If you watch enough Law and Order or Dexter, you know that serial killers usually have a pattern when it comes to choosing their victims. In the novel Victim Six, however, there’s no clear method to the madness, thus making the killer even more terrifying than your average serial murderer.
Peering into the mind of a murderer
If you watch enough Law and Order or Dexter, you know that serial killers usually have a pattern when it comes to choosing their victims. In the novel Victim Six, however, there’s no clear method to the madness, thus making the killer even more terrifying than your average serial murderer.
“For my story I thought, well, this guy Sam is a smart serial killer,” said Gregg Olsen, author of Victim Six. “[His thinking is] if you don’t want to get caught, don’t act like a regular serial killer.”
And by now it’s clear that Olsen knows how to write a terrifying story. With eight nonfiction books under his belt and four fictional novels, Olsen has a lot of knowledge about the psychology of criminals. This knowledge is an important element when he creates his own fictional stories.
“With fiction, I’m always inspired by a real case, one that I’ve maybe read in the paper or something,” Olsen said. “I always look to a true story for the backbone of my stories.”
Olsen’s body of work is unique, due to the fact that most authors either write nonfiction or fiction books, not both.
“With nonfiction I get to know the people, the detectives and the victims,” Olsen said. “And with fiction, there’s no one to talk to because it isn’t real. It’s more of an internal process.”
In fact, Victim Six, which will be the first installment of Olsen’s new series, was inspired by a famous murder case that happened in Canada. In this particular case, the murderer was not just one person, but two people—a married couple that worked together.
“It was interesting to see a team of people working together,” Olsen said. “[And to] reflect on the psychology of what they did, and why they did it.”
Olsen has appeared on a variety of television and radio shows, including Good Morning America and Oxygen’s Snapped. He has also appeared in magazines and newspapers ranging from USA Today to the New York Post. He previously won the Idaho Book of the Year Award for his book The Deep Dark and has been honored in Washington for his work on the history and culture of his home state.
Olsen has always been interested in reading and writing about the criminal mind. He enjoys shows like Law and Order and has seen virtually every episode. In addition, he has a fascination with Dexter, a show everyone seems to be talking about.
Olsen explained how he understands why people like to read about the kind of things he writes about, because he enjoys it too.
“[Even] as a young person in high school, I read those serial killer books,” Olsen said. “So, writing about crime seems natural to me.”
Olsen is grateful for his loyal, constantly growing fan base. And after such a great response to the crime-fighting team in Victim Six, the new series will incorporate that same team, but different serial killers.
People seem to take to Olsen so well because he’s interested in the same things they’re interested in. He just happens to write about those things and write about them well.
“My readers are the nicest people,” Olsen said. “They’re smart people that are just fascinated in the unthinkable. Why would that little boy or girl grow up to do that?”
