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A review by nikkisbooknook
Guilty by Definition by Susie Dent
4.0
This was a maze of literary clues and wordy mysteries. I love words and learning about their origins. Each chapter heading is an obscure word and let's just say my vocabulary has grown!
The story is a bit slow paced for me but with all that obscure verbiage to wade through that may be a good thing for some readers. The story is written from 3 POV and it does help to get a more comprehensive view of the entire mystery. The second half of the book was definitely more quickly paced than the first.
I did enjoy the cast of characters, all linked to the world of words and books. Sometimes it did feel a bit elitist as some of the characters are very definitely upper middle class and used to the finer things in life!
Oxford itself is a very atmospheric character and the description of it certainly brought it to life for me.
Martha could be a bit annoying at times and I did struggle to like her at times, she is very non confrontational at times and that really jarred with finding out what happened to her sister. I did enjoy the little hints at romance with our Detective but I actually enjoyed the found family vibes with Tom, Tanya, Simon's ex-wife and kids, more
There were enough twists to keep me entertained and the extra reveal of who Chorus was, was a bit of a what the heck?! moment.
The story is a bit slow paced for me but with all that obscure verbiage to wade through that may be a good thing for some readers. The story is written from 3 POV and it does help to get a more comprehensive view of the entire mystery. The second half of the book was definitely more quickly paced than the first.
I did enjoy the cast of characters, all linked to the world of words and books. Sometimes it did feel a bit elitist as some of the characters are very definitely upper middle class and used to the finer things in life!
Oxford itself is a very atmospheric character and the description of it certainly brought it to life for me.
Martha could be a bit annoying at times and I did struggle to like her at times, she is very non confrontational at times and that really jarred with finding out what happened to her sister. I did enjoy the little hints at romance with our Detective but I actually enjoyed the found family vibes with Tom, Tanya, Simon's ex-wife and kids, more
There were enough twists to keep me entertained and the extra reveal of who Chorus was, was a bit of a what the heck?! moment.