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Death Writ Large

The unmissable new linguistic mystery in the Sunday Times bestselling series from Britain's wordsmith, Susie Dent
Brief Description
A brand-new linguistic mystery from Countdown's resident lexicographer, Susie Dent, set in the city of Oxford AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER NOW When mysterious symbols appear as graffiti around Oxford, lexicographer Martha Thornhill recognises them from a runic alphabet created by a deceased fantasy writer whose papers she... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$3199
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Releases 18th August 2026 (Approx. Date) Pre-order  "Death Writ Large" now to secure your copy from our first shipment

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The unmissable new linguistic mystery in the Sunday Times bestselling series from Britain's wordsmith, Susie Dent

The unmissable new linguistic mystery in the Sunday Times bestselling series from Britain's wordsmith, Susie Dent

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description
A brand-new linguistic mystery from Countdown's resident lexicographer, Susie Dent, set in the city of Oxford

AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER NOW

When mysterious symbols appear as graffiti around Oxford, lexicographer Martha Thornhill recognises them from a runic alphabet created by a deceased fantasy 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, Martha 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.

Guilty by Definition (book 1) was a Sunday Times bestseller August 2024

Series: Clarendon Lexicographers

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781804187258

Publisher: Bonnier Books Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 13 August 2026

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Zaffre

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 153.0mm

Height: 234.0mm

Weight: 0g

Pages: 416

About the Author

Susie Dent is a writer and broadcaster on language. She recently celebrated thirty years as a co-presenter and the resident word expert on Channel 4's Countdown, and also appears on the show's comedy sister 8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdown. Susie comments regularly on TV and radio on words in the news, and is the author of several non-fiction books on words and language. Guilty by Definition is her first novel.

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