by KG Whitehurst

Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of the book and a link to purchase the book from Amazon.

This debut novel is for readers who love language, word play, literature, and the thrill of the academic hunt. It is also about chronic sorrow, the lack of closure when a loved one goes missing and there is no answer to why or, more damaging, are they coming back. Chronic sorrow forces people to define and redefine their relationship with the missing at the same time it makes them wonder what role they played in the disappearance.

It fits well with Susie Dent’s explanation of her title: “Definition is such a weighty word. We look to define every aspect of life as we navigate it, just as we are constantly defining and redefining ourselves. Those definitions are expressed through words, which in turn are given definition in a dictionary.” And to this end, each chapter is headed by a dictionary entry that sets the tone or establishes the theme of the chapter. Not surprising, it comes from a woman who is a co-presenter and the resident word expert on Britain’s Channel 4 program, Countdown.

After ten years in Berlin, Martha Thornhill has come back to Oxford, to the university, to become the senior editor at the Clarendon English Dictionary (Yes, Clarendon is an imprint of Oxford University Press.) Something of a dreamy, detached person, Martha is catapulted into investigating the disappearance of her sister, Charlotte, with her team of editors. Nobody knows what happened to Charlie twelve years ago, but everybody has, to varying degrees, got on with their lives and learned to live with the gaping hole Charlie’s absence has created in their lives. A mysterious entity calling itself Chorus begins sending postcards and letters to the CED office and to people’s homes, stirring up a hornet’s nest of acrimony, hostility, and suspicion. Everyone’s secrets are revealed—Where does Alex’s money come from? Who did Simon betray? Who was having the affair? Chorus’ letters eventually lead to a bookseller, who paints Charlie as less than a plaster saint. This knowledge reinforces the consensus she ran off with her rather underhanded gains, abandoning family, boyfriend, and a PhD in English. Chorus does not believe that, and eventually, neither does Martha.

This story moves at an elegant, stately pace, and the clues, whilst frequently cryptic, are well placed and unobtrusive. One thing that will give American readers pause is the emotional distance between the characters—the exception is Safi—and the reader despite the level of interiority. The reader will always know what the characters think or see, but less often what they feel. Martha brings this up as English middle class reticence. It compounds the chronic sorrow, the endless what-ifs and self-recriminations, that poison the relationship between Martha and her father, Gabriel. It also causes Martha to be a bolter, someone who retreats at any difficulty, whether it is into her head or to Berlin, Germany. Alex calls Martha out on this behavior at the point where the reader has had enough of Martha’s vague, vapid woolgathering. Susie Dent has a fine sense of her readers’ patience, but she still makes the reader work for understanding.

Martha’s search for the sister she loves yet resents brings Martha out of her shell. Getting a definitive answer to Charlie’s fate helps her grow up and out and to find her inner resolve. And it closes the door on many ghosts in a satisfying fashion in this literary mystery.

You can click here to purchase this book from Amazon.

To enter to win a copy of Guilty By Definition, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “definition” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen November 8, 2025. U.S. residents only, and you must be 18 or older to enter. If entering via email please include your mailing address in case you win. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.

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K.G. Whitehurst holds a PhD in British history from the University of Virginia. K.G. has blogged about historical fiction at DIYMFA.com; she writes both historical and science fiction mysteries. She lives with her husband, three cats, and over 100 houseplants in Frederick, Maryland, USA.

Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.