After enjoying The Appeal, I was intrigued by the premise of this mystery. It has a very clever and original format, but I found it somewhat confusing and hard to follow.

I really struggled to get into this book, I think the way the transcripts were written were a little challenging. Once you get past that, this book is clever!

This is a book that you will want to read again. To pick up the clues that you missed the first time….
Many thanks to Atria and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

While Steven Smith was in prison he thought a lot about an incident during his childhood that involved a mysterious children’s book and the disappearance of his teacher. When he is released, Steven is determined to reconcile his memories and find out what happened to Miss Isles, after she took his class on a field trip. He plans to contact his former classmates as he tries to solve coded messages that he believes exist in several children’s books that were written by Edith Twyford.

The Twyford Code is a clever and original story that is told through a series of audio transcripts that Steven recorded on an old iPhone his son gave him. Needless to say, it is a complicated story with many tangents and digressions, as Steven recounts memories of his childhood while also recording his quest to find his teacher.

I found The Twyford Code to be interesting and certainly unique in the way it is presented. In order to enjoy and understand the story the reader must pay attention to the events that occur and the observations that are made. Even so, at times The Twyford Code was difficult to read in that it was hard to follow the train of thought or even determine who was speaking. The transcriptions sometimes have phonetically spelled words, which adds to the challenge of understanding the plot.

However, working your way through the book all the way to the end is worth it. The ending is surprising, well-written, and simply perfect. I’m not sure I would recommend this book to just any mystery reader, but for some it will be quite an adventure.

Janice Hallett is officially a new favorite author! I have absolutely LOVED both books I've read by her! The mixed media aspect is typically what draws me in, but it's the way she weaves these intricate mysteries that keeps me hooked! The entire time, you're reading through these files and not only watching a story unfold, but also trying to figure out what the REAL story is hidden within.

I think Hallett writes such engaging, engrossing mysteries that keep you guessing (unless you're clever enough to figure it out yourself 😉). Her books are such a fun time, and they read really quick and easy, while still being so complex! Definitely can't wait to get my hands on her latest release!

The Appeal was the first book I ever annotated. There was a lot going on and I wanted to keep everything straight. Hallett has a very distinctive writing style. I personally love it and find it a refreshing change from traditional storytelling. However, I know her style is not for everyone.

The Twyford Code is an entertaining, twisty book about Steve Smith who has been released from prison and is attempting to solve the mystery of his elementary teacher her disappeared during a field trip in the English countryside. Smith reaches out to his former classmates in a desperate attempt to connect the dots and figure out what would have caused sweet Miss Isles to abandon her class that day.

The reader is introduced to a cast of characters that alternately assist and thwart Steve's attempts to pinpoint the cause of Miss Isles disappearance. In addition, shady characters from Steve's past begin to turn up ready to exact their revenge.

I liked this one. It was fun and I didn't see the final few twists coming. I liked learning about Smithy's past and hearing his story of how he grew and evolved over time. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 for Goodreads.

I just could not get into this book. I don’t know if it was the formatting of the book or the dialogue, but the story failed to capture my interest at all. That’s pretty surprising given the fact that mysteries and thrillers are my favorite genre. Accordingly, I can only rate this one as a 2 star rating.

The Twyford Code features a very unique story format. It's told through transcribed audio files recovered from an iPhone. I've never read anything before written in this style. It was completely new to me. The plot had plenty of twists and turns, but some sections were a bit boring to get through.
Overall I did enjoy much of the book and it kept me guessing until the end. I liked it enough to rate it at 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I had such high hopes for this book. More so because I loved the idea behind the story, BUT I just couldn't get into it. I'm not sure if it was the way it was written but I didn't last long reading it.

This was so much fun! I loved the well paced plot and the final plot twist! I cannot wait to read more from Janice Hallett!

I really wanted to like this. The premise is fascinating. But I had the hardest time following the prose. The dictation format was clever but got old after a while. About halfway through the book, I realized I had lost track of what was happening because I was struggling to manage the format. The pacing of the plot was too slow and combined with the hurdle of the format, I just couldn't stay interested. This one just wasn't for me.

This book is like a puzzle, a missing persons case; a story of family, friendship and redemption.

When Steven Smith gets out of prison he starts taking voice notes on his son’s iPhone 4 about the time he found a book on the bus as a kid, took it into school, and showed it to his English teacher who then told him the book was banned but began to read it to the class anyway.

This book is full of twists and turns and when you think you understand what is going on, the rug is pulled out from underneath you..

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Former journalist and British government speechwriter Janice Hallett burst onto the mystery writing scene during the pandemic with The Appeal, a modern take the classic ‘crossword puzzle’ style murder mysteries, with an epistolary twist. Told via letters, emails, and messages, readers were invited to try to solve the mystery alongside two young lawyers looking for ‘the real killer’ among all the documents in a case.

Hallett’s fascinating second novel, The Twyford Code, continues her ‘found documents’ approach; this time readers are given semi-accurate transcripts of audio recordings aging ex-con Steven Smith has made on an old iPhone given to him by his estranged son. Looking for redemption, or perhaps just purpose, Steven tries to find out what happened to his remedial English teacher forty years before. Miss Isles had vanished after an unauthorised field trip to visit the countryside haunts of Edith Twyford, a maligned and rather forgotten children’s author whose old-fashioned mysteries may have contained a secret code to solve a real mystery, along with their racism, sexism, and xenophobia.

Was Miss Isles disappearance linked to the Twyford Code? Shadowy figures seem determined to stop Steven, who cajoles some old classmates into the hunt, with mixed success, and is joined by young librarian Lucy for what becomes a dangerous mission entwined with wartime secrets and London gangs. But how much can we believe?

Hallett deftly keeps readers guessing throughout an entertaining tale. The error-speckled audio transcripts may take readers a while to adjust to, but overall work very well to give voice to characters and a different sheen to the suspects/clues/red herrings nature of a classic mystery. The Twyford Code is an original, intricate mystery. A few pacing issues, perhaps, and at times the conceit threatens to overwhelm the story or our connection to characters, but Hallett brings it all together brilliantly at the end. A very good read.

An unusual twist on a mystery - told through transcripts of audio recordings left by an ex prisoner. Found it hard to follow in the beginning but once I got into the story I loved it.

The Twyford Code is an interesting, clever story, with it being told through transcribed audiotapes, but unfortunately loses itself and becomes quite a chore to read through. This might have been better as an audiobook.

The cover says solving the crime Of the century so I was hoping for a big reveal. a noteworthy crime and powerful ending, instead it was underwhelming.

This one didn’t really work me.

Thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked this book. I read The Appeal too and liked that one a lot also. I really enjoyed the format and would definitely recommend both books!

The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett is a mystery about Steven Smith, and this strange memory he had of his English teacher going missing after he showed her an old children's book with markings in it. Forty years later, Steven decides to try to solve the mystery of his missing teacher. This book is like a scavenger hunt, but weirder and more confusing. I liked the idea of the book, but the story itself was rather clunky and tiresome. Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

So, I really enjoyed The Appeal.... I struggled more with this one. I give it 3.5 stars. I really wanted to like it/love it, but I got lost a couple of times, or just bored. Like The Appeal, the author is using a different writing style to tell the story. In The Twyford Code, we read transcriptions of audio recordings of an ex-con that appears to be trying to solve a childhood mystery. He reconnects with ex-classmates to help him solve the mystery. The mystery at times seems like a wild goose chase and then the reader feels there has been a turn and he is so close to finding out the truth.
I do enjoy that this author uses different writing styles and techniques to tell her stories, however this can present its own challenge as the voice recognition can transcribe words wrongly, the reader does get a little used to this, but it is challenging to begin with. There were times I felt the story kind of dragged on, especially when he is talking about the past. In the end you realize this is more pertinent that originally thought, but I still found myself skimming through. I did realize the twist before it is explained. And many reviews felt there was a good resolution, which I somewhat agree with but wish for a little more. A little disappointed, especially after I really enjoyed The Appeal.

Thank you to NetGalley and Viper for any early eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was tough to get into. I enjoyed the premise and how the book was laid out, I just wasn't interested in picking it up. I have heard a wide variety of reviews about this, so I think that it is either a hit or miss. Overall, it was fun to try to decipher audio files, but I felt like I was making no progress in the book.