Scan barcode
A review by mercurialbooks
The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Thank you to Pigeonhole and Janice Hallett for letting my read this book ahead of its publishing date.
I don't know how to review this. The Twyford Code is excellent.
It is a puzzle within a puzzle and I can see people reading it twice to check through if they missed anything the first time.
I would absolutely say to everyone to make sure you have a physical copy of this book rather than audio or e-book, as flicking back to different pages will be something you want to do.
Essentially, an ex-con (Steve) wants to trace a teacher he once knew in secondary school that disappeared. He doesn't know exactly where to start so he goes back to ask his old school friends. They act shifty around the subject and it leads him to discover The Twyford Code. A code hidden within children's novels written during WWII. This author is no longer enjoyed by modern audiences due to her sexist, racist and elitist writing and is a great pastiche of Enid Blyton. Steve and his friends follow a trail of clues to try to discover what they mean, and how on Earth they are related to the former teacher never coming home. There are a lot of flashbacks to Steve's younger years, including his not so nice family life, so please check content warnings. But the whole thing is tied up with Steve's humorous point of view, he is often unexpectedly funny and quite without meaning to be.
The ending is NOT what you are expecting.
I found reading with Pigeonhole that a few readers dropped out quickly due to the format of the book. It is written as transcriptions of voice recordings. I think this bothered me less as I am not compelled to read each time stamp associated with the paragraph and could skim over them, but some others felt obliged to read them and they found this quite frustrating.
This had the best reveal of any novel I have read in a long time and I genuinely loved it. I'd not read The Appeal (also by Janice Hallett) but now it's all I want to read!
I don't know how to review this. The Twyford Code is excellent.
It is a puzzle within a puzzle and I can see people reading it twice to check through if they missed anything the first time.
I would absolutely say to everyone to make sure you have a physical copy of this book rather than audio or e-book, as flicking back to different pages will be something you want to do.
Essentially, an ex-con (Steve) wants to trace a teacher he once knew in secondary school that disappeared. He doesn't know exactly where to start so he goes back to ask his old school friends. They act shifty around the subject and it leads him to discover The Twyford Code. A code hidden within children's novels written during WWII. This author is no longer enjoyed by modern audiences due to her sexist, racist and elitist writing and is a great pastiche of Enid Blyton. Steve and his friends follow a trail of clues to try to discover what they mean, and how on Earth they are related to the former teacher never coming home. There are a lot of flashbacks to Steve's younger years, including his not so nice family life, so please check content warnings. But the whole thing is tied up with Steve's humorous point of view, he is often unexpectedly funny and quite without meaning to be.
The ending is NOT what you are expecting.
I found reading with Pigeonhole that a few readers dropped out quickly due to the format of the book. It is written as transcriptions of voice recordings. I think this bothered me less as I am not compelled to read each time stamp associated with the paragraph and could skim over them, but some others felt obliged to read them and they found this quite frustrating.
This had the best reveal of any novel I have read in a long time and I genuinely loved it. I'd not read The Appeal (also by Janice Hallett) but now it's all I want to read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism and Violence
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent
Minor: Sexism, Dementia, and War