diff --git a/src/byteb4rb1e_utils/string.py b/src/byteb4rb1e_utils/string.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3261a03
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/byteb4rb1e_utils/string.py
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+from typing import List, Union
+
+from byteb4rb1e_utils.collections import CircularBuffer
+
+
+class KnuthMorrisPratt:
+    """Knuth-Morris-Pratt string searching algorithm implemented as a class
+
+    https://gwern.net/doc/cs/algorithm/1977-knuth.pdf
+    """
+    def __init__(self, pattern: bytes):
+        """
+        """
+        self._table = KnuthMorrisPratt.build_table(pattern)
+        self._pattern = pattern
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def build_table(pattern: bytes) -> List[int]:
+        """builds the failure table
+        """
+        table = [0] * len(pattern)
+        j = 0
+        for i in range(1, len(pattern)):
+            while j > 0 and pattern[i] != pattern[j]:
+                j = table[j - 1]
+            if pattern[i] == pattern[j]:
+                j += 1
+                table[i] = j
+        return table
+
+    def match_linear(
+        self,
+        data: Union[bytes, bytearray, memoryview],
+        start: int = 0
+    ) -> bool:
+        """match against a linear fixed-size buffer
+
+        :returns: index of the match or -1 if not found
+        """
+        m, j = len(self.pattern), 0
+
+        for i in range(start, len(data)):
+            while j > 0 and data[i] != self.pattern[j]:
+                j = self._table[j - 1]
+
+            if data[i] == self.pattern[j]:
+                j += 1
+
+                if j == m:
+                    return i - m + 1
+        return -1