a predictable story and a sequence of events that were unrealistic and far too convenient for the characters and for the writer. The ending was so convenient it made me want to vomit. She also tries to address some uncomfortable subjects but completely wimps out of addressing them in the end.

With her old fashioned style I sometimes felt like I was reading Mills and Boon without the romance. There's too much conversation and too much fluff. The times when felt really gripped were short lived. The book is definately not aimed for young adult readers, so if you're under 50... put it down!