Puzzle lovers will have a field day with The Twyford Code, although I can see some readers being put off by the format. Steven "Smithy" Smith records each step of his investigation into the long-ago disappearance of his teacher in a series of recordings on an old iPhone, and at the beginning, readers are told that the software used to transcribe the recordings can sometimes make mistakes. As a result, "Miss Iles" becomes "missiles". "Gonna" becomes "gun a" and so on. It can take a bit of getting used to, but this format actually made Smithy's voice more distinctive in my mind as I read.
Aided by Lucy the librarian, Smithy finds himself on a trek down Memory Lane as he tries to find out just what the Twyford Code leads to and what happened to his teacher, Miss Iles. But the further into his investigation we get, red flags begin to go up. Why are old classmates being so evasive? What kind of treasure could the Twyford Code possibly lead to? And just how forthcoming is Smithy being in telling us about his investigation? Could something else be going on?
I really enjoyed the unfolding of all the puzzles and Smithy's character in particular. My deductive skills really got a workout, but by book's end, the resolutions were coming so thick and fast, it was almost overload-- like eating a favorite flavor of ice cream much too fast and then getting brain freeze.
If you love pitting your detective skills against a skilled puzzle master then you must read Janice Hallett's The Twyford Code. No doubt about it, I'll be looking for the other books she's written.
(Review copy courtesy of the publisher and Net Galley)
Aided by Lucy the librarian, Smithy finds himself on a trek down Memory Lane as he tries to find out just what the Twyford Code leads to and what happened to his teacher, Miss Iles. But the further into his investigation we get, red flags begin to go up. Why are old classmates being so evasive? What kind of treasure could the Twyford Code possibly lead to? And just how forthcoming is Smithy being in telling us about his investigation? Could something else be going on?
I really enjoyed the unfolding of all the puzzles and Smithy's character in particular. My deductive skills really got a workout, but by book's end, the resolutions were coming so thick and fast, it was almost overload-- like eating a favorite flavor of ice cream much too fast and then getting brain freeze.
If you love pitting your detective skills against a skilled puzzle master then you must read Janice Hallett's The Twyford Code. No doubt about it, I'll be looking for the other books she's written.
(Review copy courtesy of the publisher and Net Galley)
