If Janice Hallett ever wants to give up writing (Which I’m NOT at all suggesting) she could become a criminal mastermind judging by this book. I loved it without really knowing what was going on at least 50 per cent of the time but what a clever book I thought the appeal was clever but the Twyford Code is on a different level completely. I will be suggesting it to everyone I know just for it’s utter brilliance .

Steve, an ex gangster is on release from prison and keen to keep a connection with his newly discovered adult son. Haunted by traumatic childhood memories, he tries also to connect with some old school friends and the mysterious disappearance of their remedial English teacher Miss Isles. Told with great humour through a series of audio transcripts, Steve is intrigued by an old children's book that he found back then and it's connection to the fabled "Twyford Code". He gets involved in a a complicated treasure hunt for long lost wartime gold. The childhood stories will be very familiar to fans of Enid Blyton. Clues, codes and red herrings are everywhere. I enjoyed the epistolary style, similar to Hallet's previous work "The Appeal" but completely different here. We mainly hear Steve's voice and his narration of others. The conclusion comes together beautifully.

I was absolutely hooked by The Appeal so was nervous starting the Twyford Code as I wasn’t sure it would live up to its predecessor.

I needed my have worried, Janice Hallet has done it again. One this story started I could not put it down. Once again it’s a completely unique and engaging method of storytelling which hooks you from the start!

I would definitely recommend.

This is one of those marmite books. For the first hundred pages or so I found it utterly bizarre and it takes some getting into the rhythm of it. The style of presentation in 'audio files' with their idiosyncratic method of transcription is probably a step too far as it gives an impression of too much smugness in the novelty of the format for me. There are some great moments of humour sprinkled throughout and the parody of a parody within a parody will bemuse some and add to the marmiteness of the book. for others.

All that said it is an interesting read and the characters are both convincing and relatable. My rating is somewhere around 3.7 stars.

Ad-pr product: Thank you to @viper.books via @netgalley for my advanced copy of this gem of a novel. My mind was blown reading this!

I thoroughly enjoyed The Appeal last year and was so happy to be accepted to read a copy of The Twyford Code, due to be published tomorrow. Like The Appeal, this novel has an unusual layout, being mainly audio files that have been transcripted, as well as messages between two characters at the end. In The Twyford Code, Steve Smith relays the details about his childhood in remedial English, where he discovered a book on a bus by the children's author Edith Twyford. This leads to a day trip with the group and their teacher Miss Isles but Steve's memories are hazy. What actually happened to Miss Isles? What was the code for? How is Steve's later involvement in the Harrison gang all a part of the story and his ending?

I also loved all the funny words swapped for the correct words. As it's audio transcripts, Miss Isles often became Missiles, 'must've' often becomes 'mustard' and 'gonna' turns into 'gun a'!

This was clever; probably the cleverest book I've read in a while! I loved cracking the codes, working what all of the audio files meant as the whole story was explained at the end. This must have taken a lot of planning and my hat goes off to Janice Hallett for such a fab, clever read!

I really enjoyed this particularly because the author is attempting to be original and break the mould rather than write formulaic books.

This is her second novel and is totally different in scale and scope to her first.

Exciting, original, well written and plotted it was a delight to read.

Highly recommended.

I have a love-hate relationship with THE TWYFORD CODE, starting from its structure, which is written as the work of an automatic transcription software as it goes through several audio files. Cool idea, but not such a cool reading experience.

All in all, I found this novel difficult to enjoy. Not to mention, finish it. In the end, though, the rhythm picks up pace, and all elements end up making perfect sense, down to the smallest word choices. What looks like (seriously) lazy writing turned out to be a perfectly crafted, impressive story with so many twists. I only wish I didn’t have to wait until the final hundred or so pages to find this out.

Do I recommend this book? Absolutely yes. But I also suggest being very, very, very patient with it.

I loved Hallett's 'The Appeal' so couldn't wait to read The Twyford Code. Using an equally engaging concept as The Appeal, The Twyford Code is a mystery told through audio snippets and transcriptions. It's a great, unique way to tell a story and I did enjoy trying to get to the heart of the mystery in The Twyford Code. However, the formatting was a little off in my digital proof, especially in the opening chapters, which did impede my enjoyment somewhat - though that doesn't take away from the book itself and I am keen to pick up a finished copy to clear up the issues with the proof formatting.

This is a fascinating and very complicated puzzle, a mystery, the story of a man, and a book full of mirror and smokes.
The story is told using vocal messages and it took me a bit to be hooked as the transcription of the messages was sometimes a bit hard to understand.
I was enthralled by the story, the clues and the story of the inner-city kids and their travel.
I wasn't sure if what I was reading was reliable or if Steve, the main voice, was creating a possible story.
I loved this story that kept me guessing and I liked the final part.
It's a riveting and entertaining story.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett is a wonderfully cryptic first-person journey that will have you puzzling and second-guessing what you have just read!

As a neglected child, adult Steven Smith relives a life-changing experience with an influential teacher and questions his recollection of events. Steven discovers and contacts other children who went on the same school trip for validation and assistance. What happens next is totally unexpected but thoroughly engaging. Hallett has created a unique, mesmerising story!

I really enjoyed this mystery novel by Janice Hallett. It's very interesting writing concept which did take a while to get into. However, once I got used to the 'audio transcriptions' writing style I enjoyed the story and especially the twists and turns. The big twist at the end completely surprised me and I raced through the final part of the book. It's definitely a book that will stay with me for a long time because of the uniqueness of the writing style and plot.

I would definitely recommend for mystery fans and I really want to read The Appeal now!

Written through the use of audio transcripts, the style grated with me.

The story starts with Inspector Waliso forwarding the transcripts to a Professor for his professional opinion. It's pointed out that the transcription of the audio is phonetic. So for example, Miss Iiles is Missiles throughout these transcripts. Any profanity is shown as e.g. s[EXPLICIT]t - realistic maybe but clumsy to read from my point of view. Add into this the flip flopping around of the storyline and I nearly gave up reading a few times. I was intrigued though so I read onto the end.

Around half way through the book I actually got fully drawn into this book and it felt like a real mystery. Later as the twists began to be revealed I felt cheated by the author. I can't say more without spoiling the book but I wished I hadn't invested time reading this book.

I recognise this is a clever plot concept but it just wasn't for me.

It must be difficult for a writer to write a second book when the first has been such a resounding success, but Janice Hallett has pulled it off! Smithy is trying to break a code to possibly find treasure, based on a series of children’s books (clearly based on the Famous Five). The plot is gripping and all the characters are fully developed. There is a twist at the end that took me by surprise. I can’t wait for the third book!

I have a confession to make, I haven’t read the previous book, The Appeal, I knew they weren’t connected but also knew that this one was bound to be written in an unusual way. I wasn’t wrong.
The book is written as a transcript of various voice notes left on an iPhone 4. This takes some getting used to, especially as they have been transcribed by an automated program, so Miss Isles becomes missiles & Bournemouth, bore moth. Don’t let this put you off, you do get it, just a heads up readers.

As a child Steven Smith finds a book on the bus. He takes it to school. The book was written by Edith Twyford & the margins are full of symbols & jottings. Miss Isles, his teacher, confiscates the book from Steven informing him that it is hers. On a school trip to Bournemouth, Miss Isles disappears. Many years later, upon his latest release from prison, Steven discovers he has a son & he realises he has to do more with his life. He decides to try & solve the forty year old mystery of his missing teacher & the Twyford Code.

This is a very cleverly written story, not just the style, but also the content. The characters are well rounded & I really felt for Steven & the hand that he had been dealt.
A great read & recommended. The Appeal is now in my tbr pile!

I read “The Twyford Code” a couple of months ago, but held off posting a review as I didn’t know what to say. Having had a think, I’m still conflicted about the book.

Having read “The Appeal” (which I loved) I thought I knew what to expect. It wasn’t a surprise that the book was written in a different style, and I got used to the format quite quickly. The main character is very interesting, an extremely clever man who is hampered by lack of education and poor reading skills. However, I didn’t warm to him.

I’m not going to give any spoilers, as I feel they really would spoil the book. Suffice it to say, the book is well worth reading, even if at the end, like me you can’t decide what to think.

One point that other reviewers have mentioned. I read the book on Kindle, and I would have probably got more out of it if had been able to flip back and reread passages.

I’m definitely looking forward to seeing what Janice Hallett does next.

What can I say but wow! I sat and read this book in an afternoon it is like no other book I have ever read. 5 stars I love the cover and the story. I just can't fault it I can't wait to read more of Janice Hallett's work thank you Netgalley for allowing me to review this excellent book.

The Twyford Code is the perfect book to kick-start the year. Our protagonist is Steven Smith, ex-con, dyslexic, father to Colin, though they are estranged. Smith has recently been released from jail and has vanished without trace. The only information we have from him is in the form of audio recordings on Colin’s old iPhone 4. The transcription software isn’t perfect though, so you have to pay close attention….

Now Colin, Smith’s son – an academic mathematician, has been sent the audio files by the police in the hope that he can make some sense of them. It appears that Smith has been on a journey of recollection, determined to resolve the mystery of what happened to his old Primary School teacher, Miss Isles some 40 years ago.

By all accounts a dedicated and empathetic young woman, Miss Isles taught a remedial English class in which Smith was a pupil. The interest of the class was engaged by a book that Smith found on a bus and brought in to Miss Isles, who read it to the class.

Written by Edith Twyford, this book is akin to the Famous Five novels of Edith Blyton, and like that author, Twyford has since fallen out of favour, cancelled through a casual racism tinged with xenophobia that runs through the books.

Reading this is a bit like following a true crime podcast. What you get is a mixture of past and present as Smith reconnects with old classmates and as he investigates, we learn a great deal about his own background and upbringing and the criminal endeavours that led to his stretch in prison.

The Twyford Code is both a fabulous secret squirrel mystery with hidden codes, mysterious symbols and espionage with a second world war conspiracy to steal treasure.

You’ll follow the clues as Smith sets out his journey, aided by the local librarian and various of his classmates, remembering always to keep his probation officer clued in to what he’s up to. He is nothing if not a model ex-con.

Janice Hallett leads her readers on a fabulous, merry jaunt through the English countryside, with hidden tunnels, visits to old houses and some serious sleuthing to solve the puzzles. But what is it all in aid of? With references to other puzzles in other books, the reader begins to wonder just how reliable Colin’s narration is? For sure someone is not telling the whole story…

The Twyford Code is great fun. Full of humour, fast on its feet and keen to exploit every possible misdirection and misinterpretation, it contains both a terrific mystery and a serious message.

Verdict: The Twyford Code is an exciting and innovative book for bibliophiles with a sense of fun. It is a terrific mystery; a great exercise in misdirection and a novel that both delights and satisfies. A great start to the New Year!

Another super clever rollercoaster ride by Janice Hallett, who's quickly becoming one of my favourite authors. The way the story is told through transcripts of audio recordings made for a super intriguing and captivating read. It felt like I was accompanying the characters on a very detailed and mysterious treasure hunt which was honestly super fun!

Having loved Janice Hallett’s debut The Appeal last year I was very excited to be able to read The Twyford Code. It was my first book of 2022 and what a phenomenal way to start the year. It well and truly blew my mind!

Forty years ago, Steven Smith (known as Steve) found a copy of a famous children's book by disgraced author Edith Twyford, its margins full of strange markings and annotations. This book was taken off of him and kept by his Remedial English teacher Miss Iles, but she still read some of the story to him and his classmates. She also arranged for the class to go on a school trip to the former seaside home of Edith Twyford, but it was on this trip that Miss Iles disappeared.

In the present, when Steve is released from prison after eleven years, he decides to investigate the mystery that has been haunting him for decades; what really happened to Miss Iles that day? Was his teacher correct in her convictions that the book was a key to solving a puzzle and that a message in secret code was hidden by Edith Twyford within its pages? Was the book the reason she disappeared? Desperate to recover his memories and find out the truth, Steve revisits the people and places of his childhood. It soon becomes clear to him that The Twyford Code has great power, and Steve isn't the only one trying to solve it...

I loved the way this story is told through transcripts of audio recordings Steve makes on his phone (an iPhone 4 given to him by his son) on his release from prison. I am glad that Janice Hallett has chosen to use another unique form to tell this story, just like in her debut novel. I was intrigued by Steve from the beginning and keen to learn what happened for him to have been imprisoned for so many years. I was also fascinated by The Twyford Code and the idea that a code could be hidden within the pages of a children’s book.

I was captivated by Steve’s journey to try and solve the code and his belief it would help him to solve the mystery behind his teacher Miss Iles’ disappearance all those years ago. I really enjoyed getting to learn more about Steve and his past as the story progressed (his childhood and the events that led to his imprisonment), and also seeing his relationships with the people who came on board to help him on his quest for the truth.

It is so hard to talk about this story without giving anything away, but it took me well and truly by surprise and absolutely blew my mind with how clever it is! I had to take several moments to pause when details were revealed and things explained, as it was just so incredible! It is like nothing I have read before and I honestly cannot recommend it highly enough!

The Twyford Code (2021) by Janice Hallett

Like many I was a big fan of Hallett’s first book, The Appeal (2020), so I have been eagerly awaiting her second publication, which is released on the 13th January.

Synopsis
‘It's time to solve the murder of the century... Forty years ago, Steven Smith found a copy of a famous children's book by disgraced author Edith Twyford, its margins full of strange markings and annotations. Wanting to know more, he took it to his English teacher Miss Iles, not realising the chain of events that he was setting in motion. Miss Iles became convinced that the book was the key to solving a puzzle, and that a message in secret code ran through all Twyford's novels. Then Miss Iles disappeared on a class field trip, and Steven has no memory of what happened to her. Now, out of prison after a long stretch, Steven decides to investigate the mystery that has haunted him for decades. Was Miss Iles murdered? Was she deluded? Or was she right about the code? And is it still in use today? Desperate to recover his memories and find out what really happened to Miss Iles, Steven revisits the people and places of his childhood. But it soon becomes clear that Edith Twyford wasn't just a writer of forgotten children's stories. The Twyford Code has great power, and he isn't the only one trying to solve it...’

Overall Thoughts

In the last couple of months, I have read more than one book which would count as a bibliomystery. It is a subgenre I find I am particularly enjoying at the moment. So it was pleasing to discover that Hallett’s second offering also falls into this category and I think she brought a creative approach to it. Books are used as evidence in the mystery and not only do they potentially provide secret codes, but texts become repurposed to provide clues in a different way. I liked how the physicality of these texts contrast with the modernness of the way Hallett’s story is composed entirely of audio file transcripts. As with The Appeal, the writer includes many small details which add to the authentic feel to the narrative being audio files. They look and read differently. I also appreciate how Hallett does not just use this unusual typography as a mere novelty but ensures that it delivers an engaging reading experience. For example, the initial audio files between the inspector and a professor are effectively deployed to tantalise the reader and throughout the story the audio files are a good way of creating obfuscation, as they can conceal as much as they reveal about a character or situation. Furthermore, the audio file transcripts enable the protagonist to relay past events to the reader whilst commenting on present moment circumstances which hint at what might have gone on. This leads to periods of heightened tension and give the reader a palpable sense of danger.

Knowing how clever Hallett was in her first book at pulling the wool over my eyes, I did start this book thinking to myself: ‘I must remember to not accept anything as true, without really thinking about it first!’ Hallett’s style of mystery writing encourages you to keep asking questions about what is seemingly going on or being said and I think with her books I more actively sleuth. You keep asking yourself, ‘Why am I being told this?’ Nevertheless, despite my timely reminder to myself I did trip up a couple of times with her second novel. Not that I minded too much, as it is nice to avoid some red herrings, but be fooled by others. It is all part of the fun!

If you have read the blurb above you will know that the protagonist is interested in a code which might be in some of the children’s books Edith Twyford wrote. Twyford is a “disgraced” author who was particularly prolific during the 40s and 50s and had a Super Six series. The reasons given for the author’s books being viewed negatively in the present day of the story is that her books were criticised for being simplistic and for including many “isms”. Now you don’t need to be Sherlock to twig that this figure in the story echoes the real-life writer Enid Blyton. I felt Hallett’s appropriation of this real person was well-done. She continues to include notes of authenticity such as basing the titles of the stories Edith Twyford wrote on titles Blyton really did publish. For example, Twyford’s Six on Goldtop Hill sounds similar to Blyton’s title Blyton’s Five Go to Billycock Hill. Moreover, Hallett’s novel does not use her book reductively to bash Blyton’s work and has a full gamut of responses to Twyford’s stories voiced by the characters. For instance, Miss Iles explains at one point why she is reading one of Twyford’s books to the class, despite it being deemed inappropriate by the school: ‘Everyone in this room is clever enough to understand that this book belongs to another world. A different time and place [...] the past is a foreign country, They do things differently there.’ I felt moments like this showed a more nuanced handling of the shadows which overcast Blyton’s novels, whilst not for a minute condoning any problematic language those books contain.

One of the questions some readers might be pondering is how similar or different The Twyford Code is, to The Appeal and a natural follow-on question might be is it better? So I thought I would conclude my review with my opinions on these two matters.

To begin with the first question, I would say Hallett does a really good job of showing she is not a one trick pony or only capable of writing one type of story. The use of audio files, the completely different milieu and plot trajectory attest to this. I mentioned earlier in my review that The Twyford Code is part bibliomystery, but as the plot progresses, I think it develops more into a cold case thriller with an adventure/treasure hunt story feel. In some respects, with the code angle and the potential for conspiracies, it reminded me of those escape room experiences you can participate in online, with the need to look things up. Although I say it has a treasure hunt like quality, I would say it is a pretty dark one at that. This change in tone from The Appeal is not a negative, I should add, and the plotting on this one remains tight. It is impressive that Hallett is able to combine so many different styles yet retain control of what is going on.

However, for me, it was not as good as The Appeal, despite these many positives. A reoccurring question I had whilst reading The Twyford Code was: Is the reader given the same level of opportunity to figure out what is going on as in the first book? And looking back at the book I don’t think we are. The audio file transcripts provide less detail at times than the emails do in The Appeal and some of the clues which are there are harder to retain. If you are a whizz at solving or spotting codes then you might have an easier job, but if you are like me then you might find it harder to hold on to the detailed code related information over the 300+ pages. The clues which were people or narrative arc based I was able to pick up on, but the code aspect did give me a bit of a headache at points. I also got the growing feeling in this book that to an extent the narrative has to keep telling you rather than showing you stuff, due to the nature of the narrative threads the book runs with. This contrasted with The Appeal where less specialist knowledge was required, and you were better able to work stuff out independently. In addition, there were times when I felt the pace slowed down too much and I wondered if this loss of momentum was due to the dominance of one voice in the audio files. The first third of the book felt the strongest for me.

One thing I definitely missed from The Appeal, which is not present in The Twyford Code, were the two characters who act as additional “readers”. In The Appeal there are lawyers who are examining the email evidence and we get to read their conclusions as we make our way through the book. Conversely, we don’t get this in The Twyford Code and at the end when there are audio file transcripts of messages between the Inspector and the Professor, I can see why we don’t, but I am not sure the payoff is sufficient. Moreover, the Professor dominates this section, making it a one-sided conversation. Again, there is a reasonable reason for this, but it means that this character has a lot of pulling together to do and in one particular audio file transcript this feels quite forced and clunky, again with this character having to tell us a lot of new information.
I think there will be a lot of different opinions on the ending or the fallout of what has gone and whether certain structural or narrative choices have paid off enough for the reader and I really look forward to finding out what everyone else thinks about this title. Furthermore, I remain enthusiastic for Hallett’s next book, as I think she is taking the modern mystery novel in new and exciting directions.

Rating: 4.25/5
Source: Review Copy (Viper via Netgalley)