Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

  • I: The Creation of a Serial Killer

  • By: Jack Olsen
  • Narrated by: Kevin Pierce
  • Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (140 ratings)
Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
I: The Creation of a Serial Killer cover art

I: The Creation of a Serial Killer

By: Jack Olsen
Narrated by: Kevin Pierce
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £14.99

Buy Now for £14.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

Monster cover art
The Misbegotten Son cover art
Son cover art
Predator cover art
The Man with the Candy cover art
Cold Kill cover art
American Predator cover art
The Killer's Shadow cover art
Charmer: A Ladies' Man and His Victims cover art
Salt of the Earth cover art
Abandoned Prayers cover art
Without Mercy cover art
The Search for the Green River Killer cover art
Depraved cover art
Inside the Mind of BTK cover art
Mindhunter cover art

Summary

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

What listeners say about I: The Creation of a Serial Killer

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    91
  • 4 Stars
    29
  • 3 Stars
    14
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    3
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    94
  • 4 Stars
    16
  • 3 Stars
    7
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    76
  • 4 Stars
    29
  • 3 Stars
    12
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    2

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A Great Read

I really enjoyed listening & reading this book at the same time. The authors style of writing I found decent. It's either in first person via the killer or 3rd person when describing the family life. I still don't know how the killer never ended up where he should've been but hey that's the justice system for you in America.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Eye opener

Pretty chilling history! Makes your thinking and stomake twist, and you learn much more about the dark side of the man than you think

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Another excellent listen

Brilliant listen. Some hard parts regarding animal cruelty which I had to skim past but the usual fantastic writing by Jack Olsen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

brilliant book from a different perspective

loved the narrator. the book was a great listen and offered a different perspective of the murderer from the usual podcasts ABOUT the murders...

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

disappointing

Relentless repetition of killing after killing. I couldn't empathise with the character despite Kevin Pierce's great narration.a sad little man committing sordid little crimes. Didn't enjoy as much as other jack Olsen books.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

True crime well written

Pierce's voice is hard to follow if you are not familiar with his accent. The book is beautifully written and a truly unique story. Highly recommended.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent

Kevin Pierce has got to be one of the best narrators out there.Brilliant story,brilliantly delivered

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Exellent

brilliant history from both angles of perspective hard to stop lustening too well read and executed

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great read

This is one of the most Frank and unbiased book on the inside of a serial killer's mind.
It doesn't condone or glamorous what he has done but goes some way into explaining his true motivations.
It is told as if he himself is telling you what happened instead of someone looking in from the outside.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Chilling

In the mind of a psychopath in denial. Worth it if you can handle it!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!