Stolen gold, Chinese jewels, nuclear weaponry, oil, Nazi treasure, a secret portal to a parallel utopian society, an underground bunker full of priceless artworks, an airtight library of valuable books, evidence of alien visitation, a cure for cancer, a time machine, a device to contact the spirit world, a map of the human genome from fifty years before modern science discovered it. You name it, someone, somewhere, at some time, has suspected Edith Twyford hid clues to it in her books.
It’s always a nice feeling when you start to read a book and can tell after just a few pages that it’s going to be one of your books of the year. It’s a particularly nice feeling when that happens in January! The Twyford Code is one of those books; I loved it and before I’d even finished I was adding Janice Hallett’s previous novel The Appeal to my TBR.
The Twyford Code is such an unusual book it’s been difficult for me to decide how much I can say about it without spoiling the fun for other readers. I’m probably not going to do it justice here, but this is the best I can do!
In 1983, Steven Smith finds a book by children’s author Edith Twyford on a bus in London. Unable to read the book himself, he takes it to school and gives it to his Remedial English teacher, Miss Isles, completely unaware of what he is setting in motion – because Miss Isles believes that this book, and the rest of Twyford’s Super Six series, contains a secret code that will lead to a hidden treasure. Then, on a school trip to Bournemouth, Miss Isles disappears without trace, an incident which will haunt Steve for the rest of his life.
In 2019, Steve has just been released from prison after serving an eleven-year sentence. He now has no memory of what happened to Miss Isles on that long-ago day, but he is convinced that her disappearance had something to do with the Twyford Code. Now that he is free, Steve decides that the time has come to uncover the truth about Miss Isles, Edith Twyford and the code.
Using an old iPhone given to him by his estranged son, Steve records the details of his investigations in audio form and most of the novel is presented as a series of transcripts of these audio files. The voice recognition software used to transcribe the recordings often ‘mishears’ words or spells them phonetically, which makes for a challenging but entertaining reading experience! It’s probably something you’ll either love or hate, but my advice is to try to stick with it as it does become less distracting after a while and the format really is an important part of the story.
This was the perfect book for me in many ways. I have always enjoyed puzzles and word games and there are plenty of those incorporated into The Twyford Code in various forms. I also read a lot of Enid Blyton as a child and Edith Twyford is clearly supposed to be a fictional version of Blyton (her Super Six books are obviously the equivalent of Blyton’s Famous Five and we are told that, like Blyton, Twyford’s books are now seen as outdated, racist and sexist, and have been edited to make them suitable for a modern audience). But I think what I actually enjoyed most about this novel was Steven Smith’s personal story – the details of his troubled, impoverished childhood in the 1980s, how he drifted into a life of crime, and how he sets out to solve the code and find out what happened to Miss Isles.
I loved this book and on reaching the end, I wanted to go back to the beginning and read it all again to look for all the clues I’d missed the first time. I didn’t do that, because I have so many other books waiting to be read, but it was very tempting and I’m sure I’ll be picking up The Appeal before much longer!
She Reads Novels 
It sounds brilliant fun. I’ll add it to my ever growing TBR!
Yes, it was great fun, once I got used to the unusual style it was written in.
I just added this to my wishlist this morning after reading a glowing review in the Guardian. Sounds wonderful!
I think the hype around this book is justified. I hope you get a chance to read it soon!
I don’t know how much I’ll like word puzzles, but I’ve put this one on my to-read list.
It won’t appeal to everyone, but I thought it was fun.
This actually sounds better than The Appeal! I think I will wait until it reaches the US, however, rather than further enriching Book Depository.
Constance
I hope you don’t have to wait too long for it! I’m really looking forward to reading The Appeal.
This does sound awesome! But then I’m always drawn to mysteries with word puzzles, secret codes and possible treasure buried away somewhere. Thanks for sharing! I’m adding this one to my TBR list. 😀
If you like puzzles and codes, this will be the perfect book for you!
Ooh what fun! I just read The Appeal and enjoyed it a lot. (Based on my experience, I would say don’t start it in the evening — you might find yourself staying up all night!)
I’m glad you enjoyed The Appeal! I’m hoping to read it soon and will follow your advice!
This sounds soooooo great! I will get a copy soon! Thank You for a great review!
It was unusual but very entertaining. I loved it!
This sounds really good fun. I like a book which has one going back to look for clues. And Blyton was a childhood favourite whom I still enjoy
Apologies for posting this in the wrong place. I always mess up when I use the phone for this
Don’t worry! I hate using my phone for blogging and commenting. I hope you’re able to read The Twyford Code soon. It’s great fun and I think you’ll enjoy the connections between Edith Twyford and Blyton!
I have this to read via netgalley, but after an actually copy. It sounds just as intriguing and cleverly written as The Appeal.
I can’t wait to read The Appeal, having loved this book so much. I hope you like this one – I do think it would be easier to read a physical copy but I didn’t have any problems with the ebook version.