This mystery/thriller is chock full of <b>DECEPTION!</b>

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Lies and Betrayal!

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Dirty Deeds!

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An unreliable narrator... or two... or three....!

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It will stretch your credulity to the outer limits...

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And, as is the recent fad, there are many, many surprise (or not so surprising) TWISTS...

I'm going to rate this one a 3.7out of 5, but but bump it up to a 4 ONLY because GR does not allow half stars. (GR can revamp the look but they can't fix the rating system?!!!) I was intrigued by the main character's ingenuity, but there were <i>too</i> many coincidences and lucky breaks - the plot started to feel a tad contrived. (Shell's husband, the plastic surgeon, for one: you could just see that plot twist coming!)

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The writing was often uneven: The author would descend into slang, then revert back to proper English during Smithy's dictated messages as well as the Detective Waliso passages. Once again, there was too much repetition and the rehash/summation at the end was excruciatingly tedious. It felt exactly like Teacher showing us how to solve a math equation and having to show our work. Preserve me from all math professors... Oie!!! ZZZZzzzzzz! That was tough going!

But this is still an intriguing story, with a somewhat likeable main character. Who wouldn't stand behind a former Con who was redeemed by Literature?!!! Bookish People Unite!!! (Yeah, yeah, whatever!)

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Smithy is portrayed as a decent bloke who has reformed his ways - up to a point! Did I guess the many twists, etc.? Hard not to: this is one of those mysteries where the author confuses you, then over-explains and bludgeons you over the head with the clues. I was back in class, bored to tears several times over - but I said that already a time or two, yes...? See what I mean?

I'm still recommending this one as a good read, but be prepared to hone your speed reading skills for those repetitive passages! My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with an early copy in exchange for an honest review.*

An unlikely protagonist, a disappearance, a secret code hidden in a series of childrens books. As soon as I read this synopsis I knew I was going to be a fan of this book.

The story starts with Steven Smith being released after serving 11 years in prison (for what, we're not immediately told). He returns home to London where he reconnects with former classmates as he tries to remember what led to the disappearance of his teacher, Miss Isles, after she took the class on a field trip. He rediscovers a children's book series by Edith Twyford that Miss Isles read to his class, and she became obsessed with solving the coded messages hidden within the pages, convinced it would lead to a great... secret? treasure? No one is really sure. After Steven's release he takes it upon himself to dig further into The Twyford Code and try to solve the puzzle.

I also LOVED the mixed media element of this story - the whole book is written as a series of audio transcripts recorded by our main character onto an old iPhone 4. The story feels very natural with how its written. Steve will be talking about a clue for the Twyford Code and then remember something that happened to him as a child or when he was incarcerated and there will be a bit of a tangent before getting back to the initial thought. There is also a detail that I really enjoyed with the transcription aspect where certain words aren't recognized by the software (presumably due to Steve's accent), so they're translated differently. For example "Miss Isles" is transcribed as "missiles" and "must've" becomes "mustard". There are points where I had to pause and try to figure out what I was supposed to be reading and I just thought that was a really unique element.

The first third and last third were really enjoyable, but the middle third was a little bit slow for me personally. The first third was a lot of setup and meeting characters and Steve getting reacquainted with the outside world, and then we don't see a lot of action for a while. There's some reminiscing, calls to classmates who don't want to be involved in Steve's scavenger hunt, and a lot of dead ends with researching the Twyford Code. Overall the action just stagnates for a bit before it hits its stride. There were a couple of points where I had to force myself to pick the book back up, so I feel like I can't give this one 5 stars, but once this book picked up the pace it never slowed back down!

I can't say much about the end without giving anything away, but the story definitely took a turn I wasn't expecting, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think it will be interesting to re-read knowing how everything ends up turning out. I think this will be widely enjoyed, but I think fans of British mysteries, a la Agatha Christie, or Richard Osman's Thursday Murder Club would especially enjoy this book. This is the first book by Janice Hallett that I've read, but I will definitely be picking up her others!

Such a great read. I love that it is written entirely as a transcript of audio files. I was a little hesitant about that but Janice pulled it off beautifully. The premise is really unique as well. I look forward to reading more from this author.

This was such a fun and smart book. I'm really becoming quite taken with Janice Hallet!
The format of this is engaging. Being as it's read as of you're reading transcirpted audio recording. The errors in the transcribing really adds to the story line. I love this as a unique quirk to a story. Janice certainly is carving out a name for herself by reimaging this genre and making it her own. 9

Janice Hallett has written a mystery that fans of codes and puzzles will enjoy. However, don't go in expecting a Dan Brown novel. I have nothing against Brown; he is one of my guilty pleasures. But where Brown's books are fast-paced and flashy, The Twyford Code is slow, subtle, multilayered, and complex. This is a book that requires patience and concentration. Skimming pages or 2.5x speed won't work here.

Some readers may have difficulty with the narrative structure, as it is told through a series of uniquely designed audio files. I know that isn't for everyone but it works here.

I found I struggled with the pacing. I'll admit that, despite being intrigued for most of the book, the 40-60% mark felt like a slog. I started to wonder if this would end up in the DNF pile. But the ending comes together beautifully and it was well worth the effort.

Readathon/Challenge Ideas:
Podcast/Audio Narrative
A Book Within a Book
Librarian Character

Thank you to @netgalley @atriabooks for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Steven Smith was recently released from prison and embarks on a journey to solve a mystery from his childhood, one that might have been instrumental in changing the trajectory of his young life. Now in his 50s, Steven connects with old schoolmates in an effort to unravel what happened on a school fieldtrip with their beloved teacher, Miss Isles, who went missing that day. Told through voice recordings on a phone given to Steven by his estranged son, this unique method of storytelling only adds to the intrigue as the reader also tries to unravel the Twyford Code. This was so much fun! It dragged a bit in the middle for me, and the ending was slightly heavy-handed with the explanations, but I really enjoyed this reading journey. I'm sure the audio version of this book could be well done, but I would recommend picking up a printed copy as it's written as transcripts in Steven's unique voice.

My thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Appeal is one of my favorite books of all time so I am devastated to give this book such a low rating. The book was hard to follow and the inane "twist" ruined any good point this book had.

I absolutely LOVED the Appeal by Janice Hallett.

I was really excited to read the Twyford Cove.

This author has turned the epistolary novel on its head.

This story is a puzzle and a mystery.

This story revolves around the transcripts of a old Iphone 4 and trying to figure out what the words are.

This book was so good, so much fun and left me guessing until the very end.

I can't wait for more books from this incredibly talented author.

Forty years ago, Steven Smith found a copy of a famous children’s book by Edith Twyford, When he showed it to his remedial English teacher Miss Iles, she believed that it was part of a secret code that ran through all of Twyford’s novels. After she disappeared on a class field trip, Steven became convinced that she had been right. Now, just out of prison he decides to investigate for himself.

Unfortunately this book didn't work as well for me as I'd hoped. I love the premise! I was so excited to piece together a secret code with our main character. However, the way the book was told is what got in my way. It's told as a series of transcribed audio file. I thought this would be fun since I usually enjoy mixed media, but I just found it took me out of the story and decreased my enjoyment. There are intentional typos, explicit words are redacted, and there's punctuation dictating things like long pauses. For me the most infuriating was Miss Iles was often transcribed as missiles. In a story that has a major plot about war and spies this felt a bit contrived. I didn't connect much with our main character, but I did like learning about the events that led him to prison in the first place and his love for his son was clear. Overall, I think the book was smart and I really enjoyed how everything turned out in the end, but I struggled to enjoy the act of reading the first 3/4 of the book.

Steven "Smithy" Smith found a book by Edith Twyford (a disgraced children's author) on a bus 40 years ago. After showing it to his remedial English teacher, she believed that the book was part of a secret code that ran through all of Twyford's novels. His teacher disappears on a class trip and Smithy starts to believe that she was right. After being released from an 11-year stint in prison, Smithy sets out to solve the mystery of the Twyford Code.

OK. I can honestly say that I had absolutely no idea where this book was going when I began it... and even when I was about 60% of the way into it. It's a novel told entirely through transcripts of iPhone voice recordings, so naturally, there were some intentional "mistakes" in the transcripts that readers would need to get used to. For example - "Miss Iles," the MC's teacher, is almost exclusively transcribed as the word "missiles." My brain was all over the place - monologues about English gangs? And what's with the fish? There is so much mustard in this book? And now there's a Nazi conspiracy??? Why is Lorraine so rude????? I wouldn't have seen the ending coming even if it had streaked towards me going 60 in a residential neighborhood. I honestly wasn't crazy about the book at all until Max began trading voicemails with the inspector at the end... when it all came together, I started to appreciate the book for what it actually was.

This is definitely a commitment - it was relatively slow-paced and the reward for sticking with it really didn't come for me until the very end of the novel. I struggled through it at times, wondering where the suspense and danger was... only to receive it in little bits and pieces. But the danger and suspense really isn't the point of the novel, at least not from my understanding. At its core I really believe this is a novel about family (and the many various definitions of family) with some mystery sprinkled in... and with LOTS of red herrings (and fish in general. And mustard).

The journey to the end of this book is a struggle... but once you reach the end, you'll definitely appreciate the journey a lot more.

This book was presented through a series of 200 audio files that had been transcribed. I guess trying to make it seem “authentic”, the author included these transcriptions with lots spelling errors and gaps in sentences. Due to this format, I found the beginning of the book difficult to get into. However, I tried to keep reading in hopes of getting more into the story. By the time I got 40% into it though, I just had to give up. I wasn’t invested in the mystery at all and found it quite dull. I didn’t enjoy any of the characters, especially the narrator. Usually with mystery/thriller books I’m intrigued and eager to see how the mystery will get solved. However, even 40% into it, I honestly don’t care to know how it ends. It was also really frustrating at some parts of the book where it just said “voice 1” or “voice 2” instead of the characters names. I found it very difficult to keep up with who each voice was.

This book did not work for me. While I loved the various documents used in the previous novel, the use of only audio transcriptions here became very tedious. And knowing that the solution probably resided in how the transcript mis-transcribed certainly words just seemed a bridge too far. I hope that I enjoy this author's third book more.

I had high hopes for this book, but it left me very disappointed. Most of the book consists of "audio files" that have been transcribed (not very well) by a machine. Most of the time, it's almost impossible to understand what is going on, but here goes . . .

Steve "Smithy" Smith has recently been released from prison. He wants to find his son and re-connect. His son, however, has never had a relationship with his bio dad, and considers his step-father to be his real father. He ends up giving his father an old phone, which Steve uses to dictate his thoughts into. There are two main things he's discussing: his life, including how he came to be in prison, and the mysterious disappearance of his teacher (during a field trip) when he was a teenager. The life history is told in dribs and drabs -- how Steve's mother died when he was young, how his father was bitter and left suddenly, leaving him in the care of an older brother; how his dyslexia meant he never really learned to read and write (which is how he ended up in a remedial English class); how is teacher disappeared; and finally, how he ended up joining a criminal gang that gave him a sense of family that he never had before. The tale of the teacher's disappearance involves a mysterious children's book author named Edith Twyford who wrote a series of children's books around the time of WWII. The books were popular at that time, but have since fallen out of favor due to racist tendencies (apparently) and other issues. The teacher, Alice Isles (often mis-transcribed in the text as "missiles") took her remedial English class to an area where the "secret codes" in the books suggested might have hidden treasure. She disappeared during the trip. Now that Steve is out of prison, he sets about finding out what happened to "missiles," and what the clues in the books really are referring to. He recruits a young librarian, Lucy, to help him decipher the clues, all while some mysterious men show up to threaten him and anyone else he speaks with.

The book is so unnecessarily complicated by all of the mistakes and general mess of the "transcription" (lots of hhhhhhhhh that I suppose is general background noise) and that fact that most conversations are between "Voice 1" and "Voice 2" and sometimes "Voice 3." Then there is the "puzzle" of the code supposedly in the book and I guess the reader is supposed to be intrigued by that? And to figure something out? Or to want to figure something out? Because the text supposedly contains secret messages, the language is very odd and stilted -- but these books were supposedly popular with children at one time? It's just all very frustrating. This book seemed as if it lasted forever (and not in a good way!). It could have been interesting, but the choice to have the at times unintelligible "transcription" tell the bulk of the story made it too annoying to follow.

This was a cleverly written mystery that consists solely of transcribed audio recordings from a phone. The format was something that I haven’t seen before. The story centers around “Smithy” freshly released from a long stretch in prison. He is obsessed with the mysterious disappearance of his teacher that had occurred 40 years ago and her connection to a mysterious book that Smithy had found on his way to school. The book contains a secret code that may help him uncover the fate of his teacher as well as other secrets. Smithy interviews old school friends and shares stories from his childhood that led up to the his teachers disappearance.

This was a unique and clever story however, I really struggled with the format. It was hard to follow. The audio was transcribed phonetically so not all of the written words made sense. I had to re-read several passages trying to figure out what was going on. This just wasn’t for me. That said the mystery was smart and well developed. That is whyI am giving it 3 ⭐️

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Freshly out of prison, Steven Smith reunites with a son he barely knows. Steven has difficulties reading and writing, so he decides to keep a diary in the form of audio files on his son's hand-me-down phone. The diary reveals Steven's troubled past as a criminal, a connection with a mysterious teacher, and an even more mysterious series of books. These books may hold the answers to the teacher's disappearance and lead to something far greater than Steven could have imagined.

Told through Steven's recorded diary transcripts, The Twyford Code is skillfully written and is a solid follow-up to The Appeal. However, both books drag a bit in the middle, and if you're not invested, you might find your interest waning enough to give up on the story. I know I didn't feel quite as invested in solving the mystery along with the characters as I did in The Appeal because my brain is not great at codebreaking and the like, and I feel that was a detracting factor to me and could be for others as well. I hope people stick with it, though; what was a solid three stars turned into four stars once revelations were made, and it was quite the ride.

The Twyford Code is a smart, witty and original story written in the style of recording transcripts on an old iphone, including indecipherable words, pauses and words which don't transcribe well from the original. As a kid in school Steven Smith discovers an annotated book written by Edith Twyford and shows his remedial English teacher who immediately takes it and tells him it was a banned book. After the teacher disappears, Steven wonders if there is a link. Forty years later after being released from prison, Steven approaches schoolmates from his past to make recordings of conversations to learn more about the mystery those years ago. He had learned to read in prison. The further he investigates the more layers he discovers. Codes, treasure and intrigue ensue.

My favourite aspects of the book are the format and the cunning manner in which author Janice Hallett writes, bright and sharp. However, her book The Appeal is more exceptional in my view. The Twyford Code feels like it is trying to be as brilliant but I did not fall as deeply in love with it. It is still a cracking read, though.

Janice Hallett fans and/or those intrigued by an original novel ought to get their hands on this.

My sincere thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the privilege of reading this unique novel. I am itching to see what the author has in the works next!

3.5 rounded down to 3 stars
40 years ago, Steve Smith (Smithy) found an Edith Twyford book on a bus and took to his remedial English class. His teacher, Miss Isles, read this book to the class and found them entranced by it. She also told the class that the annotations were likely part of some code. Miss Isles took everyone on a field trip to visit Edith Twyford’s cottage, but during the field trip she disappeared. Now, out of prison, Smithy is trying to solve what happened to Miss Isles and trying to crack the Twyford code. He contacts all his old remedial classmates to assist and finds a friend in librarian, Lucy. Smithy uses an old iPhone that his son gave him to record all his work on the Miss Isles case, the Twyford code, and what lead up to his arrest.

I thought the format of this book with about 200 audio files was very interesting. However, the fact that the files had phonetic spellings made it hard to read and overly complicated. I did enjoy the twists and turns; and that everything is explained in the end. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Name me a more unique mystery writer than @janice.hallett . You can’t because her books are unlike any I’ve ever read before. #partner @atriabooks

It’s not just the incredible mysteries that keep you on your toes it’s HOW the stories are told.

The Appeal is presented as a case file of emails and text messages and you are the detective asked to sift through them and solve the crime. There are even printed post it notes with additional clues on some files.

The Twyford Code is laid out as a collection of audio file transcripts that you need to decipher to find the treasure. The ending BLEW MY MIND. The genius of Hallett to lay it out like that… I’m in awe.

I truly can not recommend either book more highly. Both are excellent on audio as well. In fact I don’t know which format I prefer!

If you are a mystery lover, I need you to try these stories. They are just incredible. I can’t wait to read whatever Janice Hallett writes next.

The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett is one of the more unique books I’ve read in recent years. Presented to the reader in the form of nearly 200 audio transcripts taken from an old iPhone 4, the story follows one man’s journey to find the mysterious connection between the disappearance of his beloved English teacher 40 years ago and an unsolved code that lies hidden within the text of a children’s book.

Smithy, the protagonist, is an interesting guy. He’s an ex-con, who after serving a long prison sentence, meets his now-adult son for the first time. His son isn’t ready for a relationship but gives Smithy his old iPhone so that when he decides he’s ready, he can contact his father. In the meantime, Smithy decides to use the phone to record his thoughts about the direction his life has taken over the years. He hopes his son will listen to them some day to better understand him and how he ended up in prison.

Smithy also uses the phone to document his journey to answer a question that has bothered him for years: what happened to his English teacher? She disappeared in the middle of a school field trip – a trip that was inspired by a strange book Smithy found on the bus and shared with her one day. Smithy feels responsible for her disappearance and is desperate to learn what happened to her. I found Smithy to be a very sympathetic character. He had a pretty awful childhood and, as if that wasn’t enough, he also struggled to read and write. His remedial English teacher was the first person to really give him the time of day so it was easy to see why she meant so much to him.

The bulk of the story actually focuses on the missing teacher and the secret code in the children’s book Smithy found. If you’re a fan of stories like The DaVinci Code and National Treasure, you’ll really enjoy this as Smithy and some fellow former students from remedial English set out to solve the code because they think it will give them answers as to why their teacher went missing. This adventure was a wild ride that often required me to suspend disbelief, but I did love how the author crafted this part of her tale.

I did have a couple of minor struggles as I was reading. I have to admit that the transcript format took some getting used to and really slowed me down at the beginning. Once I finally got used to the unique formatting, I was able to settle in and follow along, especially since the bulk of the speaking is done by Smithy. One other issue I had was that the pacing seemed to slow in the middle of the book and I found my attention starting to wander. Thankfully the pace picked back up though and I raced to what turned out to be a pretty clever ending. There was an element of trickery involved that I have mixed feelings about, but I commend the author on delivering an ending that was completely unexpected.

If you like puzzles, original storytelling, and underdog protagonists, The Twyford Code might be just the book you’re looking for.

**4.5-stars rounded up**

Damnnn, that was impressive. A literary treasure hunt the likes of which may never be matched. I am so in awe of this!

When I read Janice Hallett's release, The Appeal, in January of 2022, I gave the book a rating of 3.5-stars. I noted that I gave the author top marks for thinking outside the box and getting super creative with her format, but that the story itself was just average for me. It was solid, but it wasn't great. In spite of not being necessarily blown away by the plot, I found the use of mixed media to tell the entire story impressive. I knew she was an author that I would want to read more from.

I went into The Twyford Code not knowing much. I knew it had the mixed media use I loved, but what was the plot? I listened to the audiobook for this and was absolutely swept up into the narrative right away.

The majority of the story is made up of quasi-diary entries that our protagonist, Steven Smith, recorded on an old phone gifted to him by his estranged son. There are also conversations, phone and otherwise, with a varied cast.

We find out that 40-years ago, on an unsponsored trip to the coast with their beloved school teacher, Miss Isles, Steven and five of his classmates were stranded after their teacher disappeared. Maybe stranded is the wrong word, they made it back to the school very late at night, but none of them can really recall how they got there. Miss Isles never returned to school and none of the children present on the trip ever saw her again.

The incident has haunted Steven ever since. He blames himself. Miss Isles only took them to the coast that day because of the Edith Twyford book Steven had found and brought to class. Miss Isles was convinced there were coded messages within the book to some lost treasure.

It's all a muddled mess in Steven's hazy memories, but after being released from a stint in prison, he is determined to discover what the truth is about that day. What happened to Miss Isles?

I started this early Saturday morning while out walking my dog. I became so engrossed that I barely remember getting back to the house. I then listened to it for hours will cleaning and doing my standard Saturday errands. It's all a haze. When I tell you I fell down a rabbit hole with this one, I'm not joking. Yikes, this was enthralling.

By the time Sunday morning rolled around, I had 48-minutes of the audio left. I sat on my couch and just listened. To even think about the complexity of this story makes my head spin. It is so impressive to consider how one would even tackle a project such as this. How in the actual heck did Hallett pull this off?

I don't want to say anything else about the plot, or even my thoughts, because I think this one is best experienced if you just sit back, relax, trust Hallett and let it all wash over you like the literary masterpiece that it is.

I do have a couple of unresolved questions, but I am sure that is more to do with my own tiny brain trying to wrap itself around all the details, than an issue with the story. Nevertheless, those small items did make the experience a tiny smidge short of perfect for me. With this being said, I have never read anything like this and I am really looking forward to seeing what Janice Hallett delivers us next!

Thank you to the publisher, Atria Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This was an absolute blast to read and will stick with me for a long time to come.