Why read Guilty by Definition?

Book cover of Guilty by Definition

Book description

THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER!'KEPT ME READING EAGERLY'Philip Pullman. 'HUGE FUN AND, AS YOU'D EXPECT, ALSO BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN'Gyles Brandreth. 'QUITE SIMPLY ONE OF THE FINEST MYSTERIES I HAVE EVER READ'Rob Rinder . 'A TANTALISING MYSTERY FOR WORD SLEUTHS AND CRIME FANS ALIKE'Janice Hallett, Sunday Times bestselling author of The AppealGuilty…

Explore

Topics

Coming soon!

Genres

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

2 authors picked Guilty by Definition as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Karen J. Hasley

Author

Beautiful setting of Oxford, England, as a woman tries to find out what happened to her missing sister years ago. Female protagonist works as a dictionary linguist and word clues begin to appear about her sister's mysterious vanishing. The book is wonderfully filled with unique words, many old but all new to me. It was delightful page by page to find new words. The resolution of the missing sister is satisfying and the characters all believable. This book was this author's 1st work of fiction and it was splendid.

From Karen's 3 favorite reads in 2025.

MJ Porter

Author

Guilty by Definition rises above other celebrity mysteries by being excellent.

This story is well-plotted and well-devised, delightfully intermingled with snippets about the Clarendon Dictionary and the little foibles of the English language, and has a great storyline. It also offers a lovely conjuring of Oxford and the surrounding location—as well as some special Oxford-specific events.

Our four main characters are well-developed, and all have their secrets as they endeavour to solve the perplexing riddles and, in doing so, answer the questions surrounding Martha's sister's disappearance.

It is a complex mystery that is sure to appeal to fans of the…

From MJ's 3 favorite reads in 2024.