Kristin Butler

*NOTE this review is based on the first three seasons and may be subject to change. This series may as well be titled "How to Toot Your Own Horn, And Have Others Do It For You." The only saving detail is that it is based exclusively in Colorado Springs, so each case is a new one that I have never heard of before and has probably not received national publicity and been documented to death. It is packed with phrases like "Any other less seasoned detectives" or "Only one man can solve this case" and "I know a killer by looking in their eyes" stereotypical remarks, which completely insults any contributions that others added to each case. Yes, Joe Kenda appears to be an excellent detective and likely did spearhead the solving of all these cases, but the way the stories are presented turns it into a giant ego trip for the lieutenant. This is NOT something I blame on Kenda, but rather the production team that takes his facts and turns it into the script. In addition, there is negligible actual evidence presented: a total of three photographs of the individuals involved saved til the very end (a few mugshots and a photograph of the victim), zero crime scene photos, no video or audio of interrogations, very little interviews with the family or friends of victims. That leaves 42 of the 43 minute runtime dedicated to awkward re-enactments and interviews with Lt. Kenda. In summary, Joe Kenda does an extremely good job retelling the stories and the dramatizations are at least factual, so if you have run out of other true crime to watch, this show is worth a look.