Book Review: Wordhunter by Stella Sands

Wordhunter
Author: Stella Sands
Publication: Harper Paperbacks (August 6, 2024)

Description: 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.

My Thoughts: Maggie Moore is a graduate student in linguistics. She is also tattooed, pierced, and drinks too much. She is also something a genius with words. Her stress release is diagramming sentences from favorite works of literature. 

Maggie is brought to the attention of the police by one of her professors who thinks she can help find a stalker turned rapist. Maggie is given the text messages that he sent to the victim which she manages to interpret to lead the police to the stalker. The chief of police who is just days from retirement is pleased. However, Deputy Jackson is much more skeptical. 

Then a child is kidnapped, and the chief of police wants to call her in again. Maggie is most reluctant because the case brings up the disappearance of the best friend she has never stopped looking for. 

Meanwhile, Maggie is trying to get through her final semester of college. She's been handpicked by a popular professor to be his teaching assistant and finds herself polishing his grant proposals and book proposals and even writing papers for him. When her success begins to outshine his, he turns on her, rapes her, and accuses her of plagiarism. His accusations though false can derail Maggie's potential career with the FBI and prevent her acceptance into any doctoral program. 

This was an engaging mystery with a unique and intriguing main character. 

Favorite Quote:

Anyone whose middle name is part of his identity is either a serial killer or planning to become one. For sure, that included most of the men in Florida.

I bought this one January 6, 2025, when it was a BookBub deal for $1.99. You can buy your copy here.