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Title details for Wordhunter by Stella Sands - Available

Wordhunter

A Novel

by Stella Sands
Jeremy Carlisle Parker
Audiobook (Includes supplementary content)
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available

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.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    August 6, 2024

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780063345324
      • File size: 225644 KB
      • Duration: 07:50:05

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from June 17, 2024
      True crime author Sands (Wealthy Men Only) makes an auspicious fiction debut with this crackling mystery centered on a Lisbeth Salanderesque savant. Raised in a rusting trailer in Central Florida, 20-something Maggie Moore sees her extraordinary way with words—she can identify nearly anyone based on their syntax and sentence structure—as her only ticket out of poverty. When her linguistics professor recognizes Maggie’s talent and taps her to assist local police on a rape case, she helps nail the perp by decoding the notes he left at his crime scenes. Impressed, the cops enlist Maggie to track down Heidi Hemphill, the mayor’s kidnapped daughter. As Maggie analyzes the linguistic habits of the lead suspects and makes quick friends with Det. Silas Jackson, she starts to notice eerie similarities between Heidi’s case and that of Maggie’s best friend, Lucy Tidwell, who disappeared years earlier. The more Maggie and Jackson dig, the more they worry that the culprit might be too powerful to touch—and that they’ve unwittingly affixed targets to their own backs. 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. Agent: Anne-Lise Spitzer, Philip G. Spitzer Literary.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Narrator Jeremy Carlisle Parker perfectly portrays Maggie Moore in this quirky, clever mystery. Maggie, a graduate student in forensic linguistics with a complicated history, is unique. Tattooed, pierced, and foulmouthed, she diagrams sentences for fun. Parker captures all of these characteristics, and listeners will find themselves charmed. Maggie, a genius when it comes to language and puzzles, is asked by police in rural Florida to decipher messages from a stalker. Her success leads them to ask for her help with a kidnapping, but the case hits close to home. Engaging themes include questionable policing tactics, socioeconomic diversity, and how our histories shape our presents. Listeners will ultimately find themselves rooting for Maggie. K.S.M. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
    • Library Journal

      December 13, 2024

      Sands (Baby-Faced Butchers) explores the nuance of language in this engrossing mystery about graduate forensic-linguistics student Maggie Moore. While serving as a research assistant to a well-known professor on a college campus in Florida, Maggie is recruited to work alongside the local police to help solve crimes against women and girls using text from the perpetrators. Her work with the police sparks memories and emotions that are explained to listeners, exposing the seedy underbelly of the university and the community. An unlikely human connection is formed between Maggie and the lead detective, Jackson, and the story sees positive growth in both characters through the formation of a strong bond. Throughout the novel, Maggie self-soothes by diagramming sentences, and each chapter concludes with her sentence diagrams. Jeremy Carlisle Parker narrates, deftly capturing Maggie's quirky personality and drive to unravel the mystery. Although the technical nature of the sentence diagramming can be difficult to understand in audio, a supplemental document is available for download with the audiobook to explain the diagrams. VERDICT This fast-paced novel is recommended for anyone wanting an engaging plot full of excitement and its fair share of drama.--Misty Schattle

      Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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