What an absolutely delightful debut this is! As you would expect from Susie Dent, the writing is superb. The plot is playful but engrossing, the principal characters are fascinating and Oxford presents an impressive backdrop. Vocabulary is naturally a key element, erudition emanates from everywhere and, essentially, this is damn good crime fiction.

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 Thornhill works at the Clarendon English Dictionary and receives an anonymous cryptic letter about her sister, Charlie’s disappearance. With references to old English and Shakespeare amongst others, the story evolves to finding out what happened to Charlie as more letters arrive. Dent delves into Martha’s and her sister’s histories as Martha and her work colleagues mull over the clever clues. Some cracking sections about the origin of phrases which make the reader smile. Guilty by Definition is wonderful and Susie Dent deserves every success with this.

I’m conflicted in regards this book. It took me a while to get into it. The constant words and explanations really slowed me down and hurt my brain. It’s my own fault obviously, because Susie Dent is such an intelligent, lover of words, but I just wanted a story to enjoy.

The actual concept behind the book is really good and there where parts that flowed easily for me but then when each letter from Chorus came, I found myself skimming through as I just didn’t understand any of them.

I feel this book is for the more intelligent reader, unfortunately I am not one of them.

Sorry Susie!

Guilty by Definition is Dictionary Corner's Susie Dent's first novel, and like Rob Rinder before her, she is born to write. It starts off pretty sedate, when we meet Martha, who works at the Clarendon English Dictionary with colleagues Alex, Simon and Zoe. The CED office receives a lot of post, and one day a cryptic letter turns up, written by the mysterious Chorus. Once the team decipher the clues, they are shocked to discover it's referring to the disappearance of Martha's sister Charlie, more than 10 years ago.

They set off on a literary quest, to uncover the truth about what happened to Charlie, and why she disappeared, What they uncover is not all jolly hockey sticks and ginger beer, which gives the storyline a certain edge. Charlie is not the charming heroine, and Martha must face some unwelcome home truths along her journey.

Guilty by Definition had me gripped from start to finish, with an outcome that didn't not disappoint. I look forward to more from Susie Dent!

What a clever book! An anonymous letter arrives at the Clarendon English Dictionary and the staff are drawn into a mystery as one of their colleagues (and sister to Martha, their editor) disappeared years ago and the letters seem to be providing clues to what has happened to her. Together they work to unravel the clues as more postcards arrive, and more information about what Charley had been doing comes to light.

The plot is complex and interesting, but the use of language (including the little snippets at the start of each chapter) are just a delight for anyone who enjoys language and its origins. I'll never read an old word again without thinking about its history and usage. The author paints a great picture of Oxford, enticing the reader to want to visit.

I thoroughly enjoyed it, a very different and fascinating 'who dunnit'. Thank you to NetGalley and Bonnier Books UK for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

An academic's murder mystery.

This was just what I anticipated - a genre read with clues, suspects and red herrings, but with word play, quotes and a lot of references to literature.

Susie Dent handles the material really well, it doesn't feel like a debut. The structure, character, backstories and clear setting are all there.

And it's Oxford!! How lovely to feel yourself among the history and academia, in the offices of a Dictionary, snuggled up between the staff members writing definitions and entries... and getting enigmatical postcards sent referencing a decade-old missing person's case.

Martha's sister went missing over 10 years ago, and the postcards bring it all back to the surface, hinting at nefarious actions but insisting she and the rest of the Clarendon English Dictionary team solve the puzzles and word riddles to work out exactly what this mysterious 'Chorus' might know.

Everything seems to revolve around the dictionary itself, the staff there, and readers will have to concentrate hard to follow and keep up with the Shakespeare, the wonderful old words, the clue-solving.

Personally I got a little lost at times, with explanations, characters I couldn't remember apart and solutions that I just let wash over me. But I probably needed to concentrate a little harder.

Loved the chapter headings and inclusion of some wonderfully archaic terms, and seeing lexicographers the stars of their own story for once.

Will definitely be of interest to Countdown/Shakespeare/wordplay fans.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.

A well written erudite novel. The story is intriguing and the main characters draw you in. The story takes us back to an event that was never resolved and the cast of characters are sent postcards encouraging them to try and work out what happened. The setting of Oxford and a dictionary office felt unique and the references throughout the book backed up this feel. There were twists I didn't see coming and I liked the relationship between the main character Martha and the police.

A cleverly crafted mystery that centres around the mystery of Charlie Thornhill who disappeared ten years ago. Her younger sister has now begun working at the same place, Clarendon Dictionary, when mysterious cryptic postcards start arriving for all employees pointing towards the unsolved mystery.

I really enjoyed the way Susie's knowledge of words is incorporated into the clues and contained so much interesting knowledge. I found the cast of lexicographers fascinating, an area I knew nothing about before reading but the collection of words is such a important job. The mystery of the missing girl was really absorbing and well plotted. An impressive debut and I hope to read more about Martha and the other lexicographers especially Zoe.

There were lots of red herrings as I tried to solve the cold case along with Martha and the other employees at the dictionary, they were all clever and believable and the conclusion to the book was well written.

I would definitely read anthing else that Susie writes.

I was disappointed once I'd finished this. I confess I found some of it a bit over my head, I'm not as familiar with Shakespeare as the characters. I was beyond pleased when I managed to figure out two of the clues! Once I'd finished I actually missed the characters, which is rare for me.

What a great debut! I loved Guilty by Definition by Susie Dent. Admittedly it starts slowly, and I’m not familiar enough with Shakespeare to get all the quotes, but it’s a well-woven story with a good range of characters - both likeable and not so nice. It’s set in Oxford, where Martha has just returned from Berlin to take a job at the CED - Clarendon English Dictionary- when strange letters and postcards begin to arrive to the whole cast of characters. Uncovering the mystery surrounding her sister Charlie’s disappearance becomes the team’s main priority. I particularly loved some of the supporting roles such as Alex and Zoe - two of Martha’s colleagues at CED - but also Martha and Charlie’s father Gabriel.
One for lovers of more gentle mysteries, fans of Hamnet but also those with an interest in etymology and lexicography.

A fast-paced tale, involving secrets and lies wound around the disappearance of a young, but brilliant, lexicographer, whose younger sister is determined to discover the truth. On her journey of discovery, she uncovers evidence of betrayal and murder by people she thought she could trust.

I found the book interesting, but quite hard to get into to begin with. As the plot unfolds, it does get easier to connect with the characters, and develop feelings for them, both good and bad.

I really don’t like to give negative reviews and I really thought I would like this book. Unfortunately it made me feel uneducated as there were just so many obscure words I got lost in trying to understand them and then completely lost the flow of the book.

I’m sure there are lots of readers who will absolutely love this book but it wasn’t for me. Well written and clever; and the celebrity author should be a draw

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Murder mystery with puzzles I had no hope of solving. I’ve learned some interesting new words though!

This isn't my usual type of mystery book but I went into it with an open mind and I'm so glad I was able to arc read this. It was such a good read had me gripped from the start. Can't wait to tell people to add it to their tbrs

I loved this book and it's one of the best books I've read this year, even though I might be biased because I love puzzles and words and languages and etymology. I loved the story and the writing style too. I think I loved everything. If you love everything I mentioned in the previous sentence then you'll love this book.

If you have a passion for words and clues to cryptic crossword puzzles you will revel in this murder mystery set in and around a fictitious dictionary publisher.!
I struggled with it in the first part but grew into it as the mystery element developed. A lot of ideas to keep balancing.

I had mixed feelings with this book, it is written well, characters are delightful but it was a slow start and for me too many unusual and obscure words used throughout. The story line was good with great descriptions of Oxford and some of it history and many twists. I had partially worked out the ending but the full ending was excellent and unexpected. The use of so many new words . had to be expected from this author, actally tended to stop the flow of the story and in the end I had to almost ignore these to keep with the story line itself. Throughout the book there were many tension spots and surprises with new twists to the story but all was wrapped up so well in the ending. I enjoyed the read but I cannot say that it was one of my favourite books as it too much emphasis on the definitions of words.

I loved the premise and this book did not disappoint. Using her love of language, clues and crime fiction, this is a brilliant read with engaging characters, mysteries to solve and twists and turns to entertain. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and will be recommending it to friends and colleagues.

Thank you Netgalley - I loved every minute.

I love Susie so I was really excited to read this book especially as I love mystery books. I felt it was really well written and kept my attention throughout.

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 translate into the realm of fiction.

This is not a summer beach thriller. It’s a mystery, it’s slower to unfurl, requires careful attention to clues. It feels like a book to read on a rainy afternoon where you can take your time and closely regard to quirks and nuances that add such richness to this book.

It really is a very clever mystery, our characters are solving linguistic clues from a mystery postcard writer hassling everyone working at a dictionary office, and broadly people involved In the disappearance of a young woman a decade earlier. Our main character has returned from Berlin to work at this office and she is the younger sister of the missing woman in question. The mysterious postcards shake up this community, unravelling closely guarded secrets, exacerbating simmering resentments.

For all that these characters are highly intelligent and with superior language skills, they often have difficulty communicating with each other. We see unresolved resentment and trauma bubbling below the surface creating challenges between family and friends. However we also see an incredibly supportive group of female friends develop. Our main character is embraced by the women working in the office who help her deal with the menacing postcards and delve into the mystery behind her sister’s disappearance, dealing with her own issues with her family.

This is a clever mystery, interesting cast of characters and it’s brilliantly written!