Book Review: The Twyford Code

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 disappeared on a class field trip, Smithy became 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 from his estranged son, 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.

The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett will be released on January 24, 2023. Atria Books provided an early galley for review.

This novel has an interesting narrative structure. It is presented as a series of audio recordings from the narrator (Steven Smith) as he documents and records conversations with others in hopes of piecing together the puzzle. I found this to be a rather different approach to telling the story. Because the "recording software" has limitations, the reader has to adjust for odd spellings and misheard dictation. Anyone who uses voice-to-text features will be familiar with these challenges.

The structure too forces very careful reading and a lot of focus. How it doles out the story might turn-off more casual readers. Those that stick with it though will get a payoff near the end as the true facts of the mystery are brought to light.