Wordcrime - by John Olsson (Paperback)

About the Book

Fascinating reading for anyone interested in true crime, modern, cutting-edge criminology and also where language meets the law. Now in paperback!

Book Synopsis

Tell kids not to worry. sorting my life out. be in touch to get some things.

Instead of being a simple sms message, this text turned out to be crucial and chilling evidence in convicting the deceptive killer of a mother of two. Sent from her phone, after her death, tell tale signs announce themselves to a forensic linguist. Rarely is a crime committed without there being some evidence in the form of language.
Wordcrime features a series of chapters where gripping cases are described - involving murder, sexual assault, hate mail, suspicious death, code deciphering, arson and even genocide. Olsson describes the evidence he gave in each one. In approachable and clear prose, he details how forensic linguistics helps the law beat the criminals.

This is fascinating reading for anyone interested in true crime, in modern, cutting-edge criminology and also where the study of language meets the law.

Review Quotes

[Olsson provides] a quite readable and indeed insightful glimpse into the technical practicalities of the duties and tasks of a foreign linguist.

Anyone with the slightest interest in language will find this book fascinating.

What emerges most strikingly in this book is the creative aspect of language and the broad nature of the field of linguistics.

About the Author

Since 1996, John Olsson has operated a world-renowned forensic linguistics consultancy and training service at www.thetext.co.uk. He is an Adjunct Professor at Nebraska Wesleyan University, USA, where he teaches forensic linguistics online. He is also Visiting Professor of Forensic Linguistics at the International University of Novi Pazar in Serbia where he runs an annual summer school in Forensic Linguistics, and is a board member of the Language and Law Centre at the University of Zagreb, Croatia, where he is also a visiting Professor.