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I: The Creation of a Serial Killer
In The Killer's Own Words... "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."-Keith Hunter Jesperson, the Happy Face Killer In February 1990, Oregon State Police arrested John Sosnovke and Laverne Pavlinac for the vicious rape and murder of 23-year-old Taunja Bennet. 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... Keith Hunter Jesperson was a long haul truck driver and the murderer of eight women, including Taunja Bennet. He began a twisted one-man campaign to win the release of Sosnovke and Pavlinac. To the editors of newspapers and on the walls of highway rest stops, Jesperson scribbled out a series of taunting confessions. 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, The Creation of a Serial Killer is Jesperson's chilling story. Edgar Award winner Jack Olsen lets the killer tell his story in his own words, offering unprecedented insight into the twisted thought process of a serial murderer.
320 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 20, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 189 reviews
January 2, 2010
You may wonder why I would give five stars to a book I didn't finish--nor am likely to finish any time soon.
Jack Olsen, who died in 2002 at the age of 77, was much more than a crime writer. He was a gifted and insightful psychological analyst who might have been a neuroscientist in another life. His interest in violent crime focused not so much on the victims of murder but on the "victims" who committed murder. A quotation cited in his obituary in the Seattle PI sums up his approach:
In recent years, new discoveries in brain science have begun to explain some of the phenomena that Jack Olsen understood instinctively and documented again and again:
1. Some people are born with brain disorders that make them inclined toward cruelty and violence.
2. Exposure to violence and abuse can change the brain in a way that makes people inclined toward violence.
3. People who commit violent acts are human beings who may be "normal" in many respects.
I had the privilege of meeting Jack Olsen several times. (On one memorable occasion, he spoke to a psychology class I was taking and took the whole class out for coffee.) He was passionately interested in people and what makes them tick. I hope the world will soon be ready to go back and reread what he wrote, mining his detailed case studies for information on how to change society to prevent the creation of monsters who, as often as not, are victims themselves of our tolerance for cruelty, violence, and revenge.
In I: The Creation of a Serial Killer, the truth is too close to the surface. I can't read it right now--but the problem is definitely in me and not in this remarkable book.
Jack Olsen, who died in 2002 at the age of 77, was much more than a crime writer. He was a gifted and insightful psychological analyst who might have been a neuroscientist in another life. His interest in violent crime focused not so much on the victims of murder but on the "victims" who committed murder. A quotation cited in his obituary in the Seattle PI sums up his approach:
"I start every book with the idea that I want to explain how this 7 or 8 pounds of protoplasm went from his mommy's arms to become a serial rapist or serial killer. I think a crime book that doesn't do this is pure pornography."
In recent years, new discoveries in brain science have begun to explain some of the phenomena that Jack Olsen understood instinctively and documented again and again:
1. Some people are born with brain disorders that make them inclined toward cruelty and violence.
2. Exposure to violence and abuse can change the brain in a way that makes people inclined toward violence.
3. People who commit violent acts are human beings who may be "normal" in many respects.
I had the privilege of meeting Jack Olsen several times. (On one memorable occasion, he spoke to a psychology class I was taking and took the whole class out for coffee.) He was passionately interested in people and what makes them tick. I hope the world will soon be ready to go back and reread what he wrote, mining his detailed case studies for information on how to change society to prevent the creation of monsters who, as often as not, are victims themselves of our tolerance for cruelty, violence, and revenge.
In I: The Creation of a Serial Killer, the truth is too close to the surface. I can't read it right now--but the problem is definitely in me and not in this remarkable book.
September 9, 2019
True Crime Commemoration # 31
Setting: 1990s the Pacific Coast
Setting: 1990s the Pacific Coast
December 4, 2021
Keith Hunter Jesperson was a long haul truck driver and the murderer of eight women. At the end of his confessions he drew a smiley face earning him the nickname, "The Happy Face Killer". This book is written like a fiction book. I really didn't care for the format. I felt like it was bouncing everywhere. The conflicting stories between father and son was confusing. I felt like his wife Rose was betrayed in an unfair light. I just didn't like this book at all.
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March 23, 2025
this was an AMAZING book but it was so disturbing. I knew nothing about Keith until I read this. the things he did to these women and animals was beyond fucked up and difficult to read. I still would recommend this if you’re into true crime though. this book was addictive and reading from the killers POV was so interesting but horrifying.
August 7, 2015
Surprisingly, I found this book to be very interesting. I am aware that most people will find it appalling to read a serial killers book in regards to his crimes, however I think reading what Keith had to say can be of help to law enforcement in understanding the mind set that some killers have when they take another human life, as well as possibly reading the signs of what events can create a serial killer from early childhood if that is even possible.
From early on in Keith's childhood it was evident that he had a dysfunctional upbringing in regards to how his father was. It is not to say that his father is to blame for his future crimes but it is a fact that can't be avoided. What kind of parent finds it funny to shock his children with electricity? (His father says in the book it was not a lot of watts) His father was an alcoholic and did not give his children an easy start to life if this is what they were seeing. It was repulsive to read how many animals were tortured by Keith as a child and early on in his life for his pleasure. That was a big sign from the beginning that there was a screw loose in his head. His de-humanizing of his victims into seeing them as pleasure toys while he played his death game was very selfish and disgusting.
I will note that even while reading the sad parts of his upbringing, it does not change my mind on believing that he is where he should be, in prison locked up for the rest of his life. I do hope that if royalties were given for this book; that his victim's families received a portion.
From early on in Keith's childhood it was evident that he had a dysfunctional upbringing in regards to how his father was. It is not to say that his father is to blame for his future crimes but it is a fact that can't be avoided. What kind of parent finds it funny to shock his children with electricity? (His father says in the book it was not a lot of watts) His father was an alcoholic and did not give his children an easy start to life if this is what they were seeing. It was repulsive to read how many animals were tortured by Keith as a child and early on in his life for his pleasure. That was a big sign from the beginning that there was a screw loose in his head. His de-humanizing of his victims into seeing them as pleasure toys while he played his death game was very selfish and disgusting.
I will note that even while reading the sad parts of his upbringing, it does not change my mind on believing that he is where he should be, in prison locked up for the rest of his life. I do hope that if royalties were given for this book; that his victim's families received a portion.
December 4, 2014
I read The Happy Face killer's daughters book, so I figured I would read one on him. Twisted mother fucker!!
October 26, 2015
Another well written book by Jack Olsen, although difficult at times to read. I read a lot of true crime and Keith Jesperson is probably the coldest s.o.b. I've read about...granted I'm an animal lover and his brutality towards animals truly appalled me. But after reading about one murder, I doubt I can look at another tractor trailer on the highway in the same way. Good book! It's a shame Jesperson escaped the death penalty.
March 8, 2019
This was an interesting true crime book for two reasons - firstly, a lot of it is told in the killer's own words, and secondly, because I'd never heard of Keith Hunter Jesperson before. Jack Olsen melds his own storytelling of Jesperson's life growing up both in Canada and the US, alongside Jesperson's own words of his horrific murder spree while working as a long haul truck driver.
If you're looking for a lot of gore then you're not going to get it in here. The murders are, I hate to say it, quite simple (when we're talking in comparison with other notorious serial killers out there). What is fascinating though is Jesperson's pride and narcissism and how it conflicts at times with the knowledge that what he is doing is wrong. He plays up to the media à la Ted Bundy, but has the knowledge that he should stop and fights with himself over it (although not hard enough quite clearly).
I think what let the book down for me though was the fact that it was incredibly repetitive, particularly due to his profession as a trucker. I didn't care about his vehicles, and he would go on at length about them. I wanted to understand the reasons as to why he did what he did, but he seemed completely conflicted on this particular subject, blaming others and then flipping entirely and blaming himself. There didn't seem to be much of an explanation, and maybe that's because there isn't one, but it didn't make for compelling reading in the way I hoped it would.
If you're looking for a lot of gore then you're not going to get it in here. The murders are, I hate to say it, quite simple (when we're talking in comparison with other notorious serial killers out there). What is fascinating though is Jesperson's pride and narcissism and how it conflicts at times with the knowledge that what he is doing is wrong. He plays up to the media à la Ted Bundy, but has the knowledge that he should stop and fights with himself over it (although not hard enough quite clearly).
I think what let the book down for me though was the fact that it was incredibly repetitive, particularly due to his profession as a trucker. I didn't care about his vehicles, and he would go on at length about them. I wanted to understand the reasons as to why he did what he did, but he seemed completely conflicted on this particular subject, blaming others and then flipping entirely and blaming himself. There didn't seem to be much of an explanation, and maybe that's because there isn't one, but it didn't make for compelling reading in the way I hoped it would.
October 8, 2017
TBH, I don't think the conceit of this book works terribly well. Keith Hunter Jesperson is such a prolific autobiographer that Olsen was able to assemble what looks like a fairly complete first-person account of his eight murders, which he interleaves with a more standard biographical account of Jesperson's life. I'm rarely a fan of intercutting timelines, and this book feels like soft-poached eggs in a string bag: a mess that fails to be contained by its arbitrary structure. (Whereas a book should either feel like a whole egg or like an art installation of a knitted egg being unraveled by an algorithm programmed into a music box: a mess, but a deliberate mess.) As with The Serial Killer Whisperer, this book is an antidote to the romanticization of serial killers; Jesperson's mind is as bleak and empty a place as Shawcross', Metheny's, or Gore's. He has the same recall of his murders that they, particularly Gore, evidence, with such perfect recall of details that everything starts to look as flat as a Polaroid (and, as Stephen King points out in "The Sun Dog," Polaroids never do look quite right), combined with very similar claims about sex drive. According to these men, they have the sexual stamina of porn stars, but prostitutes who "dated" Shawcross and escaped with their lives told a very different story. Jesperson, also like Shawcross, further claims that his victims thoroughly enjoyed sex with him, even after they knew he was going to kill them. The word, of course, is "over-compensating," and you can see Jesperson doing it a hundred different ways in his narrative, and another dozen in the 3rd person parts.
It's not something Olsen pursues, although since his sex drive is one of the many things Jesperson blames for his having turned out a serial killer (along with his father, his mother, his ex-wife ...), he might have done well to push a little harder at it. ESPECIALLY because, as with Faryion Wardrip, Jesperson's version of his childhood does not synch up with his siblings' memories, and a lot of the tension in the book comes from the impossible question of which side to believe: Jesperson's accounts of his wretched childhood under the tyrannical thumb of an alcoholic father, or his brother's flat denial that any such thing was true. Jesperson's father, also, of course, denies Jesperson's version, but whichever of them you believe, they clearly have a dysfunctional relationship where they attract and repel each other turn and turn about--unlike Jesperson Sr's relationship with his other children. And Jesperson Sr's own testimony, and the evidence of the outward and verifiable facts (Jesperson Sr was a heavy drinker; he's a man who could do almost everything well and easily, resulting in his doing, basically, nothing at all; he's a narcissist--that is all over his letters to Jesperson, no need to wonder), do show him as someone who rewrites history freely to please himself. The only point in the narrative at which I felt any sympathy for Jesperson was when he tells his father in exasperation that of course he doesn't remember some of the things Jesperson remembers since he was blackout drunk during them.
Jesperson, though, is also out of his own mouth and through his own pen, convicted as an endless liar, one who doesn't even care about contradicting himself because what he wants is to make all versions of the story untrustworthy, so it's not like he's a reliable narrator. Except (maybe) for those affectless but vivid accounts of murdering eight women.
Jesperson does not seem to have the affinity for the landscape that Bundy, Ridgway, and Shawcross do, but he has that same photographic recall--like Ridgway identifying the places where he'd left his victims twenty years earlier--of every vehicle he's ever driven. He claims to love his children, but genuine affection only shows when he's talking about trucks. There's a Peterbilt semi that you feel like Jesperson would have married if he could. Of course, he murdered his victims in the sleeper cabs of the semis he drove, so it makes sense (in the twisted logic of sociopathy) that he would love and remember them the way Bundy and Ridgway loved and remembered the landscape. (And Rule noted more than once the fact that Bundy felt more affection and empathy for inanimate objects than he ever did for real people--which may be another thing underpinning his necrophilia.)
Olsen was a good writer and a good researcher ("was" because he died the same year this book was published), so a "mediocre" Olsen is a "pretty good" from somebody else. And it does do what he said he was trying to do: "explain how this 7 or 8 pounds of protoplasm went from his mommy's arms to become a serial rapist or serial killer" (NYT 1993, quoted on Olsen's wikipedia page; also one of the epigraphs for The Serial Killer Whisperer, although come to think of it, I'm not sure what relevance the quote has to the book). Or rather, it explains the dimensions of the thing we cannot see in Keith Hunter Jesperson, the thing that would be the answer to Olsen's question: what makes Keith Hunter Jesperson a serial killer? That answer remains out of reach and unknowable, but this book does give a sense of the space it carves out in what, for lack of a better word, we will call Jesperson's soul. And of how little is left of a human being around it.
It's not something Olsen pursues, although since his sex drive is one of the many things Jesperson blames for his having turned out a serial killer (along with his father, his mother, his ex-wife ...), he might have done well to push a little harder at it. ESPECIALLY because, as with Faryion Wardrip, Jesperson's version of his childhood does not synch up with his siblings' memories, and a lot of the tension in the book comes from the impossible question of which side to believe: Jesperson's accounts of his wretched childhood under the tyrannical thumb of an alcoholic father, or his brother's flat denial that any such thing was true. Jesperson's father, also, of course, denies Jesperson's version, but whichever of them you believe, they clearly have a dysfunctional relationship where they attract and repel each other turn and turn about--unlike Jesperson Sr's relationship with his other children. And Jesperson Sr's own testimony, and the evidence of the outward and verifiable facts (Jesperson Sr was a heavy drinker; he's a man who could do almost everything well and easily, resulting in his doing, basically, nothing at all; he's a narcissist--that is all over his letters to Jesperson, no need to wonder), do show him as someone who rewrites history freely to please himself. The only point in the narrative at which I felt any sympathy for Jesperson was when he tells his father in exasperation that of course he doesn't remember some of the things Jesperson remembers since he was blackout drunk during them.
Jesperson, though, is also out of his own mouth and through his own pen, convicted as an endless liar, one who doesn't even care about contradicting himself because what he wants is to make all versions of the story untrustworthy, so it's not like he's a reliable narrator. Except (maybe) for those affectless but vivid accounts of murdering eight women.
Jesperson does not seem to have the affinity for the landscape that Bundy, Ridgway, and Shawcross do, but he has that same photographic recall--like Ridgway identifying the places where he'd left his victims twenty years earlier--of every vehicle he's ever driven. He claims to love his children, but genuine affection only shows when he's talking about trucks. There's a Peterbilt semi that you feel like Jesperson would have married if he could. Of course, he murdered his victims in the sleeper cabs of the semis he drove, so it makes sense (in the twisted logic of sociopathy) that he would love and remember them the way Bundy and Ridgway loved and remembered the landscape. (And Rule noted more than once the fact that Bundy felt more affection and empathy for inanimate objects than he ever did for real people--which may be another thing underpinning his necrophilia.)
Olsen was a good writer and a good researcher ("was" because he died the same year this book was published), so a "mediocre" Olsen is a "pretty good" from somebody else. And it does do what he said he was trying to do: "explain how this 7 or 8 pounds of protoplasm went from his mommy's arms to become a serial rapist or serial killer" (NYT 1993, quoted on Olsen's wikipedia page; also one of the epigraphs for The Serial Killer Whisperer, although come to think of it, I'm not sure what relevance the quote has to the book). Or rather, it explains the dimensions of the thing we cannot see in Keith Hunter Jesperson, the thing that would be the answer to Olsen's question: what makes Keith Hunter Jesperson a serial killer? That answer remains out of reach and unknowable, but this book does give a sense of the space it carves out in what, for lack of a better word, we will call Jesperson's soul. And of how little is left of a human being around it.
October 31, 2020
Wow 😳 this was disturbing. Jack Olsen is King of true crime.
September 18, 2014
A book written largely using the words of a serial killer is an interesting concept and one that I thought would help to provide fresh insight into an overcrowded true crime/serial-killer-profiling genre. But here's the thing: I don't think he's an interesting or insightful subject. He's a lying sadist who provides chapters of unchallenged borderline torture porn. Balancing the chapters from the POV of the killer with that of police or journalists who investigated the crimes might have helped to balance this story out -- that is provide a better gauge of reality -- rather than a focus so tightly on the father-son dynamic with a few footnotes indicating when a contradiction arises in their recollections.
September 18, 2008
This is definitely one of the better true crime books out there. The murders themselves are perhaps not so noteworthy as far as serial killers go. They are not complex torture scenarios with knives and acids. They are the simple games played by a man fascinated by the pain inflicted through murder, and Olsen's writing captures the gritty struggle of ending a life.
Perhaps most important to note about this book is contained in the title. All of the murdering and generally sick behaviour is written in the first person. This cold perspective is a haunting experience that stays with you after putting down the book.
A must read for anyone who enjoys learning of the agonizing moments victims feel or the vacuous soul expressed through a murderer's recollection.
Perhaps most important to note about this book is contained in the title. All of the murdering and generally sick behaviour is written in the first person. This cold perspective is a haunting experience that stays with you after putting down the book.
A must read for anyone who enjoys learning of the agonizing moments victims feel or the vacuous soul expressed through a murderer's recollection.
July 25, 2020
This is an anomaly of a true-crime book. It is partially written in the first person POV of the killer himself, Keith Jesperson, sometimes known as the Happy Face killer. Keith was a long haul truck driver who may have psychopathic tendencies. He was raised in an abusive home environment and killed numerous small animals. When he began truck driving, he also began killing women. He is known to have killed eight women though states that he has killed up to 185 women.
I actually really liked this book. It is not very often at all that you encounter a true-crime book written in the "I did this..." first person format. It was interesting to read why Jesperson felt he needed to kill certain women while letting other women go and how he killed the women that he did. There are some really gruesome descriptions of murder and body mutilations in here, so this is not for people with weak stomachs or faint of heart. There are also some grisly depictions of cruelty towards animals in here too. The chapters are short and the requisite court scenes are even shorter. This is a book not to be missed by true-crime aficionados!
I actually really liked this book. It is not very often at all that you encounter a true-crime book written in the "I did this..." first person format. It was interesting to read why Jesperson felt he needed to kill certain women while letting other women go and how he killed the women that he did. There are some really gruesome descriptions of murder and body mutilations in here, so this is not for people with weak stomachs or faint of heart. There are also some grisly depictions of cruelty towards animals in here too. The chapters are short and the requisite court scenes are even shorter. This is a book not to be missed by true-crime aficionados!
June 19, 2025
Fascinating
A fascinating look into the mind of a serial killer through his own words. This story is not for the faint of heart; in fact, it is a horrible one with details of his murders as well as animal tortures and killings. But if you are a true crime fan and if you enjoy getting into the mods of killers, this is unputdownable!
A fascinating look into the mind of a serial killer through his own words. This story is not for the faint of heart; in fact, it is a horrible one with details of his murders as well as animal tortures and killings. But if you are a true crime fan and if you enjoy getting into the mods of killers, this is unputdownable!
April 4, 2022
I’ve read/listened to/watched a lot of true crime… but this is a truly amazing work. Jack Olsen is masterful at blending the killer’s past with the time of his murders, giving a lot of depth to his persona. I finished the book with not just disgust for Keith Jesperson and his actions, but also a lot of pondering about how much genetic material, childhood experiences, and other events shaped the man and the events to come.
Definitely will be looking to read move by Jack Olsen.
Definitely will be looking to read move by Jack Olsen.
August 17, 2007
I read true crime all the time, but this book was a little much for me. It actually made me feel physically ill at times, but I couldn't put it down.
As far as I know, this is one of the only books, if not the only book, of its kind. It's a first-person, as-told-to account of what it's like to be a serial killer. The writing is good, and the author tells the story pretty much in the voice of the killer.
What disappointed me about the book was that, even after wading through all the gruesome details of the crimes and of the killer's not-so-great childhood, I really didn't feel like I got the insight I was looking for into WHY. Why did this guy become a serial killer when so many people with similar backgrounds and upbringings do not? There were all kinds of hints about mental illness in the family background, abuse, etc., but I guess I was looking for a meatier section that would explain or at least give a good theory as to why. And I also wanted to know how this killer, like many others, was able to maintain several long-term relationships with women that he didn't kill, and he didn't seem to even have the urge to kill them. Why some women and not others?
It was frustrating to be left with all of those unanswered questions.
As far as I know, this is one of the only books, if not the only book, of its kind. It's a first-person, as-told-to account of what it's like to be a serial killer. The writing is good, and the author tells the story pretty much in the voice of the killer.
What disappointed me about the book was that, even after wading through all the gruesome details of the crimes and of the killer's not-so-great childhood, I really didn't feel like I got the insight I was looking for into WHY. Why did this guy become a serial killer when so many people with similar backgrounds and upbringings do not? There were all kinds of hints about mental illness in the family background, abuse, etc., but I guess I was looking for a meatier section that would explain or at least give a good theory as to why. And I also wanted to know how this killer, like many others, was able to maintain several long-term relationships with women that he didn't kill, and he didn't seem to even have the urge to kill them. Why some women and not others?
It was frustrating to be left with all of those unanswered questions.
January 20, 2014
I have read other books by Jack Olsen and normally he is a good writer but this book is by far his worst. I have read many true crime books and this is one of the worst researched and written.
Olsen wasted his time and writing ability with writing this book. I have read other books by Jack Olsen about serial killers, and sociopaths/psychopaths that were well written. This is not one of them.
In this book he allowed both Jesperson and his father way too much leeway considering they are both psychopaths/sociopaths, liars, people who are full of BS who have hurt people but then over-exaggerate how they did it, why they did it, play with the victim's families who had a son or daughter murdered by these sick people, claim that it was OK to do because of the way they rationalize it, or will claim that they were completely framed.
Olsen also took a total backseat as an author and allowed both Jesperson and his equally sick father to totally dominate the entire book with their perspective and viewpoint. Even going as far as printing copies of Jesperson and his father's letters to each other while Jesperson was first imprisoned.
I do not believe anything in this book since both Jesperson and his father are human scum, sociopaths/psychopaths, and pathological liars.
Olsen wasted his time and writing ability with writing this book. I have read other books by Jack Olsen about serial killers, and sociopaths/psychopaths that were well written. This is not one of them.
In this book he allowed both Jesperson and his father way too much leeway considering they are both psychopaths/sociopaths, liars, people who are full of BS who have hurt people but then over-exaggerate how they did it, why they did it, play with the victim's families who had a son or daughter murdered by these sick people, claim that it was OK to do because of the way they rationalize it, or will claim that they were completely framed.
Olsen also took a total backseat as an author and allowed both Jesperson and his equally sick father to totally dominate the entire book with their perspective and viewpoint. Even going as far as printing copies of Jesperson and his father's letters to each other while Jesperson was first imprisoned.
I do not believe anything in this book since both Jesperson and his father are human scum, sociopaths/psychopaths, and pathological liars.
May 17, 2022
A true epic in true-crime writing. A journey from abused child, to serial killer. Deep, emotional, sympathetic but damning. Must read for all true-crime lovers.
May 3, 2011
This book was VERY graphic and detailed. I got interested in it because I read "Shattered silence: the untold story of a serial killer's daughter" a month ago. That was written by the daughter of Keith Jesperson, the Happy Face Killer, that this book is about. This book is unique in that it is broken down by sections. Every other section is voiced by the author giving a timeline story of the seriel killer's life, while the sections in between is voiced in Jesperson's own words. He details each of the murders he was convicted for, though he sometimes claims he murdered a hundred more. So if you read this, be prepared.
August 29, 2016
Jack Olsen was one of the best true crime writers in history. Too bad he wrote so few books, but that might be why they're all so good.
This one is different because it's mostly told in the serial killer's own words. Olsen is a master at keeping the tension high from beginning to end--there are no long, drawn out trial sequences, and no detailed biographies of lawyers and cops. He's pitch perfect.
Since this is in Keith Jespersen's words, it's highly disturbing. His descriptions of his crimes and his horrible cruelty toward animals is very difficult to read about. So glad they caught this guy.
This one is different because it's mostly told in the serial killer's own words. Olsen is a master at keeping the tension high from beginning to end--there are no long, drawn out trial sequences, and no detailed biographies of lawyers and cops. He's pitch perfect.
Since this is in Keith Jespersen's words, it's highly disturbing. His descriptions of his crimes and his horrible cruelty toward animals is very difficult to read about. So glad they caught this guy.
January 2, 2019
Really interesting read about the so-called smiley face killer, Keith Jesperson. Cripes, why are so many serial killers from the Northwest? Jesperson's story is even creepier given the locations are familiar. It's not big crime in a distant Big City, it happened in rural truck stops and byways. I didn't really get why the author titled the book "I", but by the end of the narrative you understand that Jesperson is a narcissistic sociopath, an expert liar and manipulator. His description of "the death game" and the torture of animals is utterly chilling.
May 10, 2010
I couldn't believe that I read this whole book in 2 days. It was a scary though disturbing look into a killers' mindset that was so fascinating I couldn't stop reading.
January 29, 2013
Usually like Olsen but not this book
September 2, 2013
This is so much better in "first person," such a treat.
Now I know why the book is called "I": almost every paragraph begins with "I."
Now I know why the book is called "I": almost every paragraph begins with "I."
April 5, 2015
Read this in 3 days. Couldn't put it down, such detail and an amazing writer executed it perfectly. Gruesome crime and very vivid, but I enjoyed the book thoroughly.
December 7, 2019
Fascinating serial killer. Very interesting to read about his crimes especially with his own retelling of his crimes
April 7, 2019
Listened to in audio format.
I have long been a fan of the late Jack Olsen`s books. I have listened to a number of his books including Doc, Cold Kill and Charmer.
I: The Creation of a serial Killer is based on the interviews and diaries of lorry driver Keith Hunter Jespherson. Jesepheron was married with two children. One day he met Taunja Bennett a single mum with learning difficulties in a bar. At the time Taunja was with a man and a woman. Later Jespherson returned to the bar to find Taunja alone, he invited her back to his lorry where he raped and then murdered her.
When Taunja`s dead body was found the police arrested the couple she had been seen talking to. The woman confessed to Taunja`s murder and they couple were given life for murder.
When Jespherson found out someone had confessed to his murder, he realised he got away with murder. Over a number of years he killed a further 8 women including his ex girlfriend.
In Jespherson`s own words he describes his childhood and the difficult relationship he had with his father.
The Creation of a serial Killer was absolutely chilling. Jespherson blamed his father and women in general for all his woes, nothing was his responsibility.
Although Jespherson is obviously mentally unwell I found his diaries absolutely fascinating. recommend this book to all lovers of true crime.
I have long been a fan of the late Jack Olsen`s books. I have listened to a number of his books including Doc, Cold Kill and Charmer.
I: The Creation of a serial Killer is based on the interviews and diaries of lorry driver Keith Hunter Jespherson. Jesepheron was married with two children. One day he met Taunja Bennett a single mum with learning difficulties in a bar. At the time Taunja was with a man and a woman. Later Jespherson returned to the bar to find Taunja alone, he invited her back to his lorry where he raped and then murdered her.
When Taunja`s dead body was found the police arrested the couple she had been seen talking to. The woman confessed to Taunja`s murder and they couple were given life for murder.
When Jespherson found out someone had confessed to his murder, he realised he got away with murder. Over a number of years he killed a further 8 women including his ex girlfriend.
In Jespherson`s own words he describes his childhood and the difficult relationship he had with his father.
The Creation of a serial Killer was absolutely chilling. Jespherson blamed his father and women in general for all his woes, nothing was his responsibility.
Although Jespherson is obviously mentally unwell I found his diaries absolutely fascinating. recommend this book to all lovers of true crime.
September 2, 2017
This is the third true crime account by Olsen which I have read, so a certain level of formulaic prose was anticipated. However, this was in unfounded concern; the book proved alarmingly captivating in its mostly first person point of view, and kept me turning pages till the end. This is a powerful yet very disturbing read!
Long distance trucker, Keith Hunter Jesperson conversationally relates how he developed from an academic underachiever into a sadistic torturer of animals and ultimately a murdering sexual psychopath. The graphically detailed descriptions of Jesperson's crimes were difficult to read even as they were juxtaposed with his continual narcissistic bragging and denial of personal responsibility, blaming his deviant behavior on his father. And while the elder Jesperson does come across through interviews and letters as a significant factor in forming his son's twisted mentality, there is no doubt that Keith Hunter Jesperson represents as close a personification of evil as one could imagine.
Long distance trucker, Keith Hunter Jesperson conversationally relates how he developed from an academic underachiever into a sadistic torturer of animals and ultimately a murdering sexual psychopath. The graphically detailed descriptions of Jesperson's crimes were difficult to read even as they were juxtaposed with his continual narcissistic bragging and denial of personal responsibility, blaming his deviant behavior on his father. And while the elder Jesperson does come across through interviews and letters as a significant factor in forming his son's twisted mentality, there is no doubt that Keith Hunter Jesperson represents as close a personification of evil as one could imagine.
November 7, 2019
For what it is, it's good. That said, it's extremely sickening.
This book left me nauseated constantly. It left me feeling dirty.
Jack Olsen interviewed a serial killer and wrote his autobiography. It is horrifying.
I would not recommend this book to anyone who is somewhat sensitive. It will mess with your head. Getting this close to a killer's mind is not good for anyone's mental health.
For what it is, however, it is extremely well done. Jack Olsen has an eye towards craftsmanship. He allows the killer to tell his story, and then he calls him on his lies with what he found out in follow-up interviews.
The book is good for those who want to understand deviant pathology. It might be one of the best weapons a criminologist could have. Jack Olsen, for better or worse, lets you see exactly how these sick pieces of shit operate. You will understand how they think by the end of this. I just don't know if that's always a good thing.
This book left me nauseated constantly. It left me feeling dirty.
Jack Olsen interviewed a serial killer and wrote his autobiography. It is horrifying.
I would not recommend this book to anyone who is somewhat sensitive. It will mess with your head. Getting this close to a killer's mind is not good for anyone's mental health.
For what it is, however, it is extremely well done. Jack Olsen has an eye towards craftsmanship. He allows the killer to tell his story, and then he calls him on his lies with what he found out in follow-up interviews.
The book is good for those who want to understand deviant pathology. It might be one of the best weapons a criminologist could have. Jack Olsen, for better or worse, lets you see exactly how these sick pieces of shit operate. You will understand how they think by the end of this. I just don't know if that's always a good thing.
July 1, 2021
Very interesting as well as disturbing book about this guy. I don't remember hearing about him when he was arrested, though I was overseas at the time. Book covers his childhood, his crimes (both of which contain quite a number of descriptions of violence against animals and women, so be prepared), and probably what is most unique to this book, his years in prison after his arrest and conviction.
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