The Twyford Code

By Janice Hallett

Published by Profile Books Ltd https://profilebooks.com/

368 pages ISBN 2928377076214

Publication date 13 January 2022

I was allowed access to a pdf review copy on Net Galley.  Thanks to the author and publisher for organising this.

From the blurb/synopsis

It’s time to solve the murder of the century…

Forty years ago, Steven Smith found a copy of a famous children’s book, its margins full of strange markings and annotations. He took it to his remedial English teacher, Miss Isles, who became convinced it was the key to solving a puzzle. That a message in secret code ran through all Edith Twyford’s novels. Then Miss Isles disappeared on a class field trip, and Steven’s memory won’t allow him to remember what happened.

Now, out of prison after a long stretch, Steven decides to investigate the mystery that has haunted him for decades. Was Miss Isles murdered? Was she deluded? Or was she right about the code? And is it still in use today? Desperate to recover his memories and find out what really happened to Miss Isles, Steven revisits the people and places of his childhood. But it soon becomes clear that Edith Twyford wasn’t just a writer of forgotten children’s stories. The Twyford Code has great power, and he isn’t the only one trying to solve it…

My thoughts

I noticed in the summer that Janice Hallett’s novel The Appeal had taken off in a big way, it was Times Book of the month for January 2021 (and has just been awarded its book of the year accolade) so when this novel appeared on Net Galley, I decided to see what the all the excitement was.

I confess to not having read The Appeal yet, but I understand that it has been constructed as if it were a file of primary documentary evidence. Intriguing. The Twyford Code is similarly quirky being constructed mainly from computer translation of voice files recorded on an iPhone 4. No doubt there will be purists and prose pedants who will be appalled by the idea and indeed it is a format that doesn’t lend itself to sparkling prose and loses a little of the rhythmic poetic qualities that great prose possesses. However, this is more than made up for by other qualities. Some of the dialogues are wonderful and the mistranslations add to the mystery of what precisely was intended. I must confess that it took me a few pages to attune to it but then you realise there is a kind of natural cadence to it if you were to read it out loud. It also allows for uncertainty and anxiety, and we are dealing with speech rather than stage

Codes, bluffs and mis-directions are central to the plot. In fact, some are so fiendish that it is a struggle to do justice in a review without the risk of giving away a spoiler. A few hints and nudges may be given but this book would ruined by giving too much away and then the reader would be deprived of the joy of a lovely satisfying plot unwind. Needless to say that the seemingly straightforward plot is not all it seems. The clues are there but spotting them is no easy task and well beyond my capabilities. As the Major General famously sung in The Pirates of Penzance that “…I can write a washing bill in Babylonic cuneiform…”, I imagine Janice Hallett would consider that child play and would want to put it through a double substitution cipher just to be sure. The author must have found it satisfying how intricately Steve gathers outsider’s logic, Dijon mustard yellow Volvos notwithstanding, so the code can be broken.

The principal character that of Steve Smith is engaging and empathetic. He has been a career criminal, but he wants to go straight and find his redemption. His childhood and family life were disturbed, so as a substitute he falls in with the Harrisons, a second tier London gang behind the Krays and the Richardsons. He finally discovers that though he considers them to be his family the Harrisons do not and he ends up doing the long stretch from which he is newly released from at the start of the novel. He is not a loveable cockney gangster but a man who had a bad start in life and compounded this by making bad decisions. Even so he lacks self-pity and is determined to solve the mystery surrounding the disappearance Miss Isles. Lucy the librarian is sympathetic, for reasons that will become clear, the friends are caring, and his brother poor Colin is a sad picture of a man.

Ultimately this is a story that has a feel-good factor and reminds us to cherish family and friendships, that can last a lifetime, and not take them for granted.

As readers of my blog and friends know I read physical paper books, eBooks and listen to a great many audiobooks when walking the dog so I am not fussy over the format. I think that reading the physical book would probably best, my kindle version was fine but being easier refer back to earlier sections when the unwind comes would have been helpful. As for the audiobook, whoever has signed up to narrate it then sir or madam I salute you as this will be no easy job ahead to capture the essence of the book but if you pull it off it will be a magnificent addition to you CV.

This wonderful book will no doubt sell by the lorry load, and it would be no surprise for it to pick up many deserved accolades. I for one intend to put right my oversight and get a copy of The Appeal soon. What is to come in the next novel is anyone’s guess, I for one can’t wait to read it.

No Way to Die #TonyKent #NoWayToDie

By Tony Kent https://www.tonykent.net/

Published by Elliott & Thompson Limited https://eandtbooks.com/

496 pages ISBN 9781783966059

Publication date 18 November 2021

I was allowed access to a pdf review copy on Net Galley.  Thanks to the author and publisher for organising this.

From the blurb/synopsis

When traces of a radioactive material are found with a body in Key 
West/Florida, multiple federal agencies suddenly descend on the scene. This is not just an isolated murder; a domestic terrorist group is ready to bring the US government to its knees.  

The threat hits close to home for ISB Agent Joe Dempsey when he discovers a personal connection to the group. With his new team member, former Secret Service agent Eden Grace, Dempsey joins the race to track down the bomb before it’s too late. But when their mission falls apart, he is forced to turn to the most unlikely of allies: an old enemy he thought he had buried in his past. 

Now, with time running out, they must find a way to work together to stop a madman from unleashing horrifying destruction on one of the pillars of American democracy..

My thoughts

I have Killer Intent the first Joe Dempsey novel on my Kindle but must confess that I haven’t read it, in fact I only noticed it after I had finished this novel. I guess I’m going through a magpie phase as I seem to be acquiring books much quicker than I am reading them, but then don’t we all. ‘No Way to Die’ is the fourth in the series and whilst I enjoyed it and most readers could pick it up as a stand alone, I think I would have enjoyed it more having read the earlier ones and having more insight into the ‘back story’.

This is a traditional action thriller where the men are tough, and in this case the woman are not far behind the men. Like so many before him Joe Dempsey is willing to negotiate but he’s just as happy to give someone a right good thumping. When you select a novel like this you want some intrigue, the odd chase and the bad guys getting their butts kicked and here you will not be disappointed.

In the acknowledgements (yes I do read them) it states that the original plan for this novel in the series was somewhat prescient in that it was going to be a battle against a weaponised virus, but by March 2020 that story was no longer viable. So, during the global lockdown No Way to Die was conceived and written to stand in its place. It’s the first book I have read which references Covid and some assumptions regarding its infection progress trajectory have obviously had to be made. I guess there will be a slew of books coming in the next year or two as it is such significant world event. Despite the entirely new plot the themes are still very much on point for today. The world fears major bombings and in particular ‘dirty’ bombs contaminated with nuclear, chemical, or biological agents. Whilst immediate danger may come from radical Muslim terrorists, there has been a rise in the far right, white supremacists and off grid Armageddon preparers and there is no reason which one of these factions may not be planning one.

The plot is not so much complex as very detailed. The first half of the book revolves around the search for the radioactive material and involves local police, the FBI, Homeland Security and Dempsey’s ISB. There are two strands, what the fugitives are doing and what law enforcement are doing, and rather a lot seems to be going on. This however is in part a smokescreen for the second half of the story, which becomes apparent as you read. These deceptions within the plot work well and surprised me. The reader gets a clear impression that there are motives not being revealed and must keep guessing where the story line of the fugitives is going.

The pacing for the plot varies, the first part is slow as there is at lot going on which must laid out, then mid-way through it speeds up considerably and builds up a sense of anxiety as they are working against the clock. There is still time for a couple of bluffs in the final third but when the final unwind comes it is rapid, perhaps a little too quickly for me as this is a not short novel, but this is a minor criticism and certainly shouldn’t put a potential reader.

Joshua who is incarcerated without trial in a secret army facility is a great character. After all who can resist a prisoner who has some inner goodness and can kill fellow inmates with plastic cutlery? He then provides a counterpoint to Dempsey, and they get the opportunity to clash like rutting stags. A bit of in-team aggression and mistrust is a great addition to the mix, but I’ll add no more to avoid the dreaded spoiler.

Although secondary to the two main male characters the female roles are good and are not mere additions. Indeed, there is no casual female conquest we are so used to from 007 through to Jack Reacher.

The ending itself appears conclusive, but do I detect a possible future get out? I guess I will need to keep reading to find out for sure, which after all is the mark of a good book series!

If you are looking for an action-packed thriller that is clearly a product of the 2020s then this could be the book for you. I am going to go back to book 1 in the series to catch up with the back story to be ready for the next instalment.

Death at Dukes Halt

By Derek Farrell https://www.derekfarrell.co.uk/

Published by Fahrenheit Press http://www.fahrenheit-press.com/

361 pages ISBN 9781914475085

Publication date 15 July 2021

I purchased my copy direct from the publisher as part of brown cover promotion in which this book and Pure by Jo Perry were sold sight unseen.

From the blurb

Lady Caroline Victoria Genevieve Jane de Montfort (Lady Caz to her friends) made a promise to her (newly deceased) friend George Warren and she intends to keep it -sadly for Danny Bird she’s roped him in as her accomplice.

And so with Danny’s South London pub The Marq left in the ‘safe’ hands of Ray & Dash (The ASBO Twins) and his indomitable bar-manager Ali roped in as their driver, the trio set off to spend the weekend at the Warren family’s imposing country estate Dukes Halt.

As they set about achieving their mission, Danny, Lady Caz & Ali are joined by a classic cast of characters including a Hollywood actress, a right-wing Member of Parliament and an Albanian gangster.

Shenanigans inevitably ensue.

Synopsis

I won’t add to the blurb as I don’t want to give too much away.

My thoughts

As noted above this book was bought cover and blurb ‘unseen’ and so was a true surprise. Looking at the cover and not reading the burb (after all I had already purchased it) I was expecting something along the lines of a period piece, a recreation of the classic country house mystery. However, this is a Fahrenheit Press novel, so it wasn’t really going to be that was it! The surprises keep coming and this was a pleasant one indeed.

This is the fifth novel (there is also a novella) in the Danny Bird series, one which I hadn’t come across before. As with all series there is a benefit to starting at the beginning, but this is one where you can start later and still get full enjoyment out it, I certainly did.

Danny Bird runs a South London pub (or should that be proper boozer) but gets drawn into investigating mysteries and putting the world to rights. There are several things that set Danny apart from other Miss Marple types; it’s the twenty-first century, Danny is gay, he genuinely cares about people although he struggles in relationships, and solving the mystery is not the be all and end all as he also wants to right wrongs. All in all, a sympathetic main character whose perspective the story is told from.

The plot is very twisty, as one might expect from the genre, with occasional blind alleys and McGuffins added to the mix. Even though the themes are serious even grim (people trafficking, prostitution, family rejection) the writing style is very much light touch but without downplaying the issues. Indeed, at times its quite breezy and the plot moves along splendidly.

One thing that stands out is the genuine ‘laugh out loud’ humour, ribald at times but always funny and not offensive. Early in the book when Danny is being shown the family’s art collection in the famous long gallery, he compares one cataclysmic battle as being like “kicking out time at a South London swingers club.” This sort of sets the tone and moves it a step or two away from Agatha Christie, albeit quite large steps after all I doubt that she could have worked “satanic sex midgets” into the text of one her novels.

The finding of George’s diary is a key part of the story and pages are interspersed between pages and is revealing and ultimately sad. Through this we discover why George is estranged from his family and his desire to return eventually even if it is just his earthly remains. When secrets are revealed, we discover all is not quite as it seemed, years were wasted but familial love had never died, all beautifully handled by the author, genuinely touching stuff.

The characters are what you might expect within the tradition of the sub-genre but given a nudge into the current century. Additional care has been given to the female roles though, these placed front and centre to the plot and being strong and self-reliant rather than shrinking violets. The reader is given an idea of who the bad apple is going to be, but it proved a little bit of a surprise to me, expect some bluffing and double bluffing along the way.

This being a country house mystery there must be the drawing room reveal and the reader is not disappointed.  In fact, it starts outside by the fountain and eventually moves inside as all the strands are pulled together by Danny to the assembled audience. The strength of this part largely dictates how good the novel is and we are not disappointed, think Hercule Poirot but with added humour. Then comes the mop up as Danny puts wrongs right and solves problems for the remaining ones who aren’t dead or banged up. Finally, there is an epilogue which provides a possible clue to a future addition to the series, tantalising stuff!

I’m glad I took the plunge with the unseen book as I enjoyed it immensely and feel inclined to dip into Danny’s back story. A funny and modernised take on a classic story but done with great affection for the medium which brings out a warmth without coming too cosy – well worth seeking out.

The Blizzard: Issue 42 #TheBlizzard

By various authors (this issue identified below) and edited by Jonathan Wilson

Published by Blizzard Media Limited https://theblizzard.co.uk/

Publication date September 2021

I am a digital subscriber.

From the blurb

Football writing for the thinking fan.

Synopsis

The Blizzard is intended as an outlet for journalists to produce long form articles on a variety of topics, bridging the gap between newspaper or magazines articles and full-size books.  

The format varies each quarter but centres on one or two themes. This issue encompasses reviews of the tournaments held this summer and then a series of articles on football in Italy during the 1930s and 1940s. There is usually something of interest for every fan although depending on the theme some readers will find certain issues more interesting than others.

My thoughts

I was one of the early readers, joining on issue 2 (if my memory serves me) and have been a digital subscriber ever since. Indeed, I enjoyed the bulk of the first twenty issues on sunbeds in various hotels in the Canaries.

When it was founded, the initial contributors were uncertain whether it would work and offered the digital version on a pay-what-you-feel basis just to get it read. I’m sure that this proved to be a canny strategy as a quick look at Twitter shows the number of young people vying to be sports journalists. How better to capture a generation of future journalists than to give them cheap access to and allow them to learn from some of the best in the business. As the top level of the game is now working with the education sector to provide sports business degrees and the advent of institutions like UA92 (University Academy 92) the appetite for quality writing is only going to increase.

The real advantage of the format of The Blizzard is that it gives the contributors the freedom to express themselves. All articles are longer than you would find in a magazine, but the length varies greatly. Most articles are factual pieces but there have been fictional pieces, humorous pieces, there are regular photo essays and issues now include a crossword. Many pieces relate to history, but its not the staple of fanzines of how the game was better in the past and you are unlikely to come across comparisons along the lines that Messi is better than Ronaldo and should win the Ballon D’or, like you find in some of the glossy football magazines. If you have listened to World Football on the BBC World Service (available as a podcast) then you will enjoy The Blizzard.

This issue starts by looking back at the summer of competition football. Jonathan Wilson reviews the delayed Euro 2020 finals and Tim Vickery looks back at Messi finally getting his hands on an international trophy in the Copa America. These are two of the finest football writers and radio contributors around and produce great summaries. Morten Glinvad contributes with a piece on Kasper Hjulmand and the job he has done trying to reconcile Denmark’s divided footballing identity. This section is then concluded with a photo essay ‘A Coming Home’ by Stuart Roy Clarke.

The bulk of the issue is then made over to articles based around football in Italy in the 1930s and 1940s and the effects of World War II.

In ‘The Birth of the Legend’ Nicola Ferrero covers the creation and final destruction of Torino’s five-time title winners and Paolo Vezzola in ‘Son of the Father’ covers Sandro Mazzola on his Superga experience, his father and living up to the family name. These are two excellent pieces on one of the first true super teams and its terrible destruction in the Superga air disaster. In Britain we are well versed on the tragedy at Munich in 1958 but this accident some 9 years earlier for some reason is hardly known by fans. This literally wiped out the whole team and backroom staff and is something that Torino has never really recovered from. Blizzard also published Erbstein: The Triumph and Tragedy of Football’s Forgotten Pioneer written by Dominic Bliss which is also a superb account of the time and highly recommended. Ernő Egri Erbstein was a true football pioneer of the time, a contemporary of Béla Guttmann and being Jewish also suffered badly by interment in a forced labour camp. These are men who battled along showing great courage and fortitude.

‘Football and Fascism’ by John Foot demonstrates that the concept of ‘sports washing’ is nothing new and that from the very beginning Mussolini understood the soft-power importance of sport. ‘Opposite Sides’ by John Irving, ‘The Ironic Little Laugh’ by Simone Pierotti and ‘Wandering Rocks’ by John Irving cover the struggles of being a footballer in war-time Italy. The fascinating thing I took from these articles was how much football was played during the war, with the league running and then on regional basis more or less throughout.

Even fans of the modern Italian game will appreciate ‘The Reserve Net’ in which Alberto Facchinetti tells of Gip Viani and the development of catenaccio at Salernitana and the role of the libero.

The final article in the ‘Theory’ section which is a regular feature is ‘Mentors’ by Ben Welch looks at the environmental factors which can affect the development of a player as they are growing up.

I thought this was one of the better recent issues of the periodical, probably because of my interest in the Italian game. For me it remains the best publication of its type (there are other commendable titles) ten years strong and long may it continue.

The Collation Unit #DavidJarvis #TheCollationUnit

By David Jarvis

Published by Matador (the self-publishing arm of Troubador) https://www.troubador.co.uk/

319 pages ISBN 9781800462083

Publication date 28 March 2021

The author sent me a copy in exchange for a fair review.

From the blurb

In the 1970s computers were beginning to overwhelm the Secret Services. Quickly, too much information was coming into GCHQ and things were being missed. The Collation Unit was set up underground in six floors beneath some old aircraft hangars at Mannington airfield just outside Cheltenham to make connections and prioritise everything.

In April/May 1982 they spotted some very strange things happening in Georgia and Saudi Arabia. Unfortunately, London decided to move the only satellite covering this area down to the South Atlantic where some Argentinians had begun to invade the Falklands. When tensions began to develop with London, Mannington had to resort to old-fashioned means of finding out what was going on in the Middle East. They found Mark Tanner, an irrigation engineer from High Wycombe, who was working on new Military Cities in Saudi Arabia. He was there to make enough money to pay off his mortgage after a small difficulty involving a fire. It is true to say that however technology moves on, it still all comes down to people on the ground …

Synopsis

The blurb is a pretty good summary of the plot.

My thoughts

An unusual novel in some respects, but unusual as in quirky and interesting. An espionage novel set in the early part of the 1980s but centring on the Middle East rather than the Soviet Union or Eastern block is a little bit different, but not in itself unique. Those I have read that have been set in the region have centred on the Arab/Israeli conflict and its wider effects or the influences of the old Ottoman Empire rather than Saudi Arabia. Certainly, in the two decades following the Oil Crisis of 1973 there were huge charges in the geopolitical landscape of the region as the oil rich states now had significant spending power and brought their influences to bear.

This was a period of great change both politically and economically in Britain, which is well used within the plot. The intelligence services were reeling from the years of damage done by the Cambridge Five and were mistrusted by the Americans. Job losses were being felt and some workers were going far afield in search of well-paid work. Whilst the Geordie builders of Auf Wiedersehen Pet could work hard and play harder in Germany, just a few short years in the oil states could set up a man, like Mark Tanner, for life.

The timing is also interesting being set against the backdrop of the Falklands War (and in another of life’s strange coincidences I just happened to have started the audiobook of Battle for the Falklands by Max Hastings a couple of days before I started). I was 18 at the time of the conflict and so it has always had a lasting impression on me, and Mr Jarvis certainly captures the period well. I can’t accept that a novel can be a period piece within my adult lifetime, but it certainly did bring back some memories and there are plenty of cultural references within. I guess you had to have lived through it.

There is a lot going on within the plot it is difficult to ascertain who is the main character or hero or the story. There is Jack Pennington the philandering employee of the Collation Unit, who gets exposed and eventually becomes the spy handler. For me though it is Mark Tanner who goes by the nickname Empty (MT – get it?) Empty falls foul of big finance and finds himself in debt after a fire leaves him without a home and insufficient insurance proceeds to cover the mortgage. With the debt hanging around his neck like an albatross his marriage comes under pressure. A few years in Saudi Arabia is the answer and there he gets embroiled in something far bigger, much in the spirit of James Wormold the accidental hero of Graham Greene’s Our Man in Havana. When things start to go wrong, he finds himself alone in a dangerous situation needing to keep his wits just to survive. He does prove to be very resourceful though and produces both an unexpected and satisfying ending.

Espionage as a genre can be heavy going for the reader with serious and complex plots and dense prose, but in this work the author tries a light touch approach which works well. The supporting characters include slightly crazy Expats and pompous officials with bygone names like Basil and Cecil which made me chuckle. There are jokes and quips aplenty, a bit hit and miss at times but with some genuine laugh out loud ones included. Even the deaths have a ring of absurdity about them rather than the cold brutality of Bond or Bourne, but then it doesn’t set itself out to be an action thriller.

If you are looking for an amusing offbeat espionage story then this might be the one for you.

Hide #NellPattison #Hide

By Nell Pattison

Published by Avon Books UK https://www.avonbooks.co.uk/ (an imprint of Harper Collins)

368 pages ISBN 9780008468026

Publication date 9 December 2021

I was allowed access to a pdf review copy on Net Galley.  Thanks to the author and publisher for organising this.

From the blurb

Seven friends. You can run, but you can’t hide.

Synopsis

Lauren works on a nature reserve in Lincolnshire and leads a nature group, although fellow member Alec would dispute this, after all he is the longest serving member. She persuades her boss to allow the group private access to the site on Boxing Day so that they can marvel at the sight of the murmuration of starlings as they fly en masse just before they roost at night.

The group is an odd collection. There’s Emily Lauren’s deaf sister who trying to connect with her after years apart. Ben is a quiet man who is obsessed with Emily though he previously asked out Lauren who turned him down. Kai is a city lad, not the sort you would expect to find on a nature reserve. Morna is a volunteer who was disappointed not to work there and resents Lauren. Dan is the most recent member who has given little away so far.

The most experienced member of the group is Alec who is a bit of a ‘know all’ and caused a fracas at their pre-Christmas night out. He says he knows ‘all their secrets’.

As they gather for their walk there is tension between them, and a short time later there is a gunshot and one of their number lies dead. Who is the murderer; who can be trusted? Are any secrets worth killing to keep?

My thoughts

The novel begins with a frantic chase through snow bound woods and what seems to be a capture, but this is not the start more a taste of what is to come. The set up could almost be one for a teen horror; “Don’t split up” “Don’t go into the woods” “Don’t explore that noise”, but of course they do after all there would be no fun if they didn’t. That is where the similarity ends, this is no slasher movie script. What it is is a thoughtful novel centring on personal secrets and the effect the have on the holder and those around them. We all have secrets, some we are determined will remain so, but what lengths would we go to keep them? The secrets themselves vary both in importance and credibility with some of them easier to guess than others but it all helps to keep the reader guessing on top of the whodunnit aspect as the motive for murder is in the secrets.

The story is told in first person, but the narrative circulates between the seven characters, so we see it through their viewpoint. That way we discover their secrets, what they are thinking and the effects that the building tension has on them. It also allows for regular ‘cliff-hangers the narrative.

Although there is a murder early in the story it is to set up the plot, it’s not a violent book. Instead it is more of a psychological thriller than a crime novel, being built on fear and anxiety.

The two main characters are Lauren and Emily who are sisters trying to establish a relationship after years apart, having gone through the care system and missing out on decent foster care. Emily is deaf after childhood meningitis so needed special care growing up, something Lauren resented and blamed for her missing out on life chances. Emily’s role is sensitively written with first-hand experience (as the author has hearing loss herself). It is good for disabilities to be portrayed by major characters, I can’t begin to imagine the terror of been lost in woods in the dark and being unable to hear anything. The interactions between the sisters were for me the strongest part of the characterisation, others are perhaps a little less well drawn but this is a thriller not a literary fiction piece. There is certainly enough to keep the reader’s interest in who could be the next victim, who is behind it all and why.

The pacing was good as it quickens as each incident develops and then gives a pause for breath before the next cliff-hanger. The killer and motive are not obvious but as the plot progresses the field is gradually narrowed down but the ending still manages to be unexpected and with a nice twist to it.

If you’re looking for a thriller to curl up with at Christmas, then this could be the book for you.