Book cover of Wordhunter

Book description

An Amazon Best of the Year Pick

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…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked Wordhunter as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I’m a sucker for a good mystery or police procedural, and in fact I always have one by my bedside, along with a memoir and non-fiction.Stella Sands published six true-life crime thrillers before turning to a fictional who-done-it with an unusual investigator, and the result is wonderfully original. Her heroine is neither a detective by profession nor a police officer; she’s a college student who’s preternaturally gifted in linguistics, especially drawn to forensic linguistics, the use of language as evidence in criminal cases. Maggie, our heroine, is rough-and-ready, with tattoos, beer, cigarettes and motorcycle, yet a genius at finding clues…

If you love Wordhunter...

Book cover of December on 5C4

December on 5C4 by Adam Strassberg,

Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!

On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…

Want books like Wordhunter?

Our community of 13,000+ authors has personally recommended 2 books like Wordhunter.

Browse books like Wordhunter

Share your top 3 reads of 2026!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

186

readers submitted
so far, will you?

📚 If you like Wordhunter, you might also like...

Child of Vanris by Nikki McCormack,

Book cover of Child of Vanris

At five years old, Kasiel was found with the pointed ends of his ears cut off. Despite that brutal start, he’s lived twelve peaceful years with the man who took him in. Keeping his hair long over his mutilated ears helps him hide the fact that he is Vanrian, a…

Almost Home by Howard Means,

Book cover of Almost Home

Almost Home is a fictional retelling of the last great tragedy of the Civil War.

In late April 1865, almost 2,000 newly freed Union prisoners of war are packed onto the steamer Sultana, in poor repair and with a listed capacity of 376 passengers. Among them are four Indiana soldiers…