If you enjoy The Marlow Murder Club, there is something familiar about Susie Dent’s Death Writ Large.
Not because the setup is quite the same, but because much of the enjoyment comes from watching a group of people with very different skills become involved in solving a mystery.
In this case, they are the Clarendon lexicographers, led by Martha Thornhill. When mysterious symbols begin appearing as graffiti around Oxford, Martha recognises them as part of an alphabet created by a deceased fantasy writer whose papers she once worked on. When similar symbols are found near the body of a university lecturer, her rather specialised knowledge suddenly becomes useful to the police.
From there, the mystery expands into something involving Oxford’s past, old relationships, and plenty of people who may know more than they are saying.
This is the second of Dent’s Clarendon Lexicographers mysteries, following Guilty by Definition, and it is very much cosy crime rather than a hard-edged thriller. There is a little of Agatha Christie in the clues and misdirection, although Dent’s particular point of difference is obviously language. Each chapter begins with a word and its definition, while etymology, unusual phrases, and linguistic puzzles are woven throughout the story.
Mostly, that works. Occasionally, the fascination with words threatens to interrupt the pace just as the mystery gathers momentum, but it is also what gives the book its personality. Without it, this would be a much more conventional Oxford murder mystery.
The group around Martha is another reason it works. The story has an easy ensemble feel, and the investigation gives each character opportunities to contribute without turning them into implausible super-sleuths. The police remain central to the investigation, which helps keep the premise grounded.
There are enough twists to keep you guessing, a suitably atmospheric Oxford setting, and a mystery that becomes more complicated as the connections begin to emerge.
Perhaps not quite a five-star crime novel for me, but certainly a very enjoyable one. If you like clever cosy mysteries, wordplay, and a group of characters you are happy to spend a few hundred pages with, Death Writ Large is an easy book to settle into.
Our rating - 4/5
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