<p><b>THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER<br></b><b>SHORTLISTED FOR THE BRITISH BOOK AWARD 2025: BOOK OF THE YEAR - CRIME &amp; THRILLER</b><br><br><b>'ONE OF THE FINEST MYSTERIES I HAVE EVER READ' </b><br>Rob Rinder, <i>Sunday Times </i>bestselling author of <i>The Trial</i><br><br><b>'A TANTALISING MYSTERY FOR WORD SLEUTHS AND CRIME FANS ALIKE'</b><br>Janice Hallett, <i>Sunday Times </i>bestselling author of <i>The Appeal</i><br><br><b>**AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER NOW**<br></b><br><i><b>A coded letter. A missing woman. A truth waiting to be found. <br></b></i><br>When an anonymous letter is delivered to the Clarendon English Dictionary office, it becomes rapidly clear that this is not the usual word-related enquiry. Instead, the letter hints at sinister events linked to a particular year.<br><br>For editor Martha Thornhill, the date can mean only one thing: the summer her brilliant older sister Charlie went missing. Ten years on, Martha and her family are no closer to unravelling the mystery of Charlie's disappearance - until now.<br><br>As more letters arrive, Martha and her team follow the linguistic clues to a troubling truth. It seems Charlie was keeping a powerful secret, and that someone is desperate to keep it well and truly buried.<br><br><b><i>Guilty by Definition </i>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.</b><br><br><i>Guilty by Definition </i>was a <i>Sunday Times </i>bestseller August 2024</p>