While the format of this book may not be for everyone, it definitely was for me. This book is told as a series of transcripts from recordings and conversations recorded on an iPhone. And, it is wholly original. There are transcription mistakes, word substitutions, and expletives are bleeped out. Certain words always appear wrong, so you get used to it and it isn't actually hard to read with the mistakes. The story focuses on an ex con trying to find out what happened to a former English teacher who vanished. This search is mixed up with uncovering the Twyford code which appears to be a series of clues to a great treasure hidden in a series of children's books. Little is what it appears and there are clues upon clues. An intrepid librarian features prominently, and who doesn't love a librarian willing to go on an adventure with an ex con she barely knows. Enough of the clue solving is laid out for you, so don't fear if you aren't good at solving clues. There is little you have to do on your own. This book moves slowly in some parts and out of order in others, but it is very clever.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for an advance copy. My opinions are my own.

Lol it. There are clues hidden throughout the book for you to pick up on. I'm seriously going to read it a second time now and try to see if I find more clues. Fantastic job and I would definitely read more.

"The mysterious connection between a teacher's disappearance and an unsolved code in a children's book is explored in this fresh novel from the author of the "clever and often wryly funny" (PopSugar) novel The Appeal.

Forty years ago, Steven "Smithy" Smith found a copy of a famous children’s book by disgraced author Edith Twyford, its margins full of strange markings and annotations. 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. And when she disappeared on a class field trip, Smithy became convinced that she had been right.

Now, out of prison after a long stretch, Smithy decides to investigate the mystery that has haunted him for decades. In a series of voice recordings on an old iPhone from his estranged son, Smithy alternates between visiting the people of his childhood and looking back on the events that later landed him in prison.

But it soon becomes clear that Edith Twyford wasn't just a writer of forgotten children's stories. The Twyford Code holds a great secret, and Smithy may just have the key."

I love mysteries that are about a fictional author's oeuvre.

** “Now the human brain has something computers do not have. And do you know what that is, Steve? Wisdom. Experience. Intuition. It can balance probability with possibility. It also has fallibility.” **

Janice Hallett delivers an intriguing story told in a unique format with “The Twyford Code.”

Steven Smith tries to figure out what happened to his former teacher, Miss Alice Iles, years ago and how it relates to a potential code found hidden within a series of children’s books written by Edith Twyford.

Told as audiophile transcriptions, a former prison inmate who has struggled with literacy all his life decides to dictate his memories as well as events as they happen, while looking into Miss Iles’ disappearance and the mysterious “Twyford Code.”

As he teams up with his former remedial classmates, as well as a new librarian friend, he gets closer and closer to solving the mystery of the code and what might have happened to his beloved teacher.

Steve’s narrative bounces between his days as a child and a criminal, to the present day and his quest for answers — all leading to a shocking end readers won’t see coming.

Hallett’s “The Twyford Code” challenges readers with several great themes, like paying attention to red flags; the power of storytelling and literacy; and reconciling one’s past. It also reveals the catastrophic impact of poverty and addiction on children, families and communities, as the author shares in her note at the end of the novel.

One disclaimer, this book does contain expletives, although they are technically B[LEEPE]d out as everything is written as it had been dictated.

Five stars out of five.

Atria Books provided this complimentary copy through NetGalley for my honest, unbiased review.

4 stars!

Twyford Code follows Steven Smith as he tries to recount what exactly happened to his teacher 40 years ago when she disappeared after taking his class on a trip inspired by children's novels. Does it have anything to do with the mysterious Twyford Code found in the books or is it just a coincidence?

Janice Hallett does it again. I almost wish I had read this book as an audiobook because I think I would have liked it even better, but overall I love the structure of her novels. I read the whole thing in about two days, and ate up the mixed media model. I also felt like I was rooting for Steven the entire time. Finally, once I got to the twist I was SO surprised, which is extremely rare for me as I read a lot of mysteries. I would say The Appeal is still my favorite, but this is a great follow up!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ok. I am breaking up with Mrs. Hallett. I was (happily) surprised with a physical copy of The Appeal when that was coming out. I did not mind the writing of emails to tell a story, and I actually was into the plot. But the slow pace and over abundance of unnecessary repetition information stopped me from finishing.

So because I liked the plot, I jumped at the chance to read this one. This plot sounded even more up my alley. Puzzles? A code? GIVE. IT, TO. ME.

But then I tried reading it. And put it down. And picked it up. And put it down. And... you get the idea. I am bored. The plot isn' t moving and this style of writing is not working for me at all.

So while the plots of Hallet's books work for me, the style is not. And I know I am in the minority and she is extremely talented. But this is just not working for me.

This book was a slow start to me, especially compared the The Appeal (which I loved from the first few pages). It took a while for the characters to develop for me, but once they did, I fell in love. The main character, especially, was so intriguing and I ended up loving the way his life story was reveled to us in small little tidbits. I loved the twists and turns of the plot, and I was intrigued by the mystery. By the end, I could not put this book down. Even now that I am finished, I find myself rethinking aspects of the plot and wanting to go back and check on details I might have missed.

A good read for those who enjoyed Hallett's The Appeal. Starting out, the book is a bit slower to get into, because of the nature of the code, but this fast-paced, plot-driven book serves up plenty of suspense!

Ex-con Steven Smith tells us his narrative of The Twyford Code through a series of audio files recorded on his son's iphone. Steve takes us through his childhood where he met his remedial english teacher Miss. Isles, where she reads them Edith Twyford in class. Steve intrigued by the mystery of Miss Isles disappearance in 1983 goes on the hunt to crack The Twyford Code.

I absolutely loved this book! The ending left me absolutely speechless!! The one thing I will warn anyone about is the formatting that this book is in. It definitely took me a little to get used to but once I did I loved how it was formatted!

If it was not in the format it was in I do not think that the story could have been told in another way! I loved all of the different characters that you meet throughout the story and they all have unique personalities that add to the story!

The ending had a twist that I was not expecting and what I thought was happening did not happen at all! Those are my favorite type of mysteries/thrillers!

This is my first book that I have read by Janice Hallett and I cannot wait to read The Appeal! It has been on my list forever and after reading this I cannot wait to pick it up!!

Janice Hallett knows how to come up with unique and creative ways to tell a story. The Appeal was collection of emails, texts, etc that sent you a goose chase to figure out whodunnit and why, and The Twyford Code is collection of audio recordings (transcripts of those to be exact) that leaves you wondering if you are reading ramblings of a mentally challenged person or a real life espionage story. Hallett's creativity just left me wanting more (it seems like there should be follow up to this book) and wondering about what other surprises she is hiding for the next book.

Little Smithy left the prison. He had been there for 11 years, and he used his time efficiently by thinking, writing, and reading. All he wanted to do after leaving that place was form some sort of connection with his son and figure what happened to his beloved teacher. He thought there was a code in this book by Twyford and that was the reason why his teacher got into trouble. More you read transcripts of recordings he left for his son more confused you get, more questions you have.

Not the story itself but the whole narrative set the stage for the biggest twist I didn't see coming. I was so occupied to figure out Twyford Code and which side the author Twyford was on, I missed some crucial details that should make me stop and think once more. This was a beautiful, beautiful creation....

This is my second Janice Hallet and with both books I’ve been intrigued but struggle to pay attention to the book.

This concept of this one is so cool but I had a hard time following what was actually going on. I feel like this is a me issue as other people seem to love this book.

It’s no doubt Hallet is a talented and unique writer so I’ll probably give her next book a go before calling it quits on her.

Fair warning about the format: it will not be for everybody.

Once again, this author has surprised me by writing in a format I wouldn't normally think I'd enjoy but makes it happen anyway. Something about their writing really draws me in. Like their previous novel, The Appeal, after being able to grasp the flow of the setup and characters, I was intrigued the whole time. It's an odd book and even though I could see what direction it was going half-way in, I still liked sitting back to find out the 'how' when the time came. It was continuously entertaining and very immersive.

Since it's written partially in audio transcripts, I highly suggest for those who will be reading the ebook versions to turn on the 'Spoken Content' function of your phone while reading. I found that it helps with bringing a more heightened experience whenever those sections appeared.


Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing a copy for an honest review.

The first thing I need to say is I give props to Janice Hallet because this book took a lot of talent to write.
The entire book is written as voice transcripts from voice memos, recorded phone calls, and voice mail messages. I found the bulk of it to be boring, but when it all came together at the end I had a huge “Aha!” moment and ended up with a great appreciation for it.
If you are a fan of mysteries and don’t mind an entire book written in pure narrative style with the only dialogue being phone conversations, then you’ll probably get more out of this from the getgo than I did. A special thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced reader’s copy of this.

Thanks for the opportunity to read this book. I although I really did enjoy the development of the story, I just thought the plot was slow and long. I enjoy a more fast past read, and I found myself getting bored while reading this one.

If you love to solve puzzles, are good at following clues ( I used to think I was) then The Twyford Code is the book for you that will keep you reading and guessing until the final and surprising ending.

The story is told by Steve an ex con who is determined to solve the disappearance of his teacher and the mystery of The Twyford Code supposedly found in children's books.

The format is done in audio transcripts and goes by Voice 1 , 2 etc. It is very cleverly done and once I got the hang of it (didn't take long at all) I was hooked

Its a reading journey hard to describe but its one that you should not miss.

I will say The Twyford Code will stay with me for a long time .

Janice Hallett has another hit on her hands no doubt and I am betting it will be a Book Club pick .

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for a compelling, thought provoking read.

I saw this book posted in a social media post and found it was available as a read now on NetGalley so I decided to give it a try without knowing the author. The premise sounded intriguing, but sadly this book just wasn't for me.

This rating is no reflection of the author's ability to write. This book is told through audio file transcripts and is different than any other book I've read. I did appreciate the originality of this book. However, it was this format that made it hard for me to truly enjoy the book. It was difficult to connect to the story and to the characters. It was hard to follow and to keep track of.

The ending refers back to the audio files by number and I just got lost in the whole storyline.

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Janice Hallett writes the most fun and imaginative mysteries! This was so smart and the end where everything is explained was pure GOLD (IYKYK).

Everything from the setup to the characters was so freaking interesting. Steve is a wildly full fledged character who leaves the reader guessing until the end. I don’t want to say too much because going into this blind is definitely the way to go. Pick this up for a reading experience unlike anything you’ve read!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review

The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett will be released on January 24, 2023. Atria Books provided an early galley for review.

This novel has an interesting narrative structure. It is presented as a series of audio recordings from the narrator (Steven Smith) as he documents and records conversations with others in hopes of piecing together the puzzle. I found this to be a rather different approach to telling the story. Because the "recording software" has limitations, the reader has to adjust for odd spellings and misheard dictation. Anyone who uses voice-to-text features will be familiar with these challenges.

The structure too forces very careful reading and a lot of focus. How it doles out the story might turn-off more casual readers. Those that stick with it though will get a payoff near the end as the true facts of the mystery are brought to light.

This is a tough one for me to review. I loved Janice Hallett's book The Appeal from 2022 - the setting was a community theatre company which made my theatre heart so happy and was written in a unique epistolary style through emails. It was a page turning book with some fun twist and gasp moments and I was so excited to see what she did next.

This is another book where there are twists and turns and puzzles to solve and is unique in the way it is written - it is a series of voice recordings on an Iphone 4 with our narrator telling the story of what's happening and recordings of conversations between characters. I thought this was an interesting concept to tell the story and also I was constantly looking for clues to the puzzle and using what was revealed throughout to solve some of the puzzles. The ending was incredibly satisfying and I loved seeing how all the puzzle pieces fit together and how the reader (and listener) was led to uncovering the answers.

That being said, I don't know that I necessarily enjoyed reading this book - other than when it got to the ending. It was interesting, but hard and slow for me. I found the format for The Twyford Code challenging - the reveal made me realize why the format was set up this way and I believe the author meant for it to be challenging, but it made it less enjoyable for me personally as a reader. Since it was a transcription of voice recordings, some words and phrases were misheard or written phonetically, leading to parts where I would have to go back and reread to make sure I was understanding what was being said. Adding to the difficulty, the voices of people speaking are identified only by number. Sometimes, again, I would have to go back and read it to figure out who was talking. I do believe this was intentional and once you get to the ending, you realize how clever and purposeful this is - but it still made I would say 80% of the book a tad frustrating and less enjoyable for me.

If you like solving puzzles, I think this is fun book because as the reader, you definitely are constantly looking for clues to uncover and hidden messages throughout. Ultimately, I will always pick up whatever Janice Hallett writes as I think she is a great writer and has a clever writing style and plots. If you haven't read any of her books, I would definitely recommend The Appeal as it was a less challenging read but this definitely is a book that is worth reading as well!

Thank you to NetGalley & Atria Books for this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Janice Hallett’s epistolary novel “The Appeal” was one of my top reads of 2022, so I was eagerly anticipating The Twyford Code. This book has a similarly unusual structure, told through the transcripts of Steve “Smithy” Smith’s voice memo recordings on an old iPhone 4. Smithy is an ex-con occupied with investigating what happened to a teacher that went missing during his youth and a possibly related code that seems to exist within the pages of books written by children’s author Edith Twyford.

Sounds complicated, right? It is. I have to give Hallett props for an original idea, but sadly The Twyford Code just didn’t work for me. Smithy is a likeable character with an intriguing past and I really enjoyed his backstory, but I couldn’t follow the mystery about the code. The story tries too hard to be clever and instead ends up convoluted and confusing. I found the transcript format to be clunky and slow, and I struggled to maintain interest. When the reveal finally comes, it isn’t gratifying because I didn’t feel like it was solvable and relied entirely on a complex explanation. As an avid reader in this genre, I like to be surprised but also want to feel like I *could have* guessed the outcome rather than it being so inscrutable that it has to be spelled out at length.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me an advance copy of this book. Even though this book wasn’t for me, I still think Janice Hallett is hugely talented and creative. I’m enthusiastically looking forward to her next book, The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels.