Mystery

The Twyford Code

The Twyford Code

  • Downloads：8614
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-08-22 08:51:59
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Janice Hallett
  • ISBN：1788165330
  • 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 by disgraced author Edith Twyford， its margins full of strange markings and annotations。 Wanting to know more， he took it to his English teacher Miss Iles， not realising the chain of events that he was setting in motion。 Miss Iles became convinced that the book was the key to solving a puzzle， and that a message in secret code ran through all Twyford's novels。 Then Miss Iles disappeared on a class field trip， and Steven has no memory of what happened to her。

Now， out of prison after a long stretch， Steven decides to investigate the mystery that has haunted him for decades。 Was Miss Iles 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 Iles， 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。。。

Perfect for fans of Richard Osman， Alex Pavesi and S。J。 Bennett， The Twyford Code will keep you up puzzling late into the night。

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Reviews

Emmapettitt ，

An enjoyable crime novel with an interesting structure。

Christa Bakker ，

Took me a while to finish， because I thought it took too many words to tell the story。 Turns out it needed those words！ Super complex plot and plenty of heart。 I love it！

Molly ，

4。5 🌟A really good book， I'm not sure if i loved it as much as the appeal but it was such an interesting read and such a clever book when u really appreciate it as a whole when u get tot the ending。 Another great book from Janice hallett 4。5 🌟A really good book， I'm not sure if i loved it as much as the appeal but it was such an interesting read and such a clever book when u really appreciate it as a whole when u get tot the ending。 Another great book from Janice hallett 。。。more

Elaine ，

I began this book enthusiastically， having read no reviews about it at all。 It began well but I became quite discomfited when I began to realise the audio transcripts were not an actual prologue to the novel but the actual novel itself: this format/style did not work for me。 Perhaps in short bursts interspersed with a good regular narrative， but not as the format for the whole novel。 About halfway through I began to feel quite disengaged with the character（s）， plot and began to dislike the audio I began this book enthusiastically， having read no reviews about it at all。 It began well but I became quite discomfited when I began to realise the audio transcripts were not an actual prologue to the novel but the actual novel itself: this format/style did not work for me。 Perhaps in short bursts interspersed with a good regular narrative， but not as the format for the whole novel。 About halfway through I began to feel quite disengaged with the character（s）， plot and began to dislike the audio transcripts a lot！ It became a real slog to finish。Many other readers appear to have really enjoyed it， so I guess it just wasn’t for me。 。。。more

Alyson Million ，

Blooming brilliant。 So refreshing to read， and be hooked into， a different style and format。 Totally gripping！

Rachel E Bell ，

A clever and amusing book， written for the Enid Blyton generation。 Ultimately I found it frustrating， like a Rubik’s cube whose colours keep changing as you twist it。 However it certainly kept me amused for a few hours！

Katy ，

4。5 ⭐️

Amrutha Bharadwaj ，

The story is engaging， but the format did not work for me。

Eleanor Taylor ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I really enjoyed this book！ Started off slower paced than The Appeal， but still engaging and a good read。 The code itself was incredibly clever and very well intertwined into the book。 I would say however that it was slightly too long， the final quarter or so felt a little drawn out and like the book was going in circles， and it meant that the slight plot twist at the end didn't quite have the wow factor that I imagine Hallett was going for。 Overall I would still recommend。 I really enjoyed this book！ Started off slower paced than The Appeal， but still engaging and a good read。 The code itself was incredibly clever and very well intertwined into the book。 I would say however that it was slightly too long， the final quarter or so felt a little drawn out and like the book was going in circles， and it meant that the slight plot twist at the end didn't quite have the wow factor that I imagine Hallett was going for。 Overall I would still recommend。 。。。more

sophie p。 ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 okay but this was so good。 wtf。 it kept me guessing the whole time！！ didn’t expect steve to have made it up， but it made sense after you read it。 such a GOOD book。

Alyssa Lamanna ，

I really like Steven Smith。 He reminds me a bit of Del Boy the way he talks， so in my head I picture the character as the version of Del in the later series。 I love that there is a mystery to be solved of what really happened to Miss Isles （missiles） and what the Twyford Code is。The writing style is different in that the story is told through a series of transcripted audio files - voice messages that the MC created on a phone as a sort of diary。 It makes for quick reading， mostly because you can I really like Steven Smith。 He reminds me a bit of Del Boy the way he talks， so in my head I picture the character as the version of Del in the later series。 I love that there is a mystery to be solved of what really happened to Miss Isles （missiles） and what the Twyford Code is。The writing style is different in that the story is told through a series of transcripted audio files - voice messages that the MC created on a phone as a sort of diary。 It makes for quick reading， mostly because you can't stop reading once you've started - you have to know what happens next。 I definitely couldn't be a detective though， because I am terrible at solving mysteries， but I enjoy the game all the same。"If something is out of reach it becomes the very thing you think will make your life complete。""。。。when you get what you want， you lose what you had。"This story is an absolute brilliant piece of imaginative writing。 Using children's books， secret codes from WWII and voice message diaries， Hallett has created the perfect mystery book！ I enjoyed this story immensely， it left me with a smile on my face。 。。。more

Elyse ，

I loved this book， just like I loved The Appeal。 I really enjoy how Hallett's books allow you to go back and try to solve the mystery/code yourself。 As a child， I always enjoyed the coded messages discussed in A Series of Unfortunate Events， so this was right up my alley。 I highly recommend this book for mystery fans， particularly those who like codes/puzzles， and trying to solve things on their own。 I can't wait until Hallett publishes her next book。 I loved this book， just like I loved The Appeal。 I really enjoy how Hallett's books allow you to go back and try to solve the mystery/code yourself。 As a child， I always enjoyed the coded messages discussed in A Series of Unfortunate Events， so this was right up my alley。 I highly recommend this book for mystery fans， particularly those who like codes/puzzles， and trying to solve things on their own。 I can't wait until Hallett publishes her next book。 。。。more

Gowri N。 ，

I am a huge fan of The Appeal。 I found it wonderfully different in style and a thrilling read from start to end。 So I went into this one with high expectations。 But even if I hadn't， I would have found The Twyford Code disappointing。 This novel has a different kind of epistolary style: voice notes and call recordings。 Some useful tips on the accuracy of the transcription software and a handy key are given in the beginning for us to interpret pauses， intonations， etc。 All very clever。 The setup i I am a huge fan of The Appeal。 I found it wonderfully different in style and a thrilling read from start to end。 So I went into this one with high expectations。 But even if I hadn't， I would have found The Twyford Code disappointing。 This novel has a different kind of epistolary style: voice notes and call recordings。 Some useful tips on the accuracy of the transcription software and a handy key are given in the beginning for us to interpret pauses， intonations， etc。 All very clever。 The setup is marvellous: an ex-con who's trying to get his life together wants to find out what happened to his Remedial English teacher during a class outing 40+ years ago。 There may be clues to this disappearance （and a darker， bigger plot perhaps） in a book of Edith Twyford's。 Edith is based on Enid Blyton （six kids here instead of five and no dog） and her works too have been banned since the 70s for racism and sexism; more recently， they're being revised to make them suitable for contemporary readers。 Apparently there's a code hidden in the books: did Miss Isles stumble upon it by accident and pay the price？ Smithy tracks down the four classmates who were with him on that day and together （or not）， they try to solve the puzzle。For about 70% of the novel， I was hooked， trying with Smithy to find out who is lying and what could be a possible explanation。 In a nod & wink to The Da Vinci Code and The Bible Code， there are lots of clues hidden in paintings and book chapters。 But as explanations begin to come in， it's letdown after letdown。（view spoiler）[ The whole thing， it turns out， is a massive hoax。 Not by MI5 during WWII or by Twyford but by Smithy himself。 He went in for a gold heist of the century but has now hidden the gold in unmarked， resellable form in various spots。 All these recordings， this whole bloody story， is something he not only made up but also did voice acting for （doing the part of a man and a woman）， and got his friends to participate by pretending it's an audiobook for his grandkids！！！！！！ All for what？ To give his son a chance to decode and find the gold。 I mean。。。 （hide spoiler）]There's no other way to say this: the end of the book is terrible。 I felt like I was cheated out of actual money。 I am going to be unkind and say Hallett got so dazzled by her own cleverness in this one and it does not bode well for the reader。But， of course， I look forward to her next work （release scheduled for Jan 2023）: The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels。 。。。more

Dan Eccleston ，

I really really struggled with the way this was written ， half the time I didn’t even know what was going on - I enjoyed the plot and the ending was pretty good ！ It’s probably one book I would like to see as a film / show so that I can properly understand it。 Read it if you like a difficult read and a lovely twist

Isabelle Clough ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Kind of struggled to get in to the book initially as the audio files were a bit confusing and jumped around。 However once you get into it the story is brilliant， and even better with the twist at the end when you realise the events in the book are in fact the story with codes， which explains the complexity of the audio recordings。

Helen ，

A brilliant book that makes you think， cleverly written with a plot that twists and turns。 Ps Enid Blyton should not have been banned as it was relevent for its time。

Ben ，

I enjoyed this book， got stuck about half way through， but finished it quickly。It's astonishingly clever， and the conceit of the entire book being audio transcripts is neatly handled。 Things I liked:I warmed to the main character， Steven Smith （Little Smithy） and his story is told with some compassion。 I liked the themes， the book is about family， loyalty， love， betrayal， truth， lies， deception。 All great stuff。 I think some of the characters and situations will stick in my brain which is， for m I enjoyed this book， got stuck about half way through， but finished it quickly。It's astonishingly clever， and the conceit of the entire book being audio transcripts is neatly handled。 Things I liked:I warmed to the main character， Steven Smith （Little Smithy） and his story is told with some compassion。 I liked the themes， the book is about family， loyalty， love， betrayal， truth， lies， deception。 All great stuff。 I think some of the characters and situations will stick in my brain which is， for me， the sign of a good book。Things I didn't like:I am no good at codes， clues and acrostics， which are clearly the point of the book， so I found that aspect of it exhausting。 By the end of the book， I had lost track of how each piece of the jigsaw fitted。 Overall， though， I enjoyed it。 。。。more

Astra ，

holy shit every reveal in this book was so fucking worth it

Julissa ，

“Love is brighter than gold but it is heavier。”

Ashley ，

*4。5 stars*

Katherine Durio ，

Possibly one of the best books I’ve read in years！ I was sobbing at the end…。。brilliant

Saf ，

DNF at page 250。 This was a major disappointment。 I loved the fun unique mystery of The Appeal and was hoping this one would be the same but it was so boring， so confusing and honestly， I can’t understand why Steve was so obsessed with finding out what happened。 Who cares。

Sarah ，

Refreshingly unexpected and very enjoyable。

Noits ，

LOVED IT！ What a clever， innovative writer Hallett is。 You know somethings “off”， you’re constantly on the look out for it but it evades you all the same！ If you liked The Appeal turn this will tick all the boxes。

Norrie ，

How can something that is incredibly fascinating be so boring at the same time？ This book is puzzling。 Not only because there's a riddle in the riddle， but because was intriguing but at the same time made me feel like we are never getting to the point。 Loved the format。 It was written as audio transcripts from Steve， recorded on a phone。 It's like a book within a book， only it was a code within a code， but which one is true？ How can something that is incredibly fascinating be so boring at the same time？ This book is puzzling。 Not only because there's a riddle in the riddle， but because was intriguing but at the same time made me feel like we are never getting to the point。 Loved the format。 It was written as audio transcripts from Steve， recorded on a phone。 It's like a book within a book， only it was a code within a code， but which one is true？ 。。。more

Mark ，

Brilliant just brilliant stick with it because the main character is annoying as hell but he’s worth the ride！

Ella Dufton ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Thought things got a bit far fetched but then the twist…

Sarah ，

At this point I’m going to read anything Janice Hallett writes and be suspicious THE ENTIRE TIME because everything is a lie and nothing is real except the times when no one is lying and it’s all true。

Sofia ，

10 out of 10 if there ever was one！

Jamie Bowen ，

Edith Twyford a children’s author that apparently left mysterious clues in her books， but to what was a mystery。 Can Steve Smith crack the code？I loved The Appeal by this author and was looking forward to this follow up， but I really struggled with this one。 I couldn’t follow the plot， I didn’t really care about the characters and I just persevered on this one to finish it。

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