I don't know much about the author, so I went into this book without any expectations and really enjoyed it! It's absolutely a love letter to Oxford and Oxfordshire - which happens to be where I live - and I really enjoyed all the locations our heroes visit while they investigate. While the main character Martha was a little underwhelming, I absolutely loved the cast of side characters (can Alex and Zoe get their own spin-off?).

Overall, a solid read for lovers of crime fiction and books about words!

A complex and mysterious mystery started by the delivery of postcards to the people in the life of missing Charlie.
Martha her sister and her friends work for the Clarendon English Dictionary. They start an investigation with word definitions playing a large part.
This is a book with a twist of being educational. It’s well worth persevering with.

I received a free review copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest unedited feedback.

Susie Dent’s lexicology background makes for an intriguing and fresh take on a mystery novel.

Guilty by Definition follows Martha Thornhill as her and her colleagues at the Clarendon English Dictionary in Oxford receive anonymous and cryptic letters and postcards. Martha and her colleagues investigate and find themselves revisiting the unresolved disappearance of Martha’s sister, Charlie, a decade earlier.

The novel’s settings in Oxford and at the offices of the Clarendon English Dictionary feel immersive and realistic and I imagine are reflective of Dent’s experience of living in Oxford and working at the Oxford University Press.

There’s a lot of information provided at the start of the book, and an introduction to lots of characters in quick succession. It does soon settle into the story and that’s where it becomes clear how well written the novel is and how important language and words are in the book. Whilst at times it does feel as though some words have been used for the sake of it, it adds charm and depth and Dent’s interest in language shines through.

The conclusion does come at the reader at a pace at odds with the rest of the novel however the mystery resolves through the clever unravelling of secrets and lots of clues pieced together. Each reveal really did feel like a piece of the puzzle being found.

Overall a brilliant debut novel.

Absolutely love this!!! Such clever use of phonics! Highly recommend! Great character development and really sucked me in from the get go

A carefully reserached well rounded murder mystery.
I enjoyed the pace and the cast of characters, and thought this was well-written and well plotted.
Would recommend, and would read more from this author.

There were elements I enjoyed, and others that didn’t quite work for me, but it’s always a privilege to discover new stories and voices.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity.

Really enjoyed this mystery, set in Oxford. A letter arrives at the offices of the Clarendon English Dictionary, which hints at sinister events at a particular time that is meaningful for editor Martha Thornhill. It's the summer, her older sister Charlie went missing. It's now ten years later and there's been no resolution in the case. But maybe now with the letters, the truth will come out. Martha and the team follow the linguistic clues...

It's well paced, and plotted. Loved the chapter headings too. Overall happily surprised by how much I liked this one.

I'm normally more of a YA reader/fantasy enthusiast so to speak, but I am a big fan of 8 Out of 10 Cats does Countdown, and find Susie to be a fantastic asset to the show, so when I saw this I knew I had to give it a go, and I have to say that I am really glad that I did. It wasn't my favourite thing I've ever read, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and would gladly read more of her work as a change of pace to my usual reading habits.

Liked it . Due to health issues cannot not but will write a proper review at a later time
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I really like Susie Dent, so this is a real treat, a must read for any fans. It took me a while to read it as I kept stopping to look up words I'd not heard of before. It's entertaining AND educational! I look forward to reading more of Susie's work.

It’s always intriguing to see a well known name make their way into writing books. I found this to be a lovely written book with just enough intrigue and there had been careful research too - as you would expect!

I loved this literary murder mystery and I can’t wait to read what Susie Dent writes next. This showcases the world of words and publishing and stiff competition amongst book dealers. A highly entertaining read. Many thanks to Netgalley for an arc of this book.

I love Susie Dent and thought this fun novel was a fresh take on a familiar idea. Engrossing, clever, and full of Susie’s characteristic wit and charm.

While I did enjoy parts of this book, reading it as an ARC on NetGalley proved challenging. Since you can’t click on words to look up their meanings, it was difficult to fully understand the text—especially given how many unfamiliar terms there are, which are quite central to the book. This definitely impacted my overall enjoyment. The story itself has potential, but I struggled to get fully immersed. I’m not sure if that was due to the complex language and my inability to easily clarify it, or simply because the plot didn’t fully capture my interest.

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.