Guilty by Definition by Susie Dent

Guilty by Definition is a love letter not only to language but to the city of Oxford, wrapped within an intriguing mystery of a missing woman and considering the emotional aftershocks of her disappearance on those left behind.

She’d known there would be ghosts in Oxford. Martha wasn’t afraid of any headless horsemen, or nuns haunting the local ruins; it was Charlie, always Charlie she was afraid would find her.

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?

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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.

At the heart of this novel is the question of what happened to Martha’s sister who disappeared without a trace several years earlier.  It’s an event that still haunts Martha and those around her, and there’s a sense that Martha in particular hasn’t moved on since then.  As letters and postcards begin to arrive from someone who identifies themselves (rather cleverly) as Chorus, it seems clear that someone else hasn’t moved on, and that they know or suspect what may have happened. 

I thought that the mystery element of the novel was really well done.  The clues provided by Chorus are incredibly cryptic and take the combined efforts of Martha’s team to solve, presenting a real challenge to puzzle-loving readers.  I also thought that the pacing was excellent.  It’s not a rush a minute, nor does it involve Dent’s characters being thrust into unrealistic scenarios.  I did have my suspicions as to what had happened to Charlie, although not why, and I was thrilled to get anywhere close to the solution.  I was perhaps more pleased at working out the identity of Chorus before the reveal, and I felt that their behaviour – the reason for dropping these clues as they did – was well explained, and not simply a plot device.

Martha is an interesting character, and one who has been more affected by her sister’s disappearance than she cares to admit.  Charlie was the golden girl, and while the two got on, there’s a sense that Martha felt unable to compete with her older sister, despite her own considerable achievements and that she felt second best in her parents’ eyes.  She’s supported by a wonderful cast of secondary characters in Alex, Safiya, and Simon.  Each is well-developed with sufficient page time and backstory to bring them to life for the reader, and they felt very realistic with their flaws and imperfections.  They work well as a team – both in their work and in investigating Chorus’ clues, and each brings something different to the table.  I loved the parallels that Dent draws between their day jobs as word detectives and how those same skills can be applied to solving a mystery of a very different nature.

Guilty by Definition is, of course, beautifully written. Dent shares her love of words and language with the reader, incorporating little etymological treats (we don’t know where the word dog came from!) throughout the novel and incorporating some lesser-known words and their meanings and origins with the reader.  I do think that this can be difficult to get right in a novel – there’s always a risk of antagonising the reader or pulling them out of the story.  Dent manages it really well.  These words are included in the text in a way that feels natural and organic, forming part of the narrative whilst sharing that love of words and wordplay with the reader. 

I also loved the insights into the work done by the Clarendon English Dictionary, a not too subtle homage to the Oxford English Dictionary where Dent started her own career.  I enjoyed the insight into the processes for reviewing and updating the meaning of words as our language evolves, and particularly what happens when an earlier instance of a word or phrase is discovered.  And who knew that people write to the dictionary with queries, comments, and theories of their own?  I shouldn’t be surprised, but I was.

Guilty by Definition is a wonderful debut, and I hope that Dent goes on to write another novel – be that one featuring Martha and her team or introducing a new set of characters.  It’s both clever and well-written, and one that I recommend to mystery lovers and logophiles alike.