Killer Triggers

by Joe Kenda

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Joe Kenda is the “real deal” when it comes to investigators. Over 20 years as a homicide detective lends credibility to his premise about homicide. Of course, that leads to keeping US awake at night as he follows predators.

The most common triggers for homicide are fear, rage, revenge, money, lust, and, more rarely, sheer madness. This isn’t an exact science, of course. Any given murder can have multiple triggers. Sex and revenge seem to be common partners in crime. Rage, money, and revenge make for a dangerous trifecta of triggers, as well.

This book offers my memories of homicide cases that I investigated or oversaw. In each case, I examine the trigger that led to death. I chose this theme for the book because even though the why of a murder case may not be critical in an investigation, it can sometimes lead us to the killer.

And even if we solve a case without knowing the trigger, the why still intrigues us, disrupting our dreams and lingering in our minds, perhaps because each of us fears the demons that lie within our own psyche—the triggers waiting to be pulled.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798200834211
Publisher:	Blackstone Publishing
Publication date:	06/28/2022
Pages:	266
Sales rank:	132,990
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Lt. Joe Kenda, a twenty-three-year veteran of the Colorado Springs Police Department, spent twenty-one years chasing killers as a homicide detective and commander of the major crimes unit. Kenda and his team solved 356 of his 387 homicide cases, getting a 92 percent solve rate—one of the highest in the country. After retiring from law enforcement, he starred in Homicide Hunter: Lt. Joe Kenda, an American true-crime documentary series that ran for nine seasons on the Investigation Discovery network and was aired in sixty-nine countries and territories worldwide. At its peak, Homicide Hunter averaged 1.9 million viewers in the US. See Lt. Kenda on his new crime series, American Detective, available to stream now on discovery+.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 A Runner's Fatal Walk 1

Chapter 2 The Serial Killer Next Door 29

Chapter 3 The Coming Undone of a Good Man 55

Chapter 4 The Choirboy Gone Bad 72

Chapter 5 A Killer Rental 99

Chapter 6 Murder in a Mom 'n' Pop Shop 117

Chapter 7 A Nest of Vipers 135

Chapter 8 Twisted Sisters 161

Chapter 9 Lowlifes Deserve Justice, Too 180

Chapter 10 A Killer Pack 214

Chapter 11 Pulling the Trigger 239

Acknowledgments 253

Discussion Questions 255

Editorial Reviews

★ 01/11/2021

In this exceptional memoir, Kenda (I Will Find You: Solving Killer Cases from My Life Fighting Crime) chronicles the highlights of his 21 years as a Colorado Springs, Colo., homicide detective. Kenda investigated or oversaw 387 cases, and here uses them to offer insights into why killers kill. The cases cover a wide range, involving such elements as mental illness (a demented man fatally shot his wife, daughter, and grandson before shooting himself in the head) and greed (a slumlord lied about fixing a heater and a family of five subsequently died of carbon monoxide poisoning in his rundown rental property). Kenda also dealt with drug runners and gangs, and solved the case of a teen mob killing. In addition, he worked the first homicide in Colorado to be solved with DNA evidence, using the technology to identify the murderer of a lowlife drunk in 1994 nine years after the crime. Finally, Kenda throws in a few entertaining tales from his nine seasons as the star of the Discovery Channel’s Homicide Hunter. His Colorado cowboy cop humor and compassionate voice help make the dark stories he tells easier to bear. This is must reading for true crime fans. Agent: Austin Miller, Dupree Miller & Assoc. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

11/01/2020

Kenda, host of the TV series Homicide Hunter, details a series of brutal crimes that he solved as a Colorado Springs detective in the 1980s through the early 1990s. Full of sensationalist dialog that feels straight out of a procedural drama, the book offers an insider's look at criminal cases, from the 911 call to the sentencing of the convicted. Kenda is unquestionably confident in his opinions, which, along with his interjections and asides, may raise eyebrows, especially given recent Black Lives Matter protests shining a light on an inequitable criminal justice system. He makes sweeping claims about young criminals and the role of parenting, later contradicting this viewpoint by emphasizing that violence may stem from anywhere, including "good" families. Discussing security cameras and privacy concerns, he notes, "If you don't break any laws, why would you worry?" and he makes tactless jokes about shooting uncooperative suspects. He also spins what might seem to many a story of Christian redemption followed by tragedy into a tale of harsh poetic justice. Still, Kenda does share some useful perspectives; he discusses a criminally neglectful slumlord, argues for the importance of investigative print journalism, and highlights the role therapy and talking can play in healing those who regularly see the worst of humanity. VERDICT True crime stories with all the gory details, both aided and stymied by the author's insights.—Bart Everts, Rutgers Univ.-Camden Lib., NJ

Library Journal