Lonely Girl

Lonely Girl
Josephine Cox

The new novel from Sunday Times bestselling author Josephine Cox gets straight to the hope and heartbreak of family drama.One fateful night changes the course of a child’s life forever…Rosie’s mother is a cruel woman and has Rosie’s kind and loving father wrapped around her finger. Though John Tanner does his best to protect her, Rosie often bears the brunt of her mother’s rage.And his protection can’t last forever.In one tragic moment Rosie’s fragile world is shattered. Grieving and alone, Rosie is thrust into a harsh reality, and she must face the obstacles that fate has set in her path.But secrets will out, and Rosie must uncover the shocking truth behind her mother’s cruelty before she can hope for the love and happiness she deserves.

Copyright (#ud5f5cb5d-8c59-52f4-aea7-061a69860791)

Published by HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)

First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins 2015

Copyright © Josephine Cox 2015

Cover layout design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2015

Cover photographs © Mark Owen/Trevillion Images (girl); Stephanie Frey/Trevillion Images (dog);

Brendon Burton/Arcangel Images (landscape); Lisa Takahashi/EyeEm/Getty Images (birds,sky);

Shutterstock.com (http://www.Shutterstock.com) (border)

Josephine Cox asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Source ISBN 9780007476732

Ebook Edition © October 2015 ISBN: 9780007476749

Version: 2017-05-22

Dedication (#ud5f5cb5d-8c59-52f4-aea7-061a69860791)

For my Ken – as always

Table of Contents

Cover (#ueeeb7377-24e6-5255-8ab2-3c03f5cfb53c)

Title Page (#u7649dce5-024b-5b78-8a3e-727533bc3cac)

Copyright (#u1c05036e-c5cb-58cc-bd2d-9b477c4e678d)

Dedication (#udb084f72-a8f0-5512-8dd4-7d0277321d9b)

Part One: Dark Memories (#ucc4f8fc1-66eb-57d6-9aae-d13f32ab8c11)

Prologue (#uab9dce7e-d61d-5cb5-b3cd-582a17a700b8)

Part Two: Badness Will Out (#u1baab7f0-09cc-5e12-b551-1e86bf9d59d1)

Chapter One (#ucf4bef8c-5da1-58a0-bf04-bc391a74beb3)

Chapter Two (#u1b8493d3-c359-5e60-a51a-c37549a49dfb)

Chapter Three (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Four (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)

Part Three: Realisation (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)

Part Four: The Aftermath (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)

Part Five: Revelations (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Preorder Jo’s next book (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Author (#litres_trial_promo)

Also by Josephine Cox (#litres_trial_promo)