Joe Kenda Mug

I don't need any more mugs.
No one I know needs any more mugs. Between the one you got free when you opened an account at that new bank and the one you got from a coworker on your last birthday, and the cute one you bought online one night when you were cruising Etsy instead of sleeping--you're covered on the mug situation. And yet...this one calls me. Probably because I can hear Joe Kenda's voice in my head when I look at the words. And possibly because I know a couple of people who have crazy boyfriends--not in the homicidal kind of cray-cray way, but guys whose eccentricities make them less than endearing. (Note:  Crazy does not equal sexy. Just sayin'.)
If you have a Homicide Hunter fan on your Christmas list and they somehow don't have enough mugs in their kitchen, consider this one.

I (Heart) Joe Kenda

I don't read a lot of true crime. I remember reading Tim Cahill's book, Buried Dreams: Inside the Mind of a Serial Killer, and getting incredibly depressed. I later read that writing it depressed Cahill also. (I'm a big fan of his adventure essays, particularly the collection Jaguars Ripped My Flesh.) When I was researching Whipping Boy, I watched a lot of Forensic Files and Youtube videos on various subjects. But I had never heard of Lt. Joe Kenda, Homicide Hunter, until Thanksgiving last year when the family gathered to binge-watch the program.

In a world where so much crime goes unsolved, it's comforting to know that Kenda (retired from the Colorado Springs police department) had a phenomenal "clearance rate." He solved nearly 400 homicides during his career and watching the show is kind of like a master class in investigative procedure and criminal psychology. Plus, the man's bone-dry sense of humor tickles me and has inspired dozens of memes. I got caught up on Homicide Hunter this Thanksgiving. Can't wait until next year!