Mystery

The Twyford Code

The Twyford Code

  • Downloads：5677
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-04-08 08:51:37
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Janice Hallett
  • ISBN：1788165322
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

It's time to solve the murder of the century。。。

Forty years ago， Steven Smith found a copy of a famous children's book， its margins full of strange markings and annotations。 He took it to his remedial English teacher， Miss Isles， who became convinced it was the key to solving a puzzle。 That a message in secret code ran through all Edith Twyford's novels。 Then Miss Isles disappeared on a class field trip， and Steven's memory won't allow him to remember what happened。 Now， out of prison after a long stretch， Steven decides to investigate the mystery that has haunted him for decades。 Was Miss Isles murdered？ Was she deluded？ Or was she right about the code？ And is it still in use today？ Desperate to recover his memories and find out what really happened to Miss Isles， Steven revisits the people and places of his childhood。 But it soon becomes clear that Edith Twyford wasn't just a writer of forgotten children's stories。 The Twyford Code has great power， and he isn't the only one trying to solve it。。。

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Reviews

Abi McManigan ，

When Steve is in school he finds a book by Edith Twyford on the bus with strange notes in the margins。 When he shows it to his teacher Miss Isles she thinks there's more to it which leads to her taking the children out of school to research the code and she disappears。 Decades later Steve is out of prison and investigates the mystery book and loss of his teacher。This book blew my mind。 It was plotted perfectly so that you go deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole until you're as obsessed with th When Steve is in school he finds a book by Edith Twyford on the bus with strange notes in the margins。 When he shows it to his teacher Miss Isles she thinks there's more to it which leads to her taking the children out of school to research the code and she disappears。 Decades later Steve is out of prison and investigates the mystery book and loss of his teacher。This book blew my mind。 It was plotted perfectly so that you go deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole until you're as obsessed with the code as I was。 The puzzle is laid out exquisitely and I can only assume a genius devised it。 All at the same time I had war spies and Lost vibes。 Everytime a new clue appeared I shuddered。 This book is written in the format of voice notes that Steve is recording on his phone。 To make this work there are symbols for non speech and Miss Isles becomes missiles。 At first this took me out the book but that was temporary。 It really does work （if only maybe serving too fast a pace） as the characters pop into life。 Rarely we see dialogue used this way and every conversation was so realistic， I connected with them straight away。Speaking of characters， Steve himself is a fantastic one。 At first we know little about him and I had questions about his prison stretch， the "Maxine" he is recording it all for and his past in general。 Thankfully he periodically laments on his past in his notes and I discovered themes of redemption which I felt very poignant。 Every character brings something to the table and I loved one in particular the most which meant the impact of the shock at the end was intense。 。。。more

Rachael Gathercole ，

Not where I expected it to go。 Fairly interesting， definitely a read once sort of book， preferred the Appeal。 Again weird book to read as this is made of entirely from voice messages transcribed so different style of book。

Mummy ，

Such a disappointing read after loving The Appeal。

Alison Coles ，

I was eager to read this after being wowed by Hallett's first book。 It didn't disappoint。 The way the story was presented as audio transcripts worked well - although it was a few pages before I worked out the significance of 'missiles'！It was a gripping read - over 360 pages in two sittings！ It did not have the ending I wanted but the ending it had made sense of the whole book。I'm looking forward to Hallet's next novel in 2023。 I was eager to read this after being wowed by Hallett's first book。 It didn't disappoint。 The way the story was presented as audio transcripts worked well - although it was a few pages before I worked out the significance of 'missiles'！It was a gripping read - over 360 pages in two sittings！ It did not have the ending I wanted but the ending it had made sense of the whole book。I'm looking forward to Hallet's next novel in 2023。 。。。more

Diana ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 From the start， I knew to expect something very different to traditional writing style with this book。 Frankly it reminded me of the Mystery Case File games I loved so much years ago。 This was one of the weirdest books I've ever read， but I loved it。First off - the weird part of reading it。Each new "chapter" "part" etc。， not really sure how to categorize that， is actual a transcript of an audio file。 So there are language anomalies every where "Mustard" instead of Must've。 "Gun a" instead of Gon From the start， I knew to expect something very different to traditional writing style with this book。 Frankly it reminded me of the Mystery Case File games I loved so much years ago。 This was one of the weirdest books I've ever read， but I loved it。First off - the weird part of reading it。Each new "chapter" "part" etc。， not really sure how to categorize that， is actual a transcript of an audio file。 So there are language anomalies every where "Mustard" instead of Must've。 "Gun a" instead of Gonna/going to， "Missiles" instead of Miss Iles， and others of that nature。 So just reading this has been a brain exercise all on it's own。 Then there's the code。 A major part of the plot includes the main character and a librarian he befriends delving into the world of the Twyford Code， and exploring this in hopes of understanding a tragic day from his past when his teacher went missing。 As they learn more and more about the code， the reader is left reeling。 Constantly thinking "is it real？" At least real for the characters。 Spotting the acrostics in the text from the Twyford books for children， and later the anagrams。 And as the code progresses with reprints of the books it gets more complex， so that the only one that can really understand it is the main character。 Even he doesn't really comprehend why he understands it。 Although please tell me I'm not the only one that managed to spot the hidden bit of code on page 182。。。。Second - the main character。The MC is probably one of the least likeable characters。 He's an ex-con， he's a bit of a drunk， he's manipulative and a con man by trade。 There are moments when he's startlingly self aware， and I think maybe there could be some redemption for him。 But then he usually squashes that idea pretty quickly。 I have to say I do pity him， his life has not been easy。 As he divulges more of his past his picture becomes clearer， and I have found myself finally hoping he gets to makes a life for himself 。。。 somehow。Third - the bamboozle。I had been taking the audio files as fact。。。 then later found out - some things were either lied about or falsified completely。 Or changed for a reason， and suddenly I'm struck wondering again what was real？？？？？ And the end was just phenomenal。 Seriously great head spinner of a mystery。 :） Loved every moment of it。 。。。more

Alison Turner ，

I loved The Appeal but found this one confusing and didn’t like the format at all。 Gave up！

Sue ，

Well that was unexpected and like nothing I’ve read before。 For me it was the novel equivalent of a cryptic crossword。 I took a little time to get into the swing of the writing style， but I soon began to hear Steve’s voice as he dictates into his son’s phone。 I also took time to piece together what on earth was happening through Steve’s sometimes confusing and unreliable narrative。 He jumps from retelling tales of his childhood， to real-time dramas and escapades and back again。 In fact it’s prob Well that was unexpected and like nothing I’ve read before。 For me it was the novel equivalent of a cryptic crossword。 I took a little time to get into the swing of the writing style， but I soon began to hear Steve’s voice as he dictates into his son’s phone。 I also took time to piece together what on earth was happening through Steve’s sometimes confusing and unreliable narrative。 He jumps from retelling tales of his childhood， to real-time dramas and escapades and back again。 In fact it’s probably fair to say that for the first half of the book I didn’t have much idea what was going on， but by the end it became a page turner。 Very clever。 I was left wanting to read it all again to revisit the many clues that I missed first time round。 Also， while at one level the storyline is quite farcical， it also holds touching messages about the impact of childhood trauma， the reasons people turn to crime， how literacy can change a person’s world and how friendship and loyalty bind us together。 。。。more

Karolyn ，

To follow

Sylvie ，

A great read。 Couldn't put it down。 A great read。 Couldn't put it down。 。。。more

Pip Machin ，

Finished！I feel like this book is super clever and so well thought out but I think I need to plan on a re read to make sense of it all The code has left puzzled

Abby Millott ，

The Twyford code is a very unique story and I can honestly say I’ve never read anything like it。 We follow our main character Steve who is trying to find out what happened to his old English Teacher Miss Isles who went missing during a school trip when Steve was a boy。 We are also trying to uncover the mystery of children’s author Edith Twyford （based on Enid Blyton） who supposedly had a secret code running throughout her stories。 This book is very cleverly written and I really enjoyed that it w The Twyford code is a very unique story and I can honestly say I’ve never read anything like it。 We follow our main character Steve who is trying to find out what happened to his old English Teacher Miss Isles who went missing during a school trip when Steve was a boy。 We are also trying to uncover the mystery of children’s author Edith Twyford （based on Enid Blyton） who supposedly had a secret code running throughout her stories。 This book is very cleverly written and I really enjoyed that it was told through transcripts of voice notes found on a mysterious phone。 There were some good twists thrown in that really took me by surprise。 I was super intrigued in the beginning and couldn’t put the book down。 However it did take a turn about halfway through and I felt the story started to drag from this point。 The road the book ended up taking just wasn’t particularly something I found interesting and we lost some of the magic that kept me gripped in the beginning。I did find it hard to get through the second half but the ending was still well done and I appreciated how everything wove together。 。。。more

Chocy Eclair ，

Wow…I thought The Appeal was a fantastic puzzle to solve。 This has blown me away。 It’s like a Famous Five adventure。 Oh and that ‘I need to go back and see again’ element！！！ The clues are so hidden it’s amazing。 Took me all the way to the end。 The format is cool too - this is transcripts。

Laura Gorman ，

This was a book that kept me turning the page as I had to know how the mystery unwrapped。 There were many parts of this where I was unsure of what was happening and where it was going but I had to keep reading as it had totally sucked me in。 This was so nearly a 4 star but it really earned the final star when all was revealed and it totally blew my mind！

Karen M ，

I loved ‘The Appeal’ and was looking forward to this - especially as I always liked Enid Blyton。 It was an interesting premise tying in Bletchley ， spies， gold even the enigma code but ， ultimately ， I found it difficult to hear the transcripted conversations。 Which sounds stupid but is what happened 。 Whereas the emails in The Appeal all captured the voice of the characters， here the transcripts seemed a little flat。 It was a meandering and misleading slice of mystery but one ， sadly， that I di I loved ‘The Appeal’ and was looking forward to this - especially as I always liked Enid Blyton。 It was an interesting premise tying in Bletchley ， spies， gold even the enigma code but ， ultimately ， I found it difficult to hear the transcripted conversations。 Which sounds stupid but is what happened 。 Whereas the emails in The Appeal all captured the voice of the characters， here the transcripts seemed a little flat。 It was a meandering and misleading slice of mystery but one ， sadly， that I didn’t really enjoy as much as I anticipated。 。。。more

Sarah ，

It’s probably more of a 3。5 for me on this one。 I enjoyed The Appeal more， and I thought the pacing was a bit too slow for me in this book。 While I enjoyed the payoff at the end， I wish it had clipped along a little bit faster

Filipa ，

I wasn't crazy about the crime/mystery story itself but the overall idea was quite different and creative so I appreciate that。 3。5 I wasn't crazy about the crime/mystery story itself but the overall idea was quite different and creative so I appreciate that。 3。5 。。。more

Yellowoasis ，

Oh lord， what a preposterous book。 The premise of the novel – transcribed recordings from a mobile phone – is very clunky。 I was dismayed when I realized that the whole book was going to be like that。 I kept going because I thought there had to be a twist， and there was – but the payout wasn’t worth it。

Elvis Gregory-sayce ，

It's Very Good Different To What I Thought My zHappen It's Very Good Different To What I Thought My zHappen 。。。more

Sarah ，

Having read and really enjoying the author’s debut novel， The Appeal， I was very much looking forward to reading her newest one。As with The Appeal， this book has a unique way of telling us the story。 This time it’s through voice recordings by a character called Steven Smith。 It centres around a book from his childhood that has him eager to find out what happened on a school trip。 He reconnects with his old school friends of which not all of them are as pleased to talk to him about that day。I fou Having read and really enjoying the author’s debut novel， The Appeal， I was very much looking forward to reading her newest one。As with The Appeal， this book has a unique way of telling us the story。 This time it’s through voice recordings by a character called Steven Smith。 It centres around a book from his childhood that has him eager to find out what happened on a school trip。 He reconnects with his old school friends of which not all of them are as pleased to talk to him about that day。I found it a very intriguing story overall as I was eager to find out more about not only the disappearance of the missing teacher but also the connection with the children’s book。 It’s all very cleverly written and it wasn’t until the very end when it is revealed to us， that all the pieces started to fit。The Twyford Code is a great concept although it didn’t work quite as well for me as the author’s debut novel。 It was still an engaging read that kept me on my toes as you really do need to concentrate on the story to take it all in as otherwise you could easily get lost with it。 The ending and how it all comes together definitely had me surprised。 Am very interested to see if the author carries on in the same sort of theme as she has with her two published novels。 It’s certainly very unique。My thanks to Viper Books for an advanced readers copy of this book。 All opinions are my own and not biased in anyway。 。。。more

Gaby Meares ，

This book is perfect to listen to as an audio as it's formatted as written transcripts of audio recordings！ The twists， turns and about-faces this narrative takes make this a totally immersive story。 Steven Smith， recently released from a long stint in prison， embarks on a quest to unravel a mystery that has haunted him for forty years: the mysterious disappearance of his beloved remedial English teacher， Miss Isles。 It all ties in with a children's book by an author similar to Enid Blyton named This book is perfect to listen to as an audio as it's formatted as written transcripts of audio recordings！ The twists， turns and about-faces this narrative takes make this a totally immersive story。 Steven Smith， recently released from a long stint in prison， embarks on a quest to unravel a mystery that has haunted him for forty years: the mysterious disappearance of his beloved remedial English teacher， Miss Isles。 It all ties in with a children's book by an author similar to Enid Blyton named Edith Twyford。 Miss Isles believed that there was a code， hidden within the text of this book。 A code that would lead to a hidden treasure。 Was it the discovery of this code that led to Miss Isles disappearance？ Just when you think you know what's happening， you discover that， in fact， everything you've just heard is a lie。。。or is it？ This story is told by the ultimate unreliable narrator， and is a deeply satisfying read。 。。。more

Katy Richards ，

Not worth your timeCouldn’t even finish it。 Trying to recreate the success of her former with less wit， humour or intrigue。 Painful to get through until eventually realised I didn’t have to。

Siwan Davies ，

3。5*

Alice-Elizabeth （Prolific Reader Alice） ，

DNF for me。 Sadly the pacing was far too slow and failed to grasp my interest。 Loved the author's first novel The Appeal however！ DNF for me。 Sadly the pacing was far too slow and failed to grasp my interest。 Loved the author's first novel The Appeal however！ 。。。more

Tara ，

did not take the turn i was expecting at ALL i love it

Naomi ，

Well， I whizzed through this fascinating puzzle by Janice Hallett。 Having thoroughly enjoyed her previous book The Appeal， I was keen to see if she could match the ingenuity， and yes， she could！ I'd clocked there was something going on （I can't say more without giving things away） but I never realised the half of it。 So well designed。 Such a great puzzle。 How she creates these books is beyond me！ Well， I whizzed through this fascinating puzzle by Janice Hallett。 Having thoroughly enjoyed her previous book The Appeal， I was keen to see if she could match the ingenuity， and yes， she could！ I'd clocked there was something going on （I can't say more without giving things away） but I never realised the half of it。 So well designed。 Such a great puzzle。 How she creates these books is beyond me！ 。。。more

Helen Bennett ，

Dreadful。 I rushed through the last half instead of giving up to try and find out what it was all about。 I still have no idea。

Kirsten ，

A little too slow。 But very clever， and in the end， endearing plot。

sarah hammond ，

i think maybe sometimes clever formats are too clever for their own good

Brittany Benavides ，

When I finished her first book “The Appeal，” I was excited to start her next book as well。 This is also written in a different format where we are reading transcriptions of audio rather than emails。 I liked the format and thought it was fun and different than a normal type book。 However， the book itself was extremely slow in my opinion and nothing was really happening。 Towards the end I felt as tho it became too much and a little overboard。 For me， it was honestly hard to follow along because by When I finished her first book “The Appeal，” I was excited to start her next book as well。 This is also written in a different format where we are reading transcriptions of audio rather than emails。 I liked the format and thought it was fun and different than a normal type book。 However， the book itself was extremely slow in my opinion and nothing was really happening。 Towards the end I felt as tho it became too much and a little overboard。 For me， it was honestly hard to follow along because by the end of the book it seemed very info dumpy and kinda took away from the actual story。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Twyford Code

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Twyford Code&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Twyford Code&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0