Summary

Wordhunter shines as a psychological thriller based on an unusual yet incredibly compelling concept.

5-STAR REVIEW: WORDHUNTER by Stella Sands

The Description

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.

The Review

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.Buy Links

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About The AuthorStella 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.

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REVIEW AUTHOR

Amy Wilson
Amy Wilson
My name is Amy W., and I am a book addict. I will never forget the day I came home from junior high school to find my mom waiting for me with one of the Harlequin novels from my stash. As she was gearing up for the "you shouldn't be reading this" lecture, I told her the characters get married in the end. I'm just glad she didn't find the Bertrice Small book hidden in my closet. I have diverse reading tastes, evident by the wide array of genres on my Kindle. As I made the transition to an e-reader, I found myself worrying that something could happen to it. As a result, I am now the proud owner of four Kindles -- all different kinds, but plenty of back-ups! "Fifty Shades of Grey" gets high marks on my favorites list -- not for character development or dialogue (definitely not!), but because it blazed new ground for those of us who believe provocative fiction is more than just an explicit cover. Sylvia Day, Lexie Blake, and Kristin Hannah are some of my favorite authors. Speaking of diverse tastes, I also enjoy Dean Koontz, Iris Johansen, and J.A. Konrath. I’m always ready to discover new-to-me authors, especially when I toss in a palate cleanser that is much different than what I would normally read. Give me something with a well-defined storyline, add some suspense (or spice), and I am a happy reader. Give me a happily ever after, and I am downright giddy.

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Wordhunter shines as a psychological thriller based on an unusual yet incredibly compelling concept.5-STAR REVIEW: WORDHUNTER by Stella Sands