THE TWYFORD CODE

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 [Published: APRIL 2023]