The Beachcomber

by Josephine Cox

The Beachcomber Cox, Josephine

Genres: Fiction, Romance, Mystery, Contemporary, Historical, British Literature, Chick Lit

600 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

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 university but was unable to take this up as it would have meant living away from home. Instead, 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. She is now a No.1 bestselling author with over 40 books to her name.

She wrote dark psychological thrillers under the name Jane Brindle.

Reviews

[Ally Harradine · Rating 1 out of 5]

The story line was ok, but the writing was terrible! I was so irritated by it at times that I swore that I wouldn't finish reading it. I only pushed through because I hate starting a book and not finishing it. Do yourselves a favour and skip this book

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has got some very mixed reviews, including some poor ones; I'm not sure why this is the case unless people picked the book up not knowing what type of book it was. This is essentially a romance book with an element of mystery in it. If you read it from this perspective it is a very enjoyable book! There are multi facets to the story, characters you like and are rooting for, and characters you just hate! It is quite a long story but as with this type of book you know it is going to come right in the end. If you are looking for a light enjoyable romance, with an element of mystery thrown in then this could be the book for you, if you are looking for a high brow classic that might win a prestigious award then I would say avoid this one! Overall I enjoyed it and will continue to read books occasionally by Josephine Cox.

[JJ · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was so bad I have no excuse for finishing it except my strange compulsion to finish every book I start no matter how bad. Writing was terrible. Story worse than a soap opera. Really, I can't think of a worse book I've read in a really long time.

[Tracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. A fantastic story by Josephine Cox. It's the tale of two lonely people finding each other, but also solving the mystery of who wanted Tom and his family dead. Tom and Kathy are both hurting and seek refuse in the same place. West Bay was brought to life so much that I feel as though I can picture it still, I would love to visit the area some day. A story I could loose myself in, would recommend.

[Jacqueline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed it,never heard of josephine cox but i'll definitely be looking for more by her,i expected a sort of love story but this book had mystery and genuinely disturbing characters as well as loveable ones!

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best book of Josephine Cox out of all her books. Lots of mystery, romance and adventure. Highly recommended.

[poppie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book despite grammatical errors etc. To me it didn't really detract from the story which although predictable in parts, there was a nice little twist at the end. Ideal holiday reading.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant! I couldn’t put it down. One of Josephine Cox’s best!

[Sandy Hallam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good

[Ian Mcnamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another lovely story. Tom and Cathy are wonderful characters. The story is a little predictable but really exciting..

[Jen D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Beachcomber is a lovely book. I like this kind of story, with romance and mystery and plenty of tea. This one is really well done.

Two people looking for a change end up in the same seaside village. They have instant chemistry, but both need closure from their old lives before they can commit to new ones.

I got this book a while ago from a friend. The blurb and the title didn't really grab me. I was just about to pass it along to someone else when I looked it up on Goodreads. I'm so glad I did. The reviews here (the positive ones) give a more accurate impression of the story than the back of the book and even the title does. Thank you Goodreads!

[What to read next ....... · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Beachcomber had a lot of bad reviews, so l thought l will give it a go, and to my surprise l liked it.

I thought it was a little fatal attraction in the 1950s.
I was so surprised 😯 of the storyline, l think that was the beauty of it.
It was overall a great page turner.

It has romance mystery, murder and family conflict.
Josephine Cox put all these great elements, and came with a great story.

The local element of speaking ( London 1952 ) might be difficult for some, but on the whole it’s fairly easy to understand.

It’s worth a read, it’s light, entertaining and a great quick read.

[Claire · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book seemed so old fashioned--not just the era in which it was set, but the writing itself. I was planning on writing in my review that it just didn't age well, didn't stand the test of time. But then I found out it was published in 2003!

Ugh, I just didn't get it. The story was interesting enough, but the writing was just...not good.

[Trish at Between My Lines · Rating 3 out of 5]

A gentle read that felt a little predictable. However the lovely characters, the Cornwall setting and the heart warming feel made up for the lack of suspense. So while it didn't wow, it did make for a pleasant summer read. Which just goes to prove yet again, that I'm a sucker for any kind of beach setting in book.

[Laureen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This audio book was nauseatingly sentimental. Another MP3 audio book I picked up from the library while waiting for selected audio books to arrive. The story behind the sentiment had great potentential but didn't seem to over come the banality. For the story promising I will upgrade the 2 stars to 2.5 stars.

[Debra Dixon · Rating 1 out of 5]

The worst book I think I have ever read (and I have read a lot of books). I found it very predictable, very poorly written and very much like a really bad American soap opera. I persevered right to the end out of sheer curiosity and in the vain hope it might improve but it didn't, it was cringe worthy to the last, it was almost comical 😂😂😂

[Amy Stagles · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very easy, lighthearted read with several very different story lines. I feel as though the story would have run better if they had reduced the amount of plot lines tied into one big ball of a story. However it was still a good book that I didn’t want to end.

[Alysa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I made it 50 pages before I totally gave up. I don't even know if the story was any good because I couldn't get past the absolutely atrocious writing.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

another great read :)

[Linda Klages · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to read - lots of twists, turn & suspense. Would read more from this author.

[Σπυροπούλου · Rating 5 out of 5]

Πολύ ωραίο!Ενα βιβλίο που τα έχει ολα. Καλή γραφή , πλοκή που κερδίζει το ενδιαφέρον απο την αρχή και δεν θες να το αφήσεις λεπτό, αίσθημα, μυστήριο, ανατροπη. Απολαυσα την ανάγνωση του!

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a page turner. Starts with s shock and then moves forward from there to another shock and then weaves a good tale of intrigue and love lost and found followed by another shocker.

[Lesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

🎧 I had the audiobook read by Carole Boyd who does a good job with the narration.

This Women’s fiction/ romance set in the 1950’s isn’t my usual genre. This one came recommended from my other half.
It’s got a good storyline with plenty of interest. It evolves around Kathy and Tom. I like the setting of the house Kathy moves into.
It kept my interest well, I don’t know if it’s the era or and genre, but it felt a little cliched and predictable at times.

[Inuta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn’t know what to expect of the Josephine Cox book. Loved the 60’ties London English (if that’s a thing) with a lot of expressions i have never heard before. Story line was somehow soap-opera-ish romance+mystery. Predictable, but easy to read. And same as with Hallmark movies, sometimes that’s EXACTLY what is needed to relax.

[R · Rating 1 out of 5]

The writing in this book is so bad. So much telling, very little showing. Did the book even have an editor? The dialogue is artificial and there is the POV of people who are irrelevant to the story e.g. some past experience of a cab driver who is driving someone somewhere. Who needs to know that?
Also, the word pretty is used a ridiculous number of times.

[Susan Silveira · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was just….okay. I agree with some other reviewers that the writing was so so. I felt that there were too many little mini situations included that didn’t pertain to the story as a whole and could have been easily left out. I felt that there were several loose ends that I was disappointed that were not addressed. Not the greatest book I’ve ever read.

[Adrian Marindo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my first Josephine Cox book to read and it didn't disappoint me. I really love her writings but I just hope some parts didn't happen because I felt like it was so unnecessary. But all in all, it was really a good story. It teaches us a lot not just about romantic relationship but also friendship and family. I still gave it a 5 star because this is the book that led me to English Novels.

[Libby Bettis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was an easy O.K. read and some of it brought a tear to my eye, but definitely felt like something was missing. It seemed a large part of the book was about setting the stage but the conclusion seemed a bit rushed and if I am honest a little frustrating and far fetched. I did enjoy it but it’s not a book that will stay with me.

[Amanda Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been a long time since I've read a Josephine Cox book, I'm not sure why as I enjoyed her stories. I'm glad that I bought this book as I enjoyed reading it. I found the plot well written and the characters were good. I'm definitely going to read some more Josephine Cox now!

[Marianthy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A real pageturner, and Cox writes to match the pace of the story. Nice brain popcorn, even if some of the characters were very conventional in type and role (Lilian, Samantha/Irene, Jasper for some local colour). Still, the story was pleasantly flowing and the answers were somewhat surprising!