A brand-new linguistic mystery from Countdown's resident lexicographer, Susie Dent, set in the city of Oxford

'BRILLIANT, GRIPPING, UNPUTDOWNABLE' Kate Williams

'A COMPELLING MURDER MYSTERY PUNCTUATED BY DELICIOUS ETYMOLOGICAL PUZZLES' Tom Read-Wilson

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