
Guilty by Definition
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Narrated by:
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Louise Brealey
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Jack Edwards
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Susie Dent
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By:
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Susie Dent
About this listen
When an anonymous letter is delivered to the Clarendon English Dictionary, it is rapidly clear that this is not the usual lexicographical enquiry. Instead, the letter hints at secrets and lies linked to a particular year.
For Martha Thornhill, the new senior editor, the date can mean only one thing: the summer her brilliant older sister Charlie went missing.
After a decade abroad, Martha has returned home to the city whose ancient institutions have long defined her family. Have the ghosts she left behind her been waiting for her return?
When more letters arrive, and Martha and her team pull apart the complex clues within them, the mystery becomes ever more insistent and troubling. It seems Charlie had been keeping a powerful secret, and someone is trying to lead the lexicographers towards the truth. But other forces are no less desperate to keep it well and truly buried.©2024 Susie Dent (P)2024 Bonnier Books UK
What listeners say about Guilty by Definition
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- Effit
- 20-08-24
no one puts suzie in the "dictionary" corner.
wow just wow. Hopefully this will not be the last. it's the Bodlean of books .....
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6 people found this helpful
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- Chloe
- 23-01-25
Incredible
What a wonderful wonderful novel
The perfect amount of mystery and literature
Already excited for hopefully another instalment
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2 people found this helpful
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- Julie Thorpe
- 15-02-25
Characters we interesting
I quite enjoyed the book once I got into it - it was a bit hard going at times but all in all a good book
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1 person found this helpful
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- Lis McCormick
- 30-08-24
Great debut novel
Setting is bang up to date. Good story and a new context. Hope she keeps writing - No 1 bodes well!
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1 person found this helpful
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- SomeBlokeWithAShed
- 02-01-25
Delightful characters, wordplay and a mystery
I really enjoyed this book. The principal story around which the main characters dance is unsettling by its believability and normality. The mystery is beautifully layered. The characters and visualisation of places is strong. lots of celebrities seem to get fictional book deals in recent times some like Richard Osmand, Bob Mortimer well deserved others not so. I had high hopes for this and Susy definitely belongs in the deserving group. looking forward to a sequel or at least her next foray into fiction.
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- rb
- 25-09-24
A brilliant debut novel
Perfect storyline and characters with plenty twisting turns keeping readers guessing. More the same please Ms Dent Thank you
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- Anonymous User
- 14-11-24
language
We liked the narrative drive & disliked the epilogue which was too pat and in unnecessary detail.
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- Jules Blunt
- 23-11-24
Great story but a bit wordy
I took a while to get into this. It was only when I worked out what to let wash over me and what to focus on that I really got caught up in the story.
Loved the clues! Sort of guessed part of the ending but it didn’t detract from my enjoyment.
Will definitely buy the sequel
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- C. Edwards
- 23-12-24
oh so entertaining
If you don't know Susie Dent, she is a lexicographer. this marvelous book takes us into the world of dictionaries and Oford with a great group of characters, who I already miss, and a mystery to be solved. it's full of secrets, words and clues, but is more than that, it explores people and loss and friendship, I think friendship is beautifully depicted in this book. I hear a whisper that there may be another- keeping everything crossed
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- Anonymous User
- 01-01-25
Excellent combination of a page turning mystery and a fascinating history of words and their meanings.
I loved this, it’s so different. It had me hooked from the first chapter. I loved the Shakespeare quotes and references. The mystery kept me guessing all the way through. 5stars
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