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Title details for The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett - Available

The Twyford Code

A Novel

by Janice Hallett
Thomas Judd
Audiobook
2 of 2 copies available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
2 of 2 copies available
The mysterious connection between a teacher's disappearance and an unsolved code in a children's book is explored in this new novel from the "modern Agatha Christie" (The Sunday Times, London) and author of The Appeal.
Forty years ago, Steven "Smithy" Smith found a copy of a famous children's book by disgraced author Edith Twyford, its margins full of strange markings and annotations. When he showed it to his remedial English teacher Miss Iles, she believed that it was part of a secret code that ran through all of Twyford's novels. And when she later disappeared on a class field trip, Smithy becomes convinced that she had been right.

Now, out of prison after a long stretch, Smithy decides to investigate the mystery that has haunted him for decades. In a series of voice recordings on an old iPhone, Smithy alternates between visiting the people of his childhood and looking back on the events that later landed him in prison. But it soon becomes clear that Edith Twyford wasn't just a writer of forgotten children's stories. The Twyford Code holds a great secret, and Smithy may just have the key.

"Filled with numerous clues, acrostics, and red herrings, this thrilling scavenger hunt for the truth is delightfully deceptive and thoroughly immersive" (Publishers Weekly, starred review).

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    January 24, 2023

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781797149745
      • File size: 330951 KB
      • Duration: 11:29:28

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from November 7, 2022
      Framed as transcripts of 200 audio files recorded on an iPhone, this ingenious novel from British author Hallett (The Appeal) consists of recovered memories (perhaps false) told in the voice (perhaps unreliable) of Steven “Smithy” Smith, a recently released, now missing ex-con. Forty years earlier, Smithy came across a book by WWII-era children’s author Edith Twyford filled with handwritten notes. He showed the book to his remedial English teacher, Miss Alice Isles, who believed the notations were some sort of code. Indeed, Twyford may have hidden treasonous secrets in her books. Miss Isles (often transcribed as Missiles) subsequently disappeared on a school field trip to Bournemouth. Smithy tracks down a handful of other classmates to retrieve their “vanished youth” and solve more than one “explosive secret” from the past. Rumors of the audacious Operation Fish meant to move British gold bullion across the Atlantic during WWII blend with an account of one of Smithy’s most daunting heists and converge on a mind-boggling resolution that contains several bombshell revelations. Filled with numerous clues, acrostics, and red herrings, this thrilling scavenger hunt for the truth is delightfully deceptive and thoroughly immersive. Agent: Markus Hoffmann, Regal Hoffmann & Assoc.

    • Library Journal

      March 3, 2023

      Listeners who loved the twisty mystery and unique structure of Hallett's best-selling debut, The Appeal, are in for another treat with her second work. Upon release from prison, Steven "Smithy" Smith is encouraged by Maxine, his parole officer, to look into a childhood mystery that haunts him, in order to provide closure and give him something productive (aka, not illegal) to do outside of work. As he only learned to read and write in prison, Smithy decides, for efficiency's sake, to chronicle his research as audio recordings to Maxine on his hand-me-down iPhone, and transcripts of these 200 audio files serve as the framing device for the novel's rollicking adventure. Narrator Thomas Judd's performance of the transcripts, complete with glitches, is an utter delight, as is the Cockney rhyming slang peppered throughout. Judd convincingly delivers Smithy's sometimes melancholy, sometimes hilarious musings on a life mostly misspent, as well as his madcap investigations into his teacher's disappearance and possible connection to a stash of gold. VERDICT Puzzle fans will undoubtedly enjoy Hallett's bighearted thriller. While listeners' opportunity to solve the code is somewhat lost in the audio version, Judd's exhilarating performance more than makes up for it.--Beth Farrell

      Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Thomas Judd narrates the story of Smithy, a former English gang member newly released from prison who is obsessed with the need to track down his beloved former reading teacher. This crafty, eccentric tale is told entirely through transcripts of audio recordings that Smithy made on his mobile phone, so Judd's sophisticated voice seems an odd choice a the first-person account from a barely literate ex-con. With a neutral tone, Judd describes Smithy's search for information about his teacher, who disappeared on a class field trip while visiting the cottage of Edith Twyford. Is it possible that Twyford's old-fashioned books for young children carry encoded secrets? The surprising story twists are fascinating enough to carry the listener's interest, despite the neutral narration and disruptive transcript citations. N.M.C. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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