The #Bookvent Calendar 2022 – Day Two

#Bookvent – Celebrating my top reads of 2022

Day two of my #bookvent countdown and it’s back to my more typical reads – crime and mystery from here to Christmas Eve. Just the way you are probably expecting it. My next selection is a very traditional kind of mystery, one that took me right back to the crime capers and mysteries of my childhood. A missing teacher, a group of not quite friends, coded messages, and a whole lot of unexplained goings on made this a real treat of a read to start off my year. My day two #bookvent selection is

The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett

Can you crack the Twyford Code?

‘Every page is a joy. The queen of unreliable narrators’ SUNDAY TIMES
‘Brilliant – a mind-bending, heartwarming mystery not to be missed’ OBSERVER

Edith Twyford was once a world-famous children’s author, but now her only legacy is the rumoured existence of the Twyford Code: a series of clues hidden in her books leading to… what? No one knows – but that hasn’t stopped the speculation.

Steve Smith can trace nearly all the bad things in his life back to Edith Twyford. As a child he found one of her books, covered in strange symbols. He showed it to his teacher, Miss Iles, who was convinced it held the key to the code. Within weeks Miss Iles had disappeared, and Steve has no idea if she is dead or alive – or if she was right. Now he’s determined to find out.

But the Twyford Code hides secrets some would do anything to possess, and Steve isn’t the only one on its trail. The race is on to solve the mystery of the century. Could you get there first?

The top ten bestselling cosy crime sensation of the summer from the author of The Appeal, perfect for fans of Richard Osman and S. J. Bennett.

I really enjoyed this book. Loved the way it was able to combine its originality with a feeling of familiarity. That sense that this was the kind of tale you read as a child – your Enid Blyton style mystery – but with a very modern twist. It is essentially the story of Steven, former jailbird, who decides to solve a long standing mystery – what happened to his teacher, Miss Iles. Steven may essentially be the narrator of this story, but it is actually relayed to readers through a series of transcripts from audio recordings made by Steven. With the regional accents and speech patterns there are, how should I put it – errors … in some of the text due to the use of transcription software to compile Steven’s words, but once I settled into the style and flow of the story, and began running my own version of mental auto-correct on the text it was absolutely fascinating and engrossing.

Not only do we have the mystery of Miss Iles, but there is the whole saga of the eponymous Twyford Code, believed to have been created by author, Edith Twyford. Secret societies, fanatics, underground web pages, and a constant threat of something dark, a foreboding presence determined to catch Steven out, keep the tension and the suspense alive and my attention fully on the book. Brilliant character observations, suspense and twists that caught me unawares really made this a book that left a very satisfied smile on my face. Highly recommended.

You can read my full review here.

Happy #bookvent reading all

Jen