I thought I would love this as Susie Dent is a genius, but it didn't live up to my own expectations. I was bored halfo9f the time and a little confused so it lost it's appeal....I'm clearly not as clever as Susie!

Well who knew Susie could write like that - word lady I know but that was great.
Captured me and I couldn’t put it down - I really hope there is more to come.

As soon as I saw this book was by Susie Dent, I knew it would be an interesting read. It started well, but seemed to get bogged down a bit in talking groups, with very little action, picking up brilliantly towards the latter part.
I did like the way they involved the police in their investigations - quite unusual in books!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this book for review.

I really looked forward to every time I got to read this - the concept was such bait for me, a crime thriller about words - and it delivered.

Read and reviewed in exchange for a free copy from Netgalley. I really enjoy Susie Dent on Twitter and was excited to read this, but unfortunately, I just couldn't get into it, and gave up about a fifth of the way through. The plot was interesting, but the pace of the novel was too slow, and I felt the definitions of obscure words, while interesting, were shoehorned in and detracted from the story. I really wish I'd enjoyed it more, but unfortunately, this wasn't for me.

The debut novel from Countdown's resident Dictionary Corner expert is a mystery set in a fictional dictionary publisher in Oxford, within the world of etymology and prestigious scholars of Shakespeare.

Dent weaves her love of language and its roots together with cryptic clues which lead to longburied secrets and lies being brought to the surface.

Ten years previously, Martha's precocious sister disappeared shortly before completing her PhD and there is still no trace of where she could be or what might have happened to her.

Martha has recently returned from Germany where she has spent the last 10 years hiding from her feelings of guilt that she is somehow responsible for her sister leaving.

When her team start receiving cryptic messages with strong Shakespearean links, Martha realises that to solve the clues she has to face up to what happened all those years ago, and consider what really happened with fresh eyes.

Whilst I enjoyed this book at times, it’s hard to read as an ARC on NetGalley as you can’t click on the words to look them up so you can learn their definition which is key really to this book as there are so many. I found this made reading this book less enjoyable. The story itself is good, but again I couldn’t get into it, and I don’t know if that’s because of the difficulty of the language used and not being able to decipher it in a timely way, or if it was just the fact that the story wasn’t so gripping.

I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley. I had known about the book before this as Susie dent Lexicographer is a stalwart of Countdown on British TV.

The books is set in the offices Of the CED (Clarendon English Dictionary) - supposedly a portrayal of the OED (Oxford ED) under another name. At times it feels a bit auto-biographical as it must reflect some of the work Dent Did before becoming a TV lynch pin.

There are half a dozen or so main characters Martha, Alex, Simon and Zoe work at the CED with Jonathan as their Boss. Other characters include family friends and past mentors / Colleaugues. Of Course Charlie, Martha's disappeared sister is also important.

I have to admit with sturggling with the writing style. I think the author has tried to put across her love of Lexicography by making it part and parcel of the mystery and it's solution. That part workds in some ways but the words leading each chapter seem only to confuse this reader

The book will generally be classified as a mystery but I think it is also about words / literature / books

I felt the lexicon / lexicography was over represented in what could have been a cunning mystery. I did not hate the book but found it long- winded and unnecessarily complex

I enjoyed the information about the way a dictionary is compiled and the references to word derivations as much as the plot.I know the author is a lexicographer and have read her non fiction material so I was looking forward to reading this book too.It certainly held my attention but I think I might have got more from it if I had read a hard copy rather than an ebook ,as I quite often felt the need to go back and reread sections ,especially the parts when the coded letters were received by the people trying to solve the mystery.
I enjoyed the descriptions of Oxford and the surrounding area too,but felt that the ending was quite rushed as everything was solved in the last few pages after a long build up.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review which reflects my own opinion.

Really interesting word play and use of language throughout and the mystery was an added element but I would say was secondary to the word play and some of it was pretty obvious.

I love Susie Dent and I was really excited when I heard she wrote a novel and it was a murder mystery!! It started very good but unfortunately felt a bit flat for me and didn't hold my attention enough. It was good but I was hoping for more.

As much as I enjoyed this, due to the puzzles, clues, and overall slow pace of this thriller, I think the whole lexicography thing was just a bit forced and over used.

I think this was a good debut by Susie Dent. The characters were interesting and the premise was explored well. The drama kept me hooked and I liked uncovering the layers of the story as it progressed. The definitions and dictionary premise were a little weak but i liked it more as a publishing murder mystery than a dictionary murder mystery. I would read more by Susie Dent as i quite enjoyed this one.

As you might expect, given who wrote the book, if you love words you will enjoy this book. The mystery unfolds pretty well but definitely leaves you guessing sufficiently. Each character has a plausible story to tell. I wouldn’t say the characters are developed to any great extent but I’m not sure that really matters - it’s a book with a puzzle to solve, plain and simple. It is a little slow in parts and we find out the whole story a bit quickly towards the very end, Overall an enjoyable read.

After many years away, Martha Thornhill has returned to Oxford, England, back to her hometown and has gotten a job as the new senior editor at the Clarendon English Dictionary. Martha and her team, Simon, Alex and Zoe are responsible for updating and maintaining the English dictionary. They often get queries and suggestions about words or amendments to dictionary entries. These come in the form of letters or emails from the public or academic figures. One such letter they presume comes in, until they open it, and find it laid out in the form of a cryptic cipher. Intrigued, they work on solving the clues laid out in it, and even involve some external colleagues for advice, such is the complexity of the seeming cryptogram.

Upon solving the clues laid out in the letter, the message seems to point towards the disappearance of Martha’s sister over ten years ago. As further letters arrive to taunt them, can the team figure out who the sender is and why the messages are being sent to them? As they try to unearth the secret, it becomes clear that there are those who want much to remain buried. Furthermore, how dangerous is the sender?

I fully expected any story written by Susie Dent to involve long forgotten words, dictionaries, lexicography and a tangle of the English language. This novel does not disappoint. This is not a fast paced, page turning, who dunnit. Instead, it is a slow burning, involved, puzzle solving, murder mystery. You are almost brought into the fold as one of the team members, given the opportunity to try and solve the ciphers along with them. If, like me, they go over your head most of the time, you can enjoy the processes undertaken to solve them. If you enjoy reading, learning obscure words and the history of the English language, this book combines all of that along with a crime story. Solving the crime occurs at a different pace to a regular crime novel, but it is more of an intellectual tact than a ‘shake a tree until a clue falls out’ approach.

I loved how each chapter started with a definition of an obscure word. I took note of many for future use, sure I will remember them when the time comes! Overall an engaging and intellectual approach to a murder mystery and thoroughly enjoyable read. I look forward to more from Mrs. Dent.

*I received this book from NetGalley for review, but all opinions are my own.

Any novel by Susie Dent is bound to involve dictionaries, words and etymological details, so “Guilty by definition” does not disappoint here. I was sceptical if the book itself would deliver and I admit the beginning was rather slow and full of digressions. There is a puzzle to solve, clues left in letters sent to the lexicographers, there is a missing woman, and secrets Martha and her team will need to uncover. However, to me the story was interesting because of the connections with words, with lexicography and dictionaries, and the fact that the story is also tied to Oxford and its history.

This could have been a timing thing more than anything and I may revisit again one day, but this just wasn't for me which is a shame as I was so excited. It just felt a bit 'yes Suzie we know you know all the words'. And I consider myself to have a pretty good vocabulary. I just think the reading ease may have been too much when I read it as I was having an MS flare up, so cognitively I wasn't great.

Guilty by definition by Susie Dent is a mystery novel in which Martha returns to work at the Clarendon English Dictionary (CED), when they start receiving letters to events in 2010, the year her sister Charlie went missing

With each letter the workers at the CED use their knowledge of the English Language to reveal the secrets about Charlie’s disappearance.

in the vein of a mystery hunt where all the clues are set around the English language

Guilty by Definition by Susie Dent is one of those novels that can be quite difficult to review not because it is a bad novel, in fact the characters all help to move the story along and the mystery will keep readers gripped throughout.

The problem is who this novel's ideal reader,, the reason I say this is that Guilty by Definition is your standard middle class thriller where an individual has the knowledge to solve a secret that has been hidden for years.

Usually they are set around a major conspiracy, for example a painting that will change the geopolitics at this time. Although in this case it is the disappearance of a Young woman.

With this type of plot Susie Dent’s book should fill this market quite well.The problem is this feels like a more literary novel than the standard conspiracy thriller/mystery novel

This is also true of the level of the clues used in the novel, and while the characters and the author of the book are lexicographers which raises the difficulty level of clues,

While this may be fine for readers who love doing cryptic clues or enjoy words in general, the average reader may have difficulty solving clues.

This is fine if the story flows and the tension builds along the way, making the book more of a thriller, Guilty by Definition does not do this.

Which means Suzie Dent;s novel will be enjoyed by many readers however. some will find this novel does have some weakness which will damage their enjoyment.

I loved this book! It is incredibly readable, yet also very clever-not just another celebrity having a go at writing a book. You can see Susie's love of words and riddles throughout which adds an added element to the novel.
I like that it is solveable by the reader, however I did not guess any of the twists because I am no crossword-er.

Love it, please write more! Richard Osman, move over!

This book will be a pleasure for people who enjoy books and words and puzzles - the crime story element faded substantially into the background for much of the story, and it was much slower paced than most mysteries as the sleuths delve through archives and clues to uncover who is sending them cryptic messages, and how it links to the disappearance of a young woman a decade ago. I enjoyed it, I wouldn't say that the story gripped me, since it was quite slow paced, but I liked the academic setting, the clues and puzzles, and the obvious delight in obscure words and their meanings.