Publication Date: August 6, 2024
An utterly original and compulsively readable detective story about a woman who uses her uncanny ability to analyze words and speech patterns to help solve crimes.
Tattooed, pierced, and a bit of a mess, Maggie Moore is a surprising genius when it comes to words, a savant able to solve any linguistic puzzle. The top student in her forensic linguistics class, she’s tapped by local police to use her skills to decipher harrowing notes left by a stalker-turned-rapist—and succeeds brilliantly.
But when the daughter of a local mayor is abducted, Maggie isn’t sure she’s the right person to help the police solve the crime. Given what happened to her best childhood friend, Maggie just might be too close to this one.
Yet she knows the authorities in this rural south-Central Florida town cannot crack the case without her special skill. Along with her new best friend, a detective Jackson, Maggie begins to analyze the texts, emails, and verbal tics of various suspects . . . and comes to a disturbing conclusion that will rock this small community.
Maggie Moore possesses an unusual gift for linguistics, which allows her to take sentences apart, analyze them, and then put them back together again.
With Wordhunter, author Stella Sands serves up a complex main character who is fiercely independent although still haunted by the childhood disappearance of her best friend.
As a grad student living in her hometown and working at the local greasy spoon, Maggie has perfected a tough exterior while mentally diagramming sentences (which is somewhat of a lost art).
Her character oozes intelligence, but her penchant for drinking and lack of ambition keeps her spinning her wheels. When Professor Ditmire realizes the depth of Maggie’s talent, he sees dollar signs.
When Maggie is asked to consult with the police department on a missing person’s case and analyze messages, she’s not confident in her abilities. However, she will do whatever it takes to bring the young girl home while battling her own inner demons.
Wordhunter shines as a psychological thriller based on an unusual yet incredibly compelling concept.
Stella Sands is the bestselling author of six true-crime books: Baby-Faced Butchers, The Dating Game Killer, Behind the Mask, Murder at Yale, Wealthy Men Only, and The Good Son. She is also the author of a children’s book, Odyssea, and many educational books, and served as the Editor-in-Chief of the award-winning magazine Kids Discover for nineteen years. She has appeared on numerous television shows, including People Magazine Investigates, ABC’s 20/20, and several episodes of Investigation Discovery. Sands lives in Sag Harbor, New York.
Thank you, Amy! Very grateful for your wonderful review of Wordhunter.