Reviews

The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett

marieketron's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

moniounik's review against another edition

mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.75

deroute's review against another edition

4.0

Honestly, towards the start this book is definitely one of those books that you have to power through to enjoy. Throughout the beginning half I’d rate it a solid 2.5/3 stars and only towards the end it really amps up and I really enjoyed reading it- those last 50-100 pages I couldn’t put the book down- it was definitely gripping. Overall, it’s a book that I’d recommend as it’s very unique in its structure, as well as having a brilliant plot twist and it’s just an overall a worthwhile read!

beth_books_123's review against another edition

mysterious tense fast-paced

3.5

Painfully clever - 3.5*

This book is incredibly clever. It's like a book inside a book...but honestly it's painful. It's so clever, that it's tiring.
It's so hard to not compare this to [book:The Appeal|54621096] - I LOVED that book.

I did enjoy this!

dlutz490's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.75

i hated this 🫡

hnowak95's review against another edition

adventurous challenging lighthearted mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

This has been my least favorite of Janice Hallett's, I think because it was more complex than the others. I also prefer email/texts vs the voice memos (the voice memos were a little harder to follow, especially since (intentionally) some words were "misheard" in the transcript). The mystery was a lot more detailed than the other books, so thank goodness for the conclusion to help sum up everything I should have noticed while reading, but missed 😅 I do think this author is quite clever to be able to craft a story like this, with all the misdirections and hints, and I will continue to read what she writes.

the_sunken_library's review against another edition

5.0

Didn't see the truth of this book until the last 50 pages.

Bamboozled and delighted once more.

earls's review against another edition

4.0

I was really excited to pick up this book after reading "The Appeal" by Hallett and found myself going through cycles of being really invested into this book because of the plot and being frustrated with it because of some formatting choices. Ultimately after finishing it I must say the plot, as well as plot twist, was very intelligent and well done so I have to round what I would consider a 3.5 star book to 4 stars. I think for me, the phonetic spelling just would pull me out of the story every so often, but I understand why it was done. The book also feels some what slow at parts, and then towards the final third of the book really picks up speed. Ultimately I would consider "The Twyford Code" a pleasant reading experience and a good book with a very well thought out plot as well as interesting characters.

stara87's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

fdavies6's review against another edition

5.0

The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett
Rating: 5/5 stars

This was my first introduction to the mind of Janice Hallett, and honestly I am in love with her writing style and story-telling.
The book centres on our main protagonist Steve Smith, who after being released from prison after an 11 year murder charge has one thing on his mind: The Twyford Code.
Introduced to Edith Twyford by finding one of her books on a bus, his R.E teacher, Miss Isles takes him and his 5 classmates on an adventure to find the elusive Twyford Code. Suddenly, Miss Isles goes missing and thus begins Steve's adventure.

The book is written in transcripts from Steve's voice recordings on his phone, so this was a whole new experience for me and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It gave the book a fast paced, easy read but it was also full of mystery.
If you haven't read this yet, pick it up! You will not regret it!