KILLER TRIGGERS – REVIEW

Litercurious Book Review

Killer Triggers by Joe Kenda
TitleKiller Triggers: Murder Comes Down to Sex, Drugs,
or Money
AuthorJoe Kenda
NarratorJoe Kenda
PublisherBlackstone Publishing (March 09, 2021)
FormatUnabridged Audiobook, Kindle & Hardback
Time8 hours and 30 minutes
GenreCriminology, Law Enforcement Biographies
LanguageEnglish
ASIN #B08GGBRHXQ

“The magnificent 8 we made beautiful music that year from murder and mayhem.”

Joe Kenda, Killer Triggers. Narrated by Joe Kenda., Audible, 2021. Audiobook.

#CriminologyAudiobooks #LawEnforcementBiographies #TrueCrime #TrueCrimeAudiobooks

AUTHOR

Former Police Lieutenant, Joe Kenda is the author of Killer Triggers. Read more about Kenda’s background here.

SYNOPSIS

Killer Triggers by Joe Kenda is an unabridged audiobook that is a phantasmagoria of real world criminals and their motivations. Sometimes hard to stomach, Kenda delivers a phlegmatic narration that contrasts starkly from the horrors that he describes. At times, there is a slight trepidation in his voice, tone, or tremor. His varied tonation indicates a deeper emotional recollection of the crimes that still evoke unease in his soul.

One particular recollection of Kenda’s, involved the events that occurred at The Avenue in Colorado Springs. Two Fort Carson Soldiers, Army Specialist Layne Shmidtke and Sargent Joseph Reeves, were attacked on September 11, 1991. Over 700 witnesses saw the crime. Kenda explains how his 8 man team worked tirelessly to identify all those involved and discover their motivations.

Kanda details the grimness of the job that murder detectives do on a daily basis. Sometimes he punctuates it with a hint of irreverence to warm the cold horror of some of the cases he’s been involved in. The worst crimes involve small children. Those of a more delicate disposition may want to avoid those accounts.

There is a very real sense throughout that Kenda is still all cop inside, evidenced by his television presentations and his writing. He comes across as the kind of man you would want on your side in a criminal investigation. He is loyal, forensically aware and intelligent. Just as importantly, he had a dogged determination to leave no stone unturned ensuring that the criminals were brought to justice.

CONCLUSION

Killer Triggers contains a host of disturbing content. At 8 hours and 30 minutes, it is about the average length for a work of its kind. Many true crime readers out there may consider it less impactful than some other similar works due to the staccato pace. The crimes stack up quickly and contemplation comes once the book is finished.
 
Killer Triggers is a stark reminder to us all that Law Enforcement Officers have a most unique job. A job that requires them to be social workers one moment, traffic management personnel at another, and defenders of the population sometimes through the use of deadly force. Can we be surprised that the men and women of the Police suffer health and psychological issues? They are forced  to be Mary Poppins one moment and Judge Dredd the next. Is it really any wonder that alcoholism, domestic abuse, and suicide plague the Law  Enforcement community?  

Kenda can put a brave face on it, but the nerve shredding sights, smells, and emotional baggage created by investigating these horrific crimes, scar the individual permanently. The memories still haunt him. At other time he uses graveyard humor to deal with horrors he witnessed. Dealing with monstrous crimes, as Joe Kenda and his team did day-after-day, seems to leave little room for sentiment. The most egregious crimes are those involving children. These undercurrents of psychological turmoil were not covered, but could be felt throughout the book. Unsurprisingly, Kenda’s delivery is emotionally separate and heavily redacted in terms of police operation methods .

If you were a family member of a murder victim, Kenda is the kind of Law Enforcement Officer that you would demand. He is Intelligent, doggedly, determined, forensically and legally aware. The kind of law officer that will turn over every stone to capture the criminal that stole your loved one.

NARRATION

Joe Kenda’s dedication to his craft is evident in every word as he deftly reads his own prose. There is a laconic fall-off to his spoken word that leaves us in no doubt that he still carries the memories of all those unforgettable crimes that he once witnessed. He uses vocal emphasis by changing the speed of his delivery and his tonality thus adding weight to the alarming acts of violence. There is an authority to his voice that demands your undivided attention. He conversationally relays the information to the listener in a way that is both engaging and riveting.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

OTHER WORK BY THIS AUTHOR

I will Find You, by Detective Joe Kenda True Crime

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to than Joe Kenda, NetGalley, and Blackstone Publishing for affording me the opportunity to review Killer Triggers.

Written in bone – Review

Litercurious Book Review

Written in Bone by Sue Black
Written in Bone by Sue Black
TitleWritten in Bone: Hidden Stories in What We
Leave Behind
AuthorSue Black
PublisherArcade (June 1, 2021)
FormatKindle, Paperback, Hardcover
Pages336
GenreUnabridged Adult Non-Fiction, Biographies
of Scientists, Scientist Biographies, Women’s
Biographies, Biology
LanguageEnglish
ASIN #B08LDYKCGM

#Biographies of Scientists #Biology #Scientist Biographies #Women’s Biographies #Forensic Anthropology #Anatomy #Forensic Science #Forensic Anthropology #Forensics

Dark, mysterious, and enlightening; Written in the Bone is as satisfying as it is truly disturbing; with a shocking personal revelation that comes out of no-where. 

N, Nemo Litercurious.com

AUTHOR

Professor Dame Sue Black DBE, FBA, FRSE, FRCP, FRAI

SYNOPSIS

Written in Bone could be the best non-fiction book you will read this year. A colorful non-fiction dive into the anatomy of crime and all that remains.

Dame Sue Black’s outlines her career as a Forensic Anthropologist (FA) investigating human and non-human remains as well as her work as a professional expert in criminal cases. She cleverly utilizes the skeleton as a roadmap of clinical and not so clinical facts in her investigations. She references historic accounts, such as the one involving Doctor Buck Ruxton who murdered his wife and housekeeper. The investigation that followed utilized some seminal forensic techniques, a number of which are still utilized today by forensic anthropologists.

Black manages to weave scientific fact with legal imperatives against the backdrop of horrific violence that leaves its mark on the bones. A work that is simultaneously chilling and compelling in equal measure. Written in Bone is a skillfully constructed dissection of the human skeleton from zygote [DIPLOID] to birth and on unto death. Black’s book divides the skeleton into three sections beginning with the head, followed by the body, and finally the limbs. She further sub-divides the sections into their constituent parts. Using forensic techniques both new and old, she was a member of an international scientific team that investigated some of the most horrific crimes in our time; including the War Crimes in Bosnia, and the tortures and executions in Syria.

CONCLUSION

Written in Bone is a real life forensic detective account, a tutorial on the human skeleton and a Forensic Anthropologist’s (FA) biography of an incredible career. It is neither dry nor stultifying and contains first-person examples of evil crimes and their terrible tragedies. Written in Bone puts the profession of the FA front and centre instead of in the shadows that the profession once inhabited. There is a consistent message from the author that FA’s should always follow the evidence rather than unsupported assumptions.

Written in Bone manages to convey the reader into the world of the FA in a way never seen before. Hard cold facts meet the warmth of humanity on the frontline of the war on crime. It is accompanied by gallows humor and some slight irreverence for those experts that strayed into the field of FA, and fell flat on their face.

Black’s narrative manages, throughout, to maintain the interest of the reader. She imparts her personality with the imprint. A genuinely remarkable work of non-fiction and definitely one for the true crime community. No true crime library would be complete without a copy of Written in Bone, by Sue Black. 

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank, Professor Dame Sue Black, NetGalley, and Arcade Publishing for affording me the opportunity to review Written in Bone.

OTHER WORK BY THIS AUTHOR

All that Remains by Sue Black Non-Fiction Adult Scientists Biographies Forensic Anthropology
All that Remains by Sue Black Adult Non-Fiction Unabridged Pathology of Forensic Medicine Biographies of Scientists

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The report download below is mentioned in Written in Bone, it contains details of torture and should only be viewed with discretion. This material is NOT suitable for for children. View at your own discretion.

Mutiny On The Spanish Main – Review

Litercurious Book Review

Mutiny on the Spanish Main by angus Konstam book review on Maritime History & Piracy and 18th Century World History
Mutiny on the Spanish Main by Angus Konstam
TitleMutiny on the Spanish Main: HMS Hermione and the Royal Navy’s revenge
AuthorAngus Konstam 
PublisherOsprey Publishing (October 27, 2020)
FormatKindle, Audiobook, Hardcover
Pages320
GenreMaritime History & Piracy, 18th Century World History, Maritime History & Piracy
LanguageEnglish
ASIN/ISBN-10/13B0877CYJ72 /  1472833791 / 978-1472833792

AUTHOR

Angus Konstam 

SYNOPSIS

Mutiny on the Spanish Main is the bloody story of the HMS Hermione; the mutiny, murder, her transfer to the Spanish and subsequent recapture, and the Royal Navy’s never ending search and punishment for the mutineers.

In 1797 the crew of the HMS Hermione mutinied against its officers. They murdered the officers in a cruel and horrific manner. Then the crew stole the ship and fleeing for their lives and turned it over to the Spanish.

Mutiny on the Spanish Main is an in depth study of the causes and ramifications of the mutiny. Angus Konstam provides a look into the Royal Navy’s operating procedures, the lives of the seamen, and the hardships of the times. Life aboard ship was hard and trying. Punishment was severe and sometimes dished out without remorse. Seamen were “conscripted” into service and were basically no more than slaves. Men were stolen from all over and pressed into service. They were guarded at all times on shore to ensure they didn’t escape. Punishment ranged from beatings, to being keel-holed or even hung.

Captain Hugh Pigot, the commander of HMS Hermione, was a cruel and sadistic leader. He routinely dished out severe and arbitrary punishment to his crew. The crew was so distressed by the thought of being punished by the smallest infraction, that when Captain Pigot threatened to lash the last man down from the mast, three of them fell to their death.

The constant beatings, poor treatment, and lack of respect for human dignity finally forced the crew to takes matters into their own hands. What followed was the bloodiest and cruelest mutiny in the British Royal Navy. The Admiralty doggedly pursued the mutineers around the globe to bring them to justice.

CONCLUSION

Mutiny on the Spanish Main is a detailed account of the life and times of British sailors in the Royal Navy in the late 1700’s to early 1800’s. Angus Konstam details the methodology of seamanship, naval battles, politics, and discipline of the times. He provides an in depth look into the Royal Navy, the different types of ships and their primary purpose, the crew compliment, their different missions around the world, and how discipline was enforced aboard ship.

The research into this book is very good. The author provides an accurate look into the history of Naval Warfare and the British Royal Navy. He covers world politics, daily life, class structure, Naval Battles, supplies, disease, different ports, and the running and maintaining of the ships.

Overall, I found this book interesting and informative. I would recommend this read to anyone who has an interest in seamanship, maritime history, or the Royal Navy.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank Angus KonstamNetGalley, and Osprey Publishing for affording me the opportunity to review Mutiny on the Spanish Main: HMS Hermione and the Royal Navy’s Revenge.

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