The most interesting thing about true crime is the abnormal psychology of the criminal (to me at least). What I like about Jack Olsen is that he puts the psychopath front and center. I’ve read three of his books now and they’re all quite satisfying. The criminals are interesting.
This book develops a little differently than most true crime books. Most books start with the crime, and then flash back to develop the characters and work slowly back up to the crime. But this book is linear; it simply tells the story of a sociopath from his childhood through to his crime. It’s almost like the crime isn’t the focus of the book. It’s more a study of a disturbed personality that just so happens to end with murder.