I don’t watch much television, so I didn’t recognize Joe Kenda’s name. Some of you might recognize him as the “Homicide Hunter”, which I did not. According to Wikipedia, “Joseph Patrick Kenda is a retired Colorado Springs Police Department detective lieutenant who was involved in 387 homicide cases over a 23-year career, solving 356, a closure rate of 92%. He is featured on the Investigation Discovery television show Homicide Hunter, where he recounts stories of cases he has solved.” All is Not Forgiven is his first novel, although he’s written several nonfiction books. It’s the latest book I’m reading for LJ’s Day of Dialog. It’s a July 25 release.
All Is Not Forgiven is the debut crime novel by Investigation Discovery star Joe Kenda, a former homicide detective, whose hit series Homicide Hunter and American Detective have been watched by as many as 3.8 million viewers in 186 countries.
In this first novel, the rookie Det. Kenda investigates a 1975 case that begins with the murder of a beloved Colorado philanthropist and society figure whose husband, a gambler and womanizer, appears to have an air-tight alibi.
Mentored by his veteran partner Det. Lee Wilson, a former Nashville singer turned skilled investigator, Kenda’s case quickly attracts attention from the FBI, CIA, and Interpol, for its similarity to a string of killings involving wealthy married women. All the murders appear to have been committed by a hired professional whose trademark is the use of an unusual form of lethal ammunition that leaves no trace.
Detectives Kenda and Wilson travel across the country, following leads to Las Vegas and a mob “made man” pit boss who moonlights as a matchmaker for hitmen. In this first extraordinary case, the detectives join a full law-enforcement blitz to track down a twisted killer who has made murder his business.