As a fan of crime fiction and non-fiction, I was intrigued by Olsen's novel about the Happy-faced killer, Keith Jesperson. I guess I was expecting something like Anne Rule's THE STRANGER BESIDE ME. I didn't get it.

Olsen made an unwise decision when he gave Jesperson a format for rationalization and blame. Much of the book is written in first person. Jesperson describes all eight of his murders in graphic, brutal detail. He calls the prostitutes he murdered, "lot lizards," he blames his father for his becoming a serial murderer. Olsen includes their letters at the end, many of them contradictory and almost incoherent. The father is worried about being blamed (because of his drinking and the corporal punishment he used to disciple his son).

When Jesperson starts to unravel, we see him driving his eighteen wheeler without his lights on and abusing fellow motorists by nudging them with his truck. The problem with this is that the man is such a inveterate liar, it's hard to know whether to believe it.

There's also a bumptious section about Jesperson's life in prison. He starts a pen pal club with other serial murderers. The man is so heavily into self-delusion that any forum will do. Jesperson's father never does stop visiting his son; he even suggests that they publish a book together (Was the end result this book?). In any event, the acorn definitely didn't fall too far from the tree.

Dave Schwinghammer's Fargo-esque novel, SOLDIER'S GAP, is available on authorsden and at Amazon, new and used. Please check the reviews. Thank you for your consideration.