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

Took a chance and loved it!!!! you will too

didnt know this author, just wanted something that drew me in like Mind Hunter. This is a great book and the narrator is perfect!!! Give it a try, I did and I loved it

Amazing

I started listening to the podcast Happy Face which turned me into this book! Listening to this book gave me an even more in-depth understanding of the happy face killer. Gave me chills listening to things he said and did.

Next level true crime novel

If you're into true crime, this is next level intense stuff. The story being told from the killer's perspective is unique, and well done. The story goes from childhood, to present day seamlessly. It was easy to follow, and very well written.

I highly recommend this book if you are interested in serial killers and understanding their psyche. However, you must be thick skinned as some details are highly disturbing and it is not censored or sugar coated. I consider myself to have a solid stomach, but some of the entries in this book made me feel physically ill.

I am unsure why people are so fascinated with these types of true crime. It's somewhat hard to understand why these murderers do what they do, and I think that is where the interest comes from.

Kevin Pierce is a fine narrator. It did take me a minute to get used to his tone, but once I was done listening, it felt as though Kevin Pierce was in fact Keith because he did a great job of making the characters stories seem as though they were his own.

A good Jack Olsen

I've read most of Jack Olsen's books and I thought this was right up there with his best. Even though I knew some of the story already, it was fascinating to have it told in the first person. It's even more disturbing somehow. It kept my interest the whole time.

Redhead

There was one confusing thing about the story, the narrator was telling the story in third person and first person, switching back and forth. I wasn’t familiar with this serial killer and was wondering if it was a true story. I would have liked an afterward explaining things.