My better half and I are true crime enthusiasts – and our favorite person to watch, both with his previous show, “Homicide Hunter: Lt. Joe Kenda,” describing his own homicide cases (with an amazing 92% rate of crimes solved), and now with a fantastic newer one, “American Detective With Lt. Joe Kenda,” where he hosts and tells the stories of other detective’s solved crimes, is Joe Kenda, known here in the Hippie Hut as Uncle Joe.

With the best one-liners and catchphrases, like “My, My, My,” in his distinct voice, Uncle Joe is smart, witty, engaging, takes no bullshit, and also clearly cares deeply for crime victims and their families – and is passionate to see all violent criminals caught and punished to the full extent of the law.

Having followed him through his cases on his television show, I decided to take a break from the reading projects I have been working on – Banned Books and several other interesting things – and spend a few days with Uncle Joe, listening to his audiobooks.

(I was so happy to learn that he reads both of them – and I love “read by author” so much.)

His first book, I Will Find You, is his autobiography, telling how he came to be a police detective – and how he and his family endured the challenges of his career – and it is also filled with stories that cannot be told on television as well as honest reflections on how working with such darkness and evil affected Uncle Joe.

(Throughout both books, he states many times that having his television show – and writing his books – proved to be incredibly healing for him, being able to tell the stories he had internalized for so long.)

His second book, Killer Triggers, also discusses his extensive experience – but, as the title suggests, looks at the motivations for homicide and violent crime in general.

Throughout his career, Uncle Joe investigated 387 murder cases – so he is certainly able to speak to many aspects of criminal behavior – and it is incredibly unsettling to learn of the reasoning – or lack thereof – behind unspeakable crimes.

Still, I love listening to Uncle Joe, whether I’m chuckling at his one-liners about a criminal’s stupidity or holding my breath as he explains the capture of someone truly evil.

These books are not for the faint of heart – but, if you are a true crime junkie like us, you definitely want to hang out with Uncle Joe too.

He is just the best. ❤

I also came across this piece that is just a list of funny Uncle Joe-isms that I thought would be worth sharing:

Funny Uncle Joe Quotes Link.

My favorite: “Oh sure, you’re street smart. Sesame Street smart.” 😉

My Uncle Joe break was a great one. ❤ – Now I’m back to my other projects – and another post tomorrow about issues in women’s sports, especially as the Olympics are nearing.

Be well, everybody. Take care of yourselves and each other.

Grace and Blessings.