The Appeal was one of my favourite books from last year, so I was eager to read this, and I was not disappointed.  I was slowly drawn into the story, wanting to find out what actually happened & what the Twyford Code lead to, and once I was in I struggled to put the book down.  The story is told through audio transcripts, and it takes a bit to get used to the way some words come out.  It's such a smart mystery, with many different layers - I really enjoyed it & can't wait to see what Janice Hallett does next!

As a boy who can neither read or write, it’s incredible that Steve Smith’s life is shaped by a book he finds abandoned on a bus. Taking it in to school, his teacher Miss Isles tells him all about the author Edith Twyford and how some believe there is a secret code within her childrens books. When Miss Isles suddenly disappears on a Twyford themed school trip, it sets Steve on a course that will alter his life for good.

I LOVED the author’s first book “The Appeal” and I was so glad she had written another epistolary novel, this time using transcripts from audio recordings on an old iPhone. It’s stated that the transcripts were made using translation software and certain words are misspelled. That took some getting used to for sure when I first started reading but I got the hang of it.

I really loved Steve and I was rooting for him. He is charming and I wanted him to crack the code and get the big break he deserved.

However, I found the middle section of the book really dragged for me. It felt like a wild goose chase and I lost interest in cracking the code. It was only really my fondness for Steve that kept me reading on.

But wow - the ending was a real “never saw it coming” jaw dropper. So clever in that when I thought about it, the clues were there all along. Whilst I didn’t love it like I did The Appeal, I am glad I read it. Janice Hallet is definitely the queen of the epistolary novel. I’ll definitely be there for the next book.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to review an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I found this book really unique and unusual. Narrated in the format of oral history recordings, the protagonist seeks to crack the Twyford Code. A speculated secret code supposedly created by disgraced children’s author, Edith Twyford. The structure keeps you guessing to the very end with lots of twists and turns, and you’re constantly questioning who to believe. The author uses phonetic spellings and does not always identify speakers to create a transcript. I found the phonetic spellings helped build up the main character who cannot read or write, but I found the lack of identification of speakers sometimes confusing as a reader, though I appreciate the ‘on the fly’ style transcript gave it more authenticity and helped the plot. I sometimes struggled with the main character’s sole to contextualise his story as it sometimes felt laboured in comparison to recorded conversations. However, I think this was redeemed in the end with one last plot twist.

I read this book before Hallett’s ‘The Appeal’. I can definitely see similarities in terms of challenging the conventional narrative structure and an investigative tone. I would definitely recommend to someone who like mystery. wants something a bit different and is a fan of Hallett’s previous work and style.

This review is scheduled for publication day on the blog, it's already up on Goodreads:

Hi and welcome to my review of The Twyford Code!

Well… this was quite the mindfuck! Leave it to Janice Hallett to come up with a mystery that neatly hops over the boundaries of the genre! After The Appeal, that came as no surprise. I’m sure I’m not the only one who longed for Hallett’s second book before there was even any mention of The Twyford Code. I went in with huge expectations, yet a part of me felt sure she could never equal The Appeal, for one because she lost the element of surprise: readers of her debut would go in expecting to be dazzled and bamboozled, and therefore wouldn’t be. Dear reader, I’m not at all sorry to admit I was dead wrong.

The Twyford Code is completely different from The Appeal, but just as original. No small community and trying to figure out who did what to whom and who was convicted for it, instead you get one man’s story and a piece of world history that might not have gone down the way you were always told it did. I felt like Alice falling down the rabbit hole. I didn’t encounter a mad hatter or a talking cat but I might as well have for all the wonder I felt.

The Twyford Code kicks off with a bunch of transcripts delivered to a professor so he might help solve a “mysterious case”. These transcripts are from audio files found on the phone of a missing person. With each batch of transcripts, I was drawn deeper into the story, I slid further down the rabbit hole and truth be told, by the end I hardly knew which way was up. I became entirely obsessed with solving the Twyford code and figuring out all the side mysteries.

While I did figure out some things here and there, and had some suspicions that were later confirmed, the finale caught me completely unawares. The less you know, the better, all I can say is that The Twyford Code is masterfully plotted and cleverly executed and part of me is convinced there are hidden messages left to be found. If I had the time and the kind of analytical mind one would need to pull it off, I’d go back and tear it apart looking for Easter eggs.

If you enjoy stories that boggle the mind, tales that puzzle you, enigmas that put your little grey cells to work, basically a mindfuck of a book, do yourself a favour and dive into The Twyford Code as soon as you can, you won’t regret it.

The Twyford Code is out now in digital formats and hardcover, happy publication day to Janice Hallett! The paperback will follow in July.

Massive thanks to Viper and NetGalley for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

Wow! I loved The Appeal so was very excited to read The Twyford Code. I was not disappointed.

This book is written using audio recordings made by Steve Smith for his estranged son.

The recordings make for a unique way of reading. At times it is a bit confusing as to what is happening, but but by bit the truth unfolds.

I don’t want to give any spoilers so I will just say that the book is extremely clever. What appears to be a simple story turns out to be more complex.

I love the layers of this book, such a novel idea that is so well executed. A brilliant read.

I confess to not having read The Appeal yet, but I understand that it has been constructed as if it were a file of primary documentary evidence. Intriguing. The Twyford Code is similarly quirky being constructed mainly from computer translation of voice files recorded on an iPhone 4. No doubt there will be purists and prose pedants who will be appalled by the idea and indeed it is a format that doesn’t lend itself to sparkling prose and loses a little of the rhythmic poetic qualities that great prose possesses. However, this is more than made up for by other qualities. Some of the dialogues are wonderful and the mistranslations add to the mystery of what precisely was intended. I must confess that it took me a few pages to attune to it but then you realise there is a kind of natural cadence to it if you were to read it out loud. It also allows for uncertainty and anxiety, and we are dealing with speech rather than stage

Codes, bluffs and mis-directions are central to the plot. In fact, some are so fiendish that it is a struggle to do justice in a review without the risk of giving away a spoiler. A few hints and nudges may be given but this book would ruined by giving too much away and then the reader would be deprived of the joy of a lovely satisfying plot unwind. Needless to say that the seemingly straightforward plot is not all it seems. The clues are there but spotting them is no easy task and well beyond my capabilities.

The principal character that of Steve Smith is engaging and empathetic. He has been a career criminal, but he wants to go straight and find his redemption. His childhood and family life were disturbed, so as a substitute he falls in with the Harrisons, a second tier London gang behind the Krays and the Richardsons. He finally discovers that though he considers them to be his family the Harrisons do not and he ends up doing the long stretch from which he is newly released from at the start of the novel. He is not a loveable cockney gangster but a man who had a bad start in life and compounded this by making bad decisions. Even so he lacks self-pity and is determined to solve the mystery surrounding the disappearance Miss Isles. Lucy the librarian is sympathetic, for reasons that will become clear, the friends are caring, and his brother poor Colin is a sad picture of a man.

Ultimately this is a story that has a feel-good factor and reminds us to cherish family and friendships, that can last a lifetime, and not take them for granted.

This wonderful book will no doubt sell by the lorry load, and it would be no surprise for it to pick up many deserved accolades. I for one intend to put right my oversight and get a copy of The Appeal soon. What is to come in the next novel is anyone’s guess, I for one can’t wait to read it.

Naturally I would like to thank the author, publisher and of course NetGalley for access in exchange for a fair review.

Despite all the hype for the author's debut, The Appeal, I abandoned it pretty quickly as I found it dull and painfully middle-class, so I went into this with low expectations. However, I really enjoyed it. The mystery is constantly twisting, and I thought the format of auto-transcribed audio recordings worked well and allowed for some fun wordplay. I'm looking forward to Janice Hallett's next book.

Janice Hallett had a hard act to follow after the success of her first book, “The Appeal,” a fiendishly clever and original mystery told through emails, with the reader drawn in to read between the lines. This new novel is also a bit different, full of ideas and audacious twists, which again the reader has the opportunity to interpret and try to piece together. Steve Smith, recently released from prison, tells his story through a series of recordings made on a mobile phone for his probation officer, hoping that he will explain himself to the son he has never known through her. He tells of his neglected childhood and how he became involved in crime, but also of his ambition to find an explanation for why his childhood teacher disappeared on a day out to Bournemouth, apparently in pursuit of clues to a code left by a well-known children’s author from the 1940s. This writer, who bears a strong resemblance to Enid Blyton, has been rumoured to have played a significant role in the war and possibly knew where treasure was hidden. But things are not always what they seem- is Steve putting himself and others in danger? The unfolding of the story is intriguing and unusual, although towards the end I did feel that it was being stretched a bit thin, and I felt that it suffered from being told only from Steve’s perspective. The conclusion, however, is ingenious. As a keen reader and librarian, I loved the emphasis on how important both can be, and how reading can open up doors and provide meaning and comfort for the most unlikely people. It was often funny as well as poignant. I take my hat off to Hallett for pushing the boundaries of fiction and playing with genre conventions, and look forward to what she tries next.

Well! After raving to anyone that would listen to me about The Appeal, I just had to get my hands on an ARC of The Twyford Code, so a massive thanks to NetGalley for this eARC.

I was pleased that Hallett didn't follow the same format for this one, and instead we're privy to the transcripts of audionotes recorded by Steven Smith. Steven, or Smithy, is an ex-con who forty years ago took a copy of a book written by Edith Twyford, that he'd found on a bus to a remedial English class. His teacher Miss Isles (or missiles as the transcript writes it) was convinced there was a code hidden in the book that needed solving. One day, trying to solve it, she goes missing on a field trip. Smithy has no recollection of what happened that day and now, out of prison and determined to go straight, he sets about trying to find out what happened that day, and solve the code.

It soon becomes clear that Miss Isles, and now Smithy, are not the only people trying to solve The Twyford Code.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Twyford Code and I cannot get over how clever Janice Hallett is, writing such a book. It is surprising - you just don't expect anything quite like it.

My only criticism as we went through was that I would have liked more variety in the narrator - but it all becomes clear at the end why we're told the story solely from Smithy's view.

This book is brilliant. It's truly unique, it's pacey and it's good fun trying to solve the Twyford Code (and failing miserably in my case) yourself.

Having enjoyed The Appeal by this author, finding it unusual and cleverly written, I was keen to read a second book. This was equally innovative, using the transcribed audio files of the main character, Steve Smith to outline the story. I found the narration difficult to engage with at first, but once I had got the rhythm of his speech and the strange spelling of his dialogue ('missiles' for Miss Isles), it became compelling, trying to work out the different relationships and the main events of both his early life and more recent action. I liked the way the story wound around on itself and surprised the reader with its twists and turns, leading to an interesting, if not entirely straightforward conclusion. A fascinating book well worth the read.

I was so excited to read this book because I did love reading The Appeal by Janice Hallett. This book is based off of audio recordings from an old iphone 4 that has been discarded away. This is such an interesting media to use, as we all know of and have used Iphones. The storyline took a while to develop but I did enjoy the twists and turns from the story. I will be rereading this so I can solidify some plot points in my head.

A brilliant read with an original story. Steven Smith (Smithy) has spent many years in prison and on release he decides to find out what happened to his remedial teacher Miss Isles, or Missiles, who disappeared decades before on a class outing to visit the home of Edith Twyford, the author of the children's book Miss Isles is convinced is code for something. The book is made up of transcripts from audios of Smithy and his former classmates by way of recordings on an old iPhone gifted from Smithy's estranged son. I thought the writing style would be annoying, (usually transcripts and phonetic style can be), but turned out to be a clever way to lay out the story. I enjoyed this one by Janice Hallett and I'm looking forward to reading her debut The Appeal if I ever get through my current reading pile. Thanks to Net Galley, the publisher and the author for the ARC.

Ok, I had to sit on this book for a wee while once I finished as I just hadn’t a clue how to review it - although I’ve been chomping at the bit to shout about it from the roof tops!!!

From where I sit, Hallett has effortlessly taken the crown for Queen of the epistolary novel. Twyford is a rapid paced thriller, with twists galore! We join Smithy (I absolutely loved Smithy!!!) through a series of voice recordings to his probation officer as he describes his efforts to track down a missing teacher from his school days while uncovering literary espionage from the Second World War.

I don’t want to give away any spoilers but the beauty of this book is the ingenious way Hallett has written it. There are codes within text right under your nose and reliability is often called into question. I can’t even begin to imagine how you would write a book like this!! It’s sheer genius.

Hallett will have you racing through this book, to try and figure out just what in the heck is going on, and as you are hit with that last twist, your just gonna want to go back and read it again! Mind blown!

Can you crack the code?

It merely a reflection of my personal preferences and not a weakness of this book that I was initially put off by the format: a collection of audio transcripts.
After struggling to get into it on my first read, I decided to give the book a second chance and persevere beyond the first batch of audio files. I am glad I did as I enjoyed this very unique book.

The novel is mostly narrated by Steve Smith, an ex convict, who leaves a series of audio files for his probation officer, Maxine about his quest to decipher the ‘Twyford Code’, a secret code hidden in a series of children’s books by a war-time author, and discover what happened to his reading teacher who went missing during a school trip.

Absolutely nothing is what it first seems in this novel and I could never have anticipated or guessed the ending until I actually got there.

I have given the novel three out of five stars because the audio transcript style just wasn’t for me and because, in my opinion, this structure made the story feel disjointed, especially given how much the plot jumps around in time. However, I admire the author for crafting such an intelligent and intricate mystery with continual building of tension throughout the book that had me rapidly turning the pages after working my way through the slow set-up at the start. I also congratulate the author for centring and championing a group of characters with poor literacy skills. Steve and his friends form a charming band of unlikely heroes!

Reading this novel took me back to nostalgic memories of school trips with my friends and enjoying solving the puzzle magazines which my dad used to buy for me as a child.

This novel will appeal to most readers who enjoy mysteries and code-cracking, as long as they don’t mind or can persevere with the unusual audio file format.

Initially, I was not a fan of this book. It is told from the perspective of mobile phone voice mails and memos, badly spelt messages and these did distract my concentration when I started reading this novel, but, I did persevere, and suddenly the story gelled and it became really intriguing and thrilling, in ways I did not expect.
It starts with a rather convoluted story about a missing teacher, and then progresses to a treasure hunt. The action becomes fast paced and is so full of red herrings and dead ends, it becomes rather satisfying when you guess a clue, just before the characters do!!
I felt rather annoyed that one of my favourite childhood authors was so parodied in this novel. Enid Blyton created marvellous worlds for children, like myself, who didn’t go on holidays, lived in ‘ dull as ditchwater places’, and she introduced themes of escapism, boldness and independent resilience for my generation, but now is seen as sexist and patronising, and not read by youngsters. I still have a copy of my favourite book, The Valley of Adventure, which this novel reminded me of frequently!!
I would say, that this book will appeal to a wide age range. My Grandson duly got the hang of the code messages, and beamed happily when he succeeded in beating the adult readers. My son really enjoyed the historical aspects of war time espionage and hidden treasure.
Towards the end of this novel, it became harder to evaluate who was telling the truth, I found the conclusion raised more questions than answers, it is a very lively and intriguing read. All three of us enjoyed piecing together the final puzzle, there was just the right amount of bewilderment and confusion in this tale, and the historical detail was Just so, really engrossing.
A five star rating. I received a free review copy from the publisher, Viper/ serpent’s tail and profile books, in exchange for my honest, unedited opinion. I will leave reviews to Netgalley, Goodreads and other outlets later.

I enjoyed the authors first book in that it was written in an unusual style. I am not sure I would want to read all my books in this way but it is certainly a unique take. This book allows you to search for clues as you read it in a different way to a simply prose/chapterised book. Overall, a clever and enjoyable read.

Like many others, I absolutely adored The Appeal, so was very much looking forward to Hallett’s next effort. However, I didn’t get on with this book at all.

The story focuses on Steven Smith, an ex-convict, just released from prison. He uses an old phone to record his thoughts as he attempts to unravel the mystery of a teacher who went missing when he was younger and a book which might have been hiding a code.

I found all the characters really hard to connect with. Smith doesn’t really take our hand and lead us through a story - it felt a bit like I was being dragged along by someone who didn’t want me there. He’s not the best communicator, so it also felt difficult to get a real grasp of the other key players in the book. I got to around halfway through and really wanted to give up, because I disliked them all so much.

Unlike The Appeal, where I thought the use of emails was a brilliant device, this one fell short. The transcripts of the recordings are sometimes misspelt (only occasionally, but consistently: eg ‘mustard’, ‘missiles’) and I found this quite contrived. There is a reason for this, but it’s only revealed at the very end. I think the book would have benefited from another voice (perhaps like True Crime Story?) because I found Smith really bad company, and the limitations of the transcriptions felt really disappointing.

Maybe this is a book that will come across much better in physical book format? It might be helpful for the Kindle version if the sections at the end which refer to specific recordings could be linked so the reader can access them quicker. I found it really difficult to remember what had happened in specific entries once I’d got to the end - and, if I’m being completely honest, I didn’t care. This is a shame because I think I might have appreciated how clever the book was if I’d been a bit more interested in what was going on.

I really respect the author for attempting to tell stories in a different way. Unfortunately this one just wasn’t for me.

Having recently finished Janice Hallett's The Appeal I was excited to read her latest novel. Instead of the emails that we had in The Appeal, we now have transcripts of audio files and - I suppose - a single narrator. Steven Smith has just been released after a long prison term and is using his estranged son's Iphone to record his quest to solve mysteries that he has been obsessed with since he was at school.

As a young teenager, Steven found a book on a bus and when he took it into school and gave it to his teacher Miss Isles, she read it to the class. This book by a much maligned author, Edith Twyford, captured the attention of the small group of students and she took them on a trip to visit Twyford's house. On this trip, Miss Isles disappeared and this is one of the mystery's that the newly released Steven wants to solve. The second mystery is within the series of books written by Twyford. According to Miss Isles they concealed a code - but to what? In the transcripts, Steven records for his son his search to solve these mysteries; he also tells him about his childhood and the events that led to him being imprisoned. The ending was not what I was expecting and I had to rethink everything that I had read.

The transcripts as well as recording Steven's voice, also record conversations with other characters and so the transcripts have 'voice one', 'voice two', which I found a little confusing in the beginning. Each comes with a time stamp and as they have been transcribed, the spellings in some cases are phonetic, something else that took a little getting used to. I think that if this had been a physical book rather than a Kindle edition I would have enjoyed it more as it is the sort of book where you need to keep flicking backwards to check your memory - a thing that is very onerous on a Kindle.

I did enjoy this but I did not love it as much as I did The Appeal where I was able to join with the law students in picking through the emails. However, Janice Hallett has once again reinvented the genre and I'm intrigued to see what she does next.

Thank you Netgalley.

Another brilliantly written abstract and intriguing read from Janice Hallett.
I loved how we learnt more and more about Smithy through the voice memos and his recollection from the past. Such a unique way to tell the story and the sight deviations in words due to the pronunciation is just so clever. An unreliable narrator for sure, he’s a character that you fall for and will him to be ok. Such a clever story and one I’ll be recommending to all.

I LOVED the authors previous book so was excited when my request got approved that I stared reading straight away. The author has such a niche and unique way of writing that sets the bar high. Once again you become part of the story and try and solve the code.
Such an engaging book and I would recommend.