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A Novel
by Stella Sands
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.
"True crime author Sands makes an auspicious fiction debut with this crackling mystery centered on a Lisbeth Salanderesque savant...Sands nails the genius investigator formula on her first try, spinning Maggie into a memorable heroine and handing her an enthralling first case. This transfixes from the first page." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Tattooed and pierced, diagramming sentences from famous novels and movies as a coping mechanism, Maggie is a refreshingly original heroine with literary sensibilities, a potty mouth, and no patience for the patriarchy. Despite the thriller construct, there is not a lot of action in the story, but unusual investigation tactics—and a brash new protagonist—lend the book energy and interest, and Sands leaves the door open for a sequel. Grammar nerds rejoice!" —Kirkus Reviews
"For readers who enjoy chilling mysteries and thrillers. Fans of strong character-building will delight in watching Maggie and Jackson's partnership bring out their individual strengths." —Library Journal
This information about Wordhunter was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
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.
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