I: The Creation of a Serial Killer

By: Jack Olsen

Narrated by: Kevin Pierce

Prize-winning journalist Jack Olsen, armed with unprecedented access to one of the most infamous serial killers in American history, provides a fascinating glimpse into the mind of a murderer in the killer's own words....

In February 1990, Oregon State Police arrested John Sosnovke and Laverne Pavlinac for the vicious rape and murder of Taunja Bennet, a troubled 23-year-old barfly who had suffered mild retardation since birth. Pavlinac had come forth and confessed, implicating her boyfriend and producing physical evidence that linked them to the crime. Authorities closed the case.

There was just one problem. They had the wrong people.

And the real killer wasn't about to let anyone take credit for his kill. Keith Hunter Jesperson was a long haul truck driver and the murderer of eight women, including Taunja Bennet. As the case wound through police precincts and courts - ending in life sentences for both Sosnovke and Pavlinac - Jesperson began a twisted one man campaign to win their release. To the editors of newspapers and on the walls of highway rest stops, Jesperson scribbled out a series of taunting confessions:

I killed Tanya Bennett.... I beat her to death, raped her and loved it. Yes I'm sick, but I enjoy myself too. People took the blame and I'm free.... Look over your shoulder. I may be closer than you think.

At the end of each confession, Jesperson drew a happy face, earning for himself the grisly sobriquet "The Happy Face Killer".

Based on access to interviews, diaries, court records, and the criminal himself, I: The Creation of a Serial Killer is Jesperson's chilling story. It chronicles his evolution from angry child to sociopathic murderer, from tormentor of animals to torturer of women. It is also the story of the fate that befell him after two innocent citizens were imprisoned four years for one of his killings.

Edgar Award winner Jack Olsen lets the killer to tell his story in his own words, offering unprecedented insight into the twisted thought process of a serial murderer. Olsen takes his listeners along on Jesperson's vicious cross-country killing spree, letting him describe how he played his "death game" with eight innocent victims and how he finally came to grips with the fate he deserved.

I: The Creation of a Serial Killer is one of the most revealing and insightful pieces of crime reporting ever published.

©2018 Jack Olsen (P)2018 Jack Olsen Literary Works

Great book.

So keep in mind that you’re getting a look into a serial killer’s mind. Someone who is deeply narcissistic and mentally ill. So you’ve got to take his version of events and relationship to other human beings in that context. But it’s well written and fascinating. One of my faves for sure.

Chilling

The story was chilling but the narration could have been better. It was the same narrator throughout the story and it was difficult to determine who he was actually speaking as because he would speak as the narrator and then as the killer and then as others.. I was able to figure it out but it would’ve been much simpler if there was a different voice or at least a distinction when the narrator switched from one character to another.
To summarize however I liked the book.

Another INCREDIBLE book by the Master!!! ★☆★☆★

Jack Olsen is the BEST true crime writer that has ever blessed the page!

A Legend

I doubt there will ever be another Jack Olsen. Perfectly researched, written and then performed by Kevin Pierce. You just can't get a better combination.

Love this story

So well written I could not put it down have to read all his books