The Twyford Code: Winner of the Crime and Thriller British Book of the Year

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Oh dear…It isn’t often I don’t finish a book but I seriously debated whether to persevere with this one. I did finish it though and in hindsight wish I had just DNF’d it. I was looking forward to reading it as The Appeal was a genuinely fun read, but I found this annoying and to be honest, tedious. The Twyford Code is the new National Treasure! It is a highly complex, imaginative, and clever mystery, where nothing is what it seems.

The unique format of this book makes it very original. Initially, I thought the audio files would lend itself to a fast read, but instead, i found it difficult to get through. The transcription includes many awkward breaks and frequently jumps around from topic to topic. Ultimately, the reader is led on a journey into the mind of an ex-con, whose ultimate goal may not be what it seems. The Twyford Code is entirely comprised of transcribed voice memos taken off the phone of a missing person. The transcription was done by computer, so there are misspellings and a fair amount of garbled words. Steve, the main character (who is now missing) is the one who made the voice memos. Steve os also dyslexic, part of the reason he records himself and others as he investigates. Let me get this out here first: I loved Janice Hallett’s debut novel, ‘The Appeal’. Everything about it was fantastic, from the modern epistolary style to the brilliantly relatable setting of a small-town amateur dramatics society. The characters were immediately recognisable types and the plot was unpredictable in all the best ways. Cosy, witty and so clever – I absolutely gulped it down and put ‘The Twyford Code’ at the top of my most anticipated books of 2022. A superb mystery with true heart at its centre. No one does twists quite like Janice Hallett' - Sophie Flynn, author of All My LiesI am sure in the minority for this one, but unfortunately, The Twyford Code didn't work for me. At all.

The Twyford Code is out in January. It’s about a former prisoner who, at the behest of his probation officer and to occupy his time now he is going straight, looks into an episode from his childhood where his English teacher took his remedial English class out for the day and then disappeared. The Appeal is an ensemble piece; The Twyford Code is one character’s personal journey. And I’m working on a third book for 2023 and have a deal for another two novels. 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. The answer is – for me – not quite. There is so much to love about ‘The Twyford Code’ and I found it compelling and fascinating. However, I think I found it more far-fetched than Hallett’s original book and harder to relax into – it definitely is a challenge to keep up with the plot twists and revelations and I did find myself lost a couple of times. I’d still recommend it highly – get a paper copy, clear the diary and lose yourself in a very clever story! 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! The novel initially felt a little disjointed to me: the gangland narrative when it came up felt shoe-horned in and an interruption to what felt like the main story; yet Smithy’s history and reasons for his being in prison was relevant to communicate to his estranged son whereas the investigation into Miss Iles’ disappearance was not. The harsh brutality of Smithy’s childhood and family – if we trust his account – and his inculcation into the gang culture felt at odds with the whimsy of the present-day narrative. Never quite dark enough to feel authentic, but bleak enough to jar with the quest for the Twyford Code.An ingenious novel that allows the reader to investigate the case themselves. Full of twists and credible characters, I loved every single word' - Louise Mullins, author of I Know You The son pieces together the story from the transcripts bit by bit until you finally understand what has happened. I was a big fan of Hallett’s The Appeal. This book, not so much. For starters, it was very strange. There were large swaths when I just felt confused. You know that feeling that things just aren’t making sense but you can’t put your finger on why not? That was me. Another reviewer made a point about seeing this book through to the end. I heartily second that.