Guilty by Definition
Fiction, Crime & Thrillers
Hardback Published on: 15/08/2024
£16.99
Bookseller Reviews
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Susie has smashed it!
A brilliantly clever mystery surrounding the disappearance of Charlie Thornhill ten years ago as her sister Martha works with her friends and colleagues at... READ MORE
Wonderful, worrisome, wordy...
A wonderful book - I'm going to have to re-read to try to remember some of the more obscure and wonderful words, as well as to see if I can spot the clues ... READ MORE
An excellent mystery with so many brilliant definitions
Martha is back in Oxford, working at the offices of a world famous dictionary, after being away for years. Letters begin to arrive at her work suggesting t... READ MORE
Brilliantly cryptic mystery, fantastic writing
This book was excellent! Lived up to my expectations of beautiful language and cryptic clues and mystery (what else would we expect from the Queen of Dicti... READ MORE
An atmospheric and absorbing literary treat!
Guilty By Definition is a beautifully written literary page-turner and a real treat for language lovers. The mystery unfolds through a series of cryptic le... READ MORE
Synopsis
'Find the truth between the lines.'
When an anonymous letter is delivered to the Clarendon English Dictionary, it puzzles the team of lexicographers working there. It soon becomes clear that this is not the usual eccentric enquiry. The letter hints at secrets, lies, and a particular year. For Martha Thornhill, the new Senior Editor, the date can mean only one thing: the summer her brilliant, beautiful older sister Charlie went missing.
After a decade spent living abroad, Martha has returned to her father, her home, and the city whose institutions have defined her family. But the ghosts she had thought to be at rest seem to have been waiting for her to return.
When more letters arrive and the team pull apart the clues within them, the questions become more insistent and troubling. Charlie had been keeping a powerful secret, but as the mystery of her disappearance starts to unravel, someone is trying to lead the lexicographers to the truth, while another is desperate to keep it buried.
- Publisher: Bonnier Books Ltd
- ISBN: 9781804183946
- Number of pages: 400
- Weight: 629g
- Dimensions: 240 x 162 x 36 mm
Customer Reviews
View allComplex and entertaining
Ten years ago Charlotte ‘Charlie’ Thornhill disappeared. With no trace ever found her family had no closure. Her mother has since died, her father has bec... READ MORE
Marvellous
I’d read some of Susie Dent’s non-fiction before and she’s clearly a talented and intelligent author and I was interested to see how her style would transl... READ MORE
An Engaging and Complex Mystery in the City of Dreaming Spires
Thanks to Bonnier Books for a review copy.
I had high hopes for a mystery novel from Susie Dent and I was certainly not disappointed. This is an extremely... READ MORE
Entertaining, educational and the puzzles are challenging
Guilty by Definition
By Susie Dent
As a lover of words and language, linguistics and etymology I am always drawn to quizzes and game shows featuring... READ MORE
Learnt some great scrabble words!
Although I am not a fan of “celebrity” authors I thought this one was probably worth the risk. It was a great book and although there were lots of big and ... READ MORE
A clever and assured debut
Susie Dent is resident lexicographer in Dictionary Corner on Countdown, and much more my style – 8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdown. She’s a very clever lady ... READ MORE
Superlative philological and literary mystery
As might be expected, Susie Dent's debut novel is full of interesting words; but better than that, it's a supremely well-plotted and entertaining literary ... READ MORE
For lovers of language
For those who truly love language and etymology, this novel will not disappoint. Dent has merged her love of words with a story set in Oxford. Martha Thorn... READ MORE
Sparkling with obvious intelligence and wit
Firstly, thanks so much to Netgalley for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review.
This was so much fun! Unsurprisingly sparkling with obvious intell... READ MORE
Murder mystery with etymology
Susie Dent is known to may as a consultant on Countdown and to a lesser number as editor of Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Her debut novel centr... READ MORE
A mystery in Oxford
Martha's sister Charlie was murdered a few years ago, but no-one could understand why. Since then, a weird letter has arrived each year around the annivers... READ MORE
Not-so-guilty pleasure
As you would expect from an etymologist, there is lots of love of language and linguistic puzzles thrown into the mix in this enjoyable mystery novel. All... READ MORE
Wordy mystery!
I really enjoyed this book! Been a fan of Susue Dent and dictionary corner for years and this book didn't disappoint. Lots of new and very old words, int... READ MORE
Guilty by Definition
I really enjoyed the twists and turns of this novel, it kept my attention right the way through and the ending………. well that would give the plot away.
I... READ MORE
Guilty Pleasure
Suzy Dent and I have been involved for over thirty years...well, she's oblivious to it but as part of the Countdown team she's been a regular afternoon pre... READ MORE
Words hide a mystery here.
This book centres around a group of five lexicographers who work compiling dictionaries at a prestigious University Press in Oxford. There is a downbeat at... READ MORE
Challenging puzzle
This is the ideal mystery for someone who loves language used accurately, etymology, and literary references.
The story has as its pivot the disappearan... READ MORE
Recommended for fans of Richard Osman - and word nerds
I approached Guilty by Definition with some trepidation: with every new murder mystery written by a figure from TV and radio, the heart hopes for another R... READ MORE
An intelligent and thoughtful mystery!
Anyone in the UK who loves words knows about Susie Dent. She has been part of the panel of ‘Countdown’ forever. As expected, this book is full of new ( to ... READ MORE
Journey of Mystery & Intrigue
Susies Dents debut novel takes the reader on a linguistic journey of mystery & Intrigue.
Set in Oxford, a group of lexicographers receive letters contain... READ MORE
A must for fans of obscure language and cryptic puzzles.
Lexicographers at the CED office in Oxford receive a series of mysterious postcards and letters. They realise they refer to a colleague’s missing sister Ch... READ MORE
Lexicographers receive letters containing clues to solving a 10 year mystery. What's not to love?
This story revolves around Martha Thornhill, senior editor for the Chambers English Dictionary, and her team. Anonymous letters are being sent to each of t... READ MORE
An etymological delight
A cleverly plotted murder mystery which revolves around Dent’s specialities – etymology and lexicography. The main characters work in Oxford at the Clarend... READ MORE
An intriguing read.
A cleverly written story .
As you would expect from Susie Dent the book is peppered with lovely long words .
At times I felt the book was slow going a... READ MORE
interesting - three and a half stars
This was a little slow to start with and I found it hard to get into but as I became involved with the story and the characters it gathered pace and I enjo... READ MORE
Good debut novel
really enjoyed this novel. I was hooked from the very first page and kept reading until the end as I wanted to know what happened. There were so many twist... READ MORE
A great read!
I was sent an uncorrected manuscript proof of Guilty by Definition by Susie Dent to read and review by NetGalley. I love words and I love crosswords and m... READ MORE