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 become somewhat curmudgeonly and her sister Martha, who moved to Germany after the disappearance, has now returned to a senior editor job at Clarendon English Dictionary in Oxford. As you would expect from this author this is not a simple read although I found it an enjoyable one. I pride myself on my command of English but I’m not too proud to say that there was more than one occasion on which I had to revert to Google!

Briefly, an anonymous letter arrives at the Clarendon office and Martha and her colleagues, Zoe, Alex and Simon, agreed to try and work out the meaning of the cryptic and very complex message. Reaching the conclusion that it refers to a specific date Martha is shocked that it’s the date of Charlie’s disappearance. This was followed by more letters and postcard to the individuals, and to other people that knew Charlie. It appears that Charlie had been keeping a massive secret and someone is only now trying to get to the bottom of it.

There are a lot of Shakespeare references in the various missives and some of this did go over my head so I had to read carefully to understand how they worked out the clues - very clever. The only thing I did find a bit annoying was the number of words that had explanations after them. Personally I would rather look them up if I needed to - I felt it slowed the narrative a bit. The mystery was very good and although I had an inkling about the culprit I was only partly right. The twists and turns were excellent. A very entertaining literary mystery and kudos to you if you could work out the conundrums. I hope Martha and her team will return.

This is the debut novel by Susie Dent, the main star of Countdown.

We follow Martha and her colleagues, Alex, Zoe and Simon at the Clarendon English Dictionary. They are in the beautiful city of Oxford, the heart of the love of language.

They receive an intriguing letter, which is not their normal enquiry that gets delivered to the office. This is full of mystery, which hints at secret and lies linked to a particular year.

That year is a well-known date for Martha, as this is when her sister, Charlie, vanished off the face of the earth. It has been 10 years since the disappearance of her sister, who she has had a strained relationship with throughout the years.

More letters arrive, as well as postcards, that are delivered to every person that was involved within the Dictionary that year, even Charlie’s ex-boyfriend. These will lead to astonishing secrets, discoveries and more questions than answers. But will it give Martha the answers she needs to put her sister’s disappearance to rest, or is it best to leave things buried?

I have to say, I was very divided with this book. I loved the mystery of it, of the clue they kept getting and the search they went on to find the answers. The setting of the book was amazing, I love Oxford and it detailed the streets, graveyards well. I could see all the lanes and streets Martha was walking down.
The history also of some of the places, descriptions of the graveyards was just amazing. It did keep me gripped and eager to know what happened.
However, I did feel the use of so many elaborate words and then to keep explaining what the meaning was, really did annoy me and put me off a little. I feel it was unnecessary and took away a portion of the suspense of the book.
Apart from that, it was well written, an intriguing mystery, that kept you guessing all the way through.
I would recommend this to any mystery fans, especially the edge of your seat kind. I look forward to reading more from the author.

A solid and fun read that with a cracking mystery at its heart will keep you entertained, and with all the fabulous words and trivia involved could very well make you the superstar of your next quiz team!

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 language skills, so I am more than familiar with Susie Dent from her role in Countdown and 8 out of 10 Cats. She puts relentlessly teased about the entertainment value in her publications, so I was thrilled about her debut novel being published.

Set in historical Oxford, this is a literary mystery surrounding the 10 year old disappearance of young woman, with a series of anonymous letters providing cryptic clues to the staff at CED, Clarendon English Dictionary. The team need to pool their various specialist skills to decode each letter and then set about hunting down new evidence.

This story had immediate impact on me, stoking the flames of regret that I never got to attend Oxford, but firing many synapses with it's smartly layered conundrums. It has an Agatha Christie style, with characters who aren't always reliable and a plot driven by timely reveals. However the mystery soon begins to resemble a board game, the rules having been learned it was just about moving the pieces around. The pacing is uneven, it is reserved, it drags a lot in the middle, but picks up again around the 3/4 mark.

I think this book will have broad appeal, I might have been expecting too much from it, given it's intriguing premise and hopeful start. It is entertaining, educational and the puzzles are challenging.

Publication date: 15th August 2024
Thanks to #NetGalley and #BonnierBooks for the ARC

Thrilling!

This is not a genre I usually read, but I'm a big "word nerd" and fan of Susie Dent as well as a good whodunnit and puzzles.

This book did not disappoint, kept me captivated with its richness of characters and wonderful description of Oxford.

Highly recommend to anyone who likes a mystery!

Susie Dent knows about words, so it was not a surprise that her first foray into fiction had lead characters who were lexicographers working for a dictionary. Brilliant. This was such a refreshing angle for a mystery story with puzzles and a long missing loved one. Of course there were lots of rarely used words in there, but the setting made them all totally fitting for the plot and the characters who use them. As a book lover of many years standing, I especially loved learning the word vellichor. Look it up!

Where do I start with this one, I had high hopes for this book, being a Susie Dent fan and was intrigued how she would weave her magic with words into a novel.

I loved it, Susie has created a wonderful world of characters that fits her own world so perfectly, I didn't want to leave and say goodbye to the characters and I actually feel like I learned so much about language from this novel too.

The story centres around the Clarendon English Dictionary receiving cryptic letters to a ten year old puzzle, the disappearance of one of the lexicographers sister Charlie and the clues that Martha (Charlie's sister), Alex, Zoe and Simon must decipher to find out the mystery of what happened to Charlie all those years ago.

Susie Dent obviously knows words, but the way she weaves the history and meaning of them into this magnificent mystery is just wonderful, it's a world I happily immersed myself in and didn't want to leave.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

Martha has returned to Oxford to work for the Clarendon Dictionary. Anonymous letters start arriving at the Dictionary. They seem to be about Charlotte, Martha’s sister who disappeared ten years ago. Each letter contains a puzzle that the Dictionary staff need to solve if they want to find out what happened to Charlotte. This is a great read for someone who enjoys word puzzles and crosswords and each chapter starts with the definition of an obscure word. It’s also an intriguing mystery as Martha finds out more about her sister. The letters sow doubt about her colleagues and Martha doesn’t know who she can trust. I enjoyed Guilty by Definition - a good plot with the added bonus of learning new words. Thanks to NetGalley and Bonnier Books UK for this review copy.

I enjoyed this book to start with but at times I found it a bit slow and, as expected from someone who is a master of words' bit too wordy with some flowing descriptions that were enjoyable at times, but sometimes a bit too much.
The story was good and I didn't expect some plot points.

Like most people, I know Susie Dent as the lexicographer on Countdown. It’s no surprise that her debut novel features lexicographers based in Oxford. Dent’s skill with language, especially etymology, forms the backbone of this wonderful murder mystery. Add on interesting characters and the Oxford backdrop and you have an excellent crime fiction novel. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

When I found out that Susie Dent was writing a murder mystery I was intrigued, after all she is known for her impressive capacity for words, and I wondered just how she would transfer her knowledge to the crime fiction world. If you are a fan of books that lean more towards cosy crime, then this may be one you want to add to your TBR pile.
Martha Thornhill has returned to Oxford and is now in charge of a team of lexicographers working for the Clarendon English Dictionary. She is still haunted by the disappearance of her sister Charlie so when an anonymous letter hints to something that happened in the same year that her sister disappeared all the memories come flooding back. It soon turns out that the letter is not a one off as more arrive along with postcards to everyone who knew Charlie the team soon take it upon themselves to investigate, even if it does mean that Martha may have to find out her sister was not who she thought she was but to her it was worth it if she could find out what really happened all those years ago.
I wasn’t sure about Martha to start off with as like her colleagues I thought she was a bit standoffish, but the more I got to learn about her past the more I warmed to her. Zoe just had that youthful passion for life that rubbed off on everyone and it was clear that she loved the investigations into the past. Alex was a bit of a mystery to begin with, but she was the mum of the group, in age and calming attitude. Simon clearly had a chip on his shoulder only made worse over time.
If you are looking for something fast paced, or a police procedural then this is not that type of book however the slower style really suited the story, and it didn’t slow my reading down in any way. Martha, Zoe, Alex and Simon all seemed to be invested in solving the mystery at first but as time went by and different things were revealed the team did not seem as cohesive or invested in the outcome. I am not going to lie when I say there is absolutely no way I could have followed the clues that were in the letters, but I think that was the point. You had to be in that kind of world to understand the puzzles and what they were hinting at. But I loved how the past and present were mingled throughout as it also appealed to my love of history.
There is no doubting Susie Dent’s writing ability as she created characters and settings that came alive on the page whilst giving the reader an insight to words and their meanings without detracting from the story (although I will admit to looking up one or two words that didn’t have a definition attached). I look forward to see what she does next.

Martha has returned from self-exile in Germany to work at The Clarendon English Dictionary... a place where her older sister had worked ten years previously before mysteriously disappearing. Then, anonymous letters and postcards that hint at solving a murder start to arrive at Martha's office...

I find myself torn while writing this review.

On the one hand, this is a clever thriller that twists and weaves as you follow the cast of characters in this multiple-POV tale.

On the other... there are too many things going on with the letters, each of which tries to suffocate us with their numerous clues, red herrings, and hints.

I also struggled with the tale being a bit fantastical concerning the main characters' livelihoods, as none of them ever seem to do any work!

Additionally, I found the author's voice far more convincing when it came from Alex, and I struggled to feel empathy towards Martha.

Overall, if you love thrillers, etymology, words, Shakespeare, and Oxford.. then you will enjoy this book. However, it is not a light read, and you will need your wits about you!

*I received an advance reader copy via NetGalley, and I'm voluntarily leaving a review.*

Thank you to NetGalley and Zaffre for the ARC.

A compelling concept with an intriguing premise. Dent’s loved of words was obvious and enjoyable, allowing the reader to learn some new vocabulary which seemed fitting with the format.

Some characters like Alex and Zoe were likeable but unfortunately, Martha and her sister Charlie were not likeable enough for me to care much about Charlie’s case - I was more interested in the mysterious letters and their sender.

Excellent description and Dent has a lovely way with words but the plot was lacking and left me putting the book down on several occasions. A satisfying ending but felt a little rushed after a lot of repetition of plot points for the first two thirds.

If you know Susie Dent’s work in the Countdown Dictionary Corner and in her podcast with Gyles Brandreth, you’ll know she likes obscure words and etymology. Her first foray into detective fiction is therefore sprinkled with funny words (with definitions) and is set in an Oxford dictionary.

I thought the pace was quite slow and I didn’t really warm to the main protagonist whose sister had gone missing years before. But I liked Susie Dent’s authorial voice and found the conclusion satisfying.

It's a must for fans of the written word. Considering the author, it was not surprising that this book was full of definitions with an Oxford backdrop to boot. While it engaged me, maybe because of the time of year, I did feel slowed down by the definitions, etc., making it harder work than I liked in August. Maybe one for a long winter's beside a fire.
Thank you, NetGalley and the publishers, for the ARC

I almost DNFed this as the focus on words in the first half of the book was just too much and the actual story seemed to get lost. It did get better and picked up pace a little when I got to the halfway point and I quite enjoyed the last quarter or so.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

I think this does exactly what it says on the tin, and is exactly what a reader would expect from a Susie Dent novel.

Clever plot, interesting characters and a lovely Oxford backdrop.

If you love words and are fascinated by language then this is absolutely the read for you.

Guilty by Definition by Susie Dent focuses on Martha, who works at the Claredon English Dictionary and who is haunted by the disappearance of her sister Charlie. Mysterious letters start arriving, sent to friends and colleagues, that seem to taunt them about what happened to her sister and what secrets she was hiding.

English is not my first language, nor have I ever been to Oxford, but I found the book to be approachable and interesting and doesn't require any previous knowledge to get enjoyment out of the book. The words, phrases and clues are explained well enough to inform the reader. I am not a big mystery or crime reader but I really enjoyed this book and found it easy and fun to read. I flew through it despite the length. If you have an appreciation for language I could see you thoroughly loving this book even if the genre isn't your usual cup of tea.

The pacing is good, the chapters a great length and the language is (as to be expected) readable and beautiful. Even if you can figure out the mystery the book still has enough in it to keep you invested and wanting to hear how it all unfolds.

Martha loves her job at the Clarendon English Dictionary, but when anonymous letters start to arrive giving clues to what happened to her sister Charlie over a decade earlier, she is quickly on the case. With the talented team around her offering their help, they need all their lexicography talents to crack these particular clues.

This was such an interesting read! I knew I was going to be in for a particular type of mystery when I saw it was Susie Dent's debut and, despite some of it going over my head, I loved the focus on language and thought it was well-incorporated without being too overpowering. The cast of characters was great, I particularly enjoyed the dynamics of Charlie and her team and think they could make an excellent crime-fighting team! If you love a word puzzle, you will absolutley love this!

This is the ideal mystery for someone who loves language used accurately, etymology and literary references.

The story has as its pivot the disappearance, ten years earlier, of Martha’s sister, Charlie. Martha now works for the Clarendon Oxford Dictionary and she and her co-workers in the realms of word origins and definitions work hard to unravel the cryptic clues which arrive in letters and on postcards at the CED office.

Gradually as the complex and intriguing plot unfurls, the truth about Charlie is revealed , forcing Martha to face up to some unpleasant realities.

Susie Dent has produced an assured debut novel which is challenging yet highly-enjoyable.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Zaffre Publishing Group for the digital review copy.