Author(s): Susie Dent,
Binding: Paperback,
Date of Publication: 13/08/2026,
Pagination: ,
Series: N/A,
Imprint: N/A,
Published By: Bonnier Export,
Book Classification: Lexicography,
ISBN13/EAN/SKU: 9781804187258
The brand-new Sunday Times bestselling linguistic mystery from Countdown's resident lexicographer, Susie Dent, set in the city of Oxford 'A MUST-READ' Woman's Own 'A CLEVER, TWISTY MYSTERY' Good Housekeeping 'BRILLIANT, GRIPPING, UNPUTDOWNABLE' Kate Williams 'A COMPELLING MURDER MYSTERY PUNCTUATED BY DELICIOUS ETYMOLOGICAL PUZZLES' Tom Read-Wilson 'EVERY BIT AS GRIPPING AS HER DEBUT' Daily Mail A mysterious letter. A silenced scholar. A city paved with injustice. When mysterious symbols appear as graffiti around Oxford, lexicographer Martha Thornhill recognises them from an alphabet created by a deceased writer whose papers she once worked on. But this is no publicity stunt, and tensions intensify when further graffiti is found near the body of a university lecturer. Martha is not the only one to have doubts when the suspicious death is assumed by police to be a suicide. Called upon to lend their linguistic expertise to the case, she and her colleagues begin to unearth a tragedy that extends beyond the ancient walls of the university. As new messages portend more death, it's clear that a spirit of vengeance is stalking the city's streets, and may be reaching out towards them too. PRAISE FOR GUILTY BY DEFINITION: 'Astonishingly clever' THE GUARDIAN 'Will delight anyone who appreciates fine crime writing' THE TIMES 'One of the finest mysteries I have ever read' ROB RINDER 'Huge fun and beautifully written' GYLES BRANDRETH 'A tantalising mystery' JANICE HALLETT 'Genuinely page-turning' LALINE PAULL Guilty by Definition (book 1) was a Sunday Times bestseller August 2024