Death Writ Large by Susie Dent SPRAYED EDGE SIGNED COPY

A brand-new linguistic mystery from Countdown's resident lexicographer, Susie Dent, set in the city of Oxford

'BRILLIANT, GRIPPING, UNPUTDOWNABLE' Kate Williams'A COMPELLING MURDER MYSTERY PUNCTUATED BY DELICIOUS ETYMOLOGICAL PUZZLES' Tom Read-Wilson

A mysterious letter. A silenced scholar. A city paved with injustice.

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

Series:Clarendon Lexicographers
Format:Hardback 416 pages
Publisher:Bonnier Books Ltd
Imprint:Zaffre
ISBN:9781804187241
Published:13 Aug 2026
Classifications:Lexicography, Crime & mystery
Weight:634g