Review "Louis Armstrong is among those trying to track down a serial killer in the New Orleans of 1919 in Celestin's outstanding debut novel." - Daily Telegraph"During a stormy summer in 1919 New Orleans, a serial killer is hacking seemingly random victims to death. This thriller, which blends voodoo, gangsters and jazz into an intoxicating mix, is based on a true story." - Sunday Mirror"Smart, thrilling and dripping with class. A very special debut." - Malcolm Mackay, author of The Glasgow Trilogy"A rewarding crime novel, swinging its way to a terrifying denouement with all the panache of a New Orleans marching band. This is an excellent debut, with a promise of more good mysteries to come." - The Times"Inspired by the serial killer thought to have been responsible for 12 murders in New Orleans between 1918 and 1919, Ray Celestin's first novel, The Axeman's Jazz initially stays close to the known facts and includes a letter, published in the newspapers at the time, which was supposedly sent by the original Axeman. The writer, who, like the author of the famous 1888 "Jack the Ripper" letter, gives his address as "Hell", promises to claim his next victim at a specific date and time but says that he will spare those "in whose home a jazz band is in full swing". As with the Ripper, the real killer's identity remains unknown, and Celestin has three characters struggling to work out who he or she might be. Detective lieutenant Michael Talbot heads the official investigation; his former partner, Luca d'Andrea, recently freed from prison for corruption, is tasked by the mafia to discover whodunnit; and 19-year-old Sherlock Holmes fan Ida Davis, a secretary for the Pinkerton Detective Agency, decides to branch out on her own . . . Both a fascinating portrait of a vibrant and volatile city and a riveting read." - Guardian"Celestin smartly evokes the atmosphere of 1919 New Orleans, and a city dominated by music and the mob. Gripping." - Sunday Times"This debut thriller pulses with the beat of New Orleans in 1919 when a real-life killer stalked the Big Easy, and was never caught. Now Celestin creates a thriller that's evocative of a city where voodoo and trad jazz go hand in hand in the back alleys off Basin Street." - Peterborough Telegraph"A brilliantly evoked roller coaster ride through pre-prohibition New Orleans - a town packed tight with jazz men and voodoo women, corrupt politicians and even more corrupt cops. This is historical fiction as time travel writing and a very difficult book to put down once started." - William Ryan, acclaimed author of the Captain Korolev series"Utterly compelling, soaked in the unique intoxicating atmosphere of the New Orleans of the period. Marvellous, engaging characters and the writing is pretty much pitch perfect" - R. N. Morris"Debut novelist Ray Celestin has based his beguiling crime thriller on the true story of a serial killer who terrorised New Orleans for more than a year after the First World War. Beautifully written, the evocative prose brings the jazz-filled, mob-ruled 'Big Easy' of pre-prohibition America to life in glorious effect with a story full of suspense and intrigue. Stunning." - Sunday Express Read more About the Author Ray Celestin lives in London. He studied Asian art and languages at university and is a script writer for film and TV, as well as publishing several short stories. The Axeman's Jazz is his first novel. Read more Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Prologue New Orleans, May 1919 John Riley stumbled into the offices of the New Orleans Times–Picayune an hour and a half after he was supposed to have started work. He sat at his desk, took a long, slow breath, and raised his eyes to peer about the room. Even in his befuddled state he could see his colleagues stealing glances at him, and he wondered exactly how unkempt he must look. He had been out the night before, at his usual spot on Elysian Fields Avenue, and he raised a hand to his face to make sure he wasn't still perspiring. When his fingers rubbed against a stubble at least two days old, he felt a pang of regret for not having sought out a mirror before his arrival. He looked at his desk, and his gaze landed on his typewriter. Its black metal frame, its crescent of type bars, its levers and keys all made the thing seem daunting somehow, cold and hard and otherworldly, and he realized he wasn't in a fit enough state to start writing just yet. He'd need a few coffees, a packet of cigarettes, and maybe a lunchtime brandy before he was ready to tackle anything requiring a fully functioning brain, so he decided to kill what was left of the morning with something that approximated work. He rose and stumbled over to the in tray where the letters to the editor were kept. He grabbed as many as he could, cradling them against his chest, and returned to his seat. There was the usual correspondence from irate residents, people with complaints, know-it-alls, and those who used the letters page as a forum for arguing with one another. He selected a few of the longer diatribes to print, as they filled up the page more easily, then he sifted through the letters from people who claimed to have seen the Axeman. Since the killings had started a few months ago, the office had been inundated with letters from concerned residents who swore they had seen him on his way to some murder or other. Riley sighed and wondered why these people sent these things to the newspaper and not the police department. He lit a cigarette and picked up the last letter in the pile. It was an unusual-looking envelope, rice-paper thin, with no sender details, and the newspaper's address was written on it in a spidery scrawl of badly splattered, rust-colored liquid he hoped was ink. He took a drag on his cigarette and opened it with a fingernail. Hell, May 6th, 1919 Esteemed Mortal: They have never caught me and they never will. They have never seen me, for I am invisible, even as the ether that surrounds your earth. I am not a human being, but a spirit and a demon from the hottest hell. I am what you Orleanians and your foolish police call the Axeman. When I see fit, I shall come and claim other victims. I alone know whom they shall be. I shall leave no clue except my bloody ax, besmeared with blood and brains of he whom I have sent below to keep me company. If you wish you may tell the police to be careful not to rile me. Of course, I am a reasonable spirit. I take no offense at the way they have conducted their investigations in the past. In fact, they have been so utterly stupid as to not only amuse me, but His Satanic Majesty, Francis Josef, etc. But tell them to beware. Let them not try to discover what I am, for it were better that they were never born than to incur the wrath of the Axeman. I don't think there is any need of such a warning, for I feel sure the police will always dodge me, as they have in the past. They are wise and know how to keep away from all harm. Undoubtedly, you Orleanians think of me as a most horrible murderer, which I am, but I could be much worse if I wanted to. If I wished, I could pay a visit to your city every night. At will I could slay thousands of your best citizens, for I am in close relationship with the Angel of Death. Now, to be exact, at 12:15 (earthly time) on next Tuesday night, I am going to pass over New Orleans. In my infinite mercy, I am going to make a little proposition to you people. Here it is: I am very fond of jazz music, and I swear by all the devils in the nether regions that every person shall be spared in whose home a jazz band is in full swing at the time I have just mentioned. If everyone has a jazz band going, well then, so much the better for you people. One thing is certain and that is that some of your people who do not jazz it on Tuesday night (if there be any) will get the ax. Well, as I am cold and crave the warmth of my native Tartarus, and it is about time I leave your earthly home, I will cease my discourse. Hoping that thou wilt publish this, that it may go well with thee, I have been, am, and will be the worst spirit that ever existed either in fact or realm of fancy. The Axeman Riley took a drag on his cigarette, put the letter down, and wondered if its author really was the Axeman, and if not, who the hell else would send something like that to the paper? Authentic or not, it'd be a sin not to print it. Riley grinned and rose, and his colleagues turned to look at him as he marched toward the editor's office. He didn't care to wonder if he should tell the authorities before going to press-in instances like this, it was better to ask for forgiveness than for permission. They'd print it, and the city would read it, and a chaos would descend, and New Orleans might well spiral into the greatest night it had ever seen. Read more
R**Z
Very good read. Interesting
Very good read. Interesting. Rather captivating.Tremendous amount of research, as the author is a Brit. I thought so when I read that a character “made purchase,” in getting a secure hold on something.As a native French-Spanish Creole of several generations, I’m amazed at how accurate so many of the portrayals were— and indeed, these are the locals and immigrants who formed New Orleans, and made her what she is.I haven’t ever heard the word tram used here. Only street car, as in “Street car named Desire.”And, also, I don’t believe there is one scene where it wasn’t raining. Everyone is always drenched. It’s comical even. We get 64” (162cm) of rain a year, but there are only 59 rainy days a year on average.As I said though, it’s a great read— and a real timepiece evocative of that era— just preceding the Roaring Twenties.I read the sequel will be located in Chicago, which I am looking forward to, as I lived there also. :-)This book is definitely worth reading, and all the critics found it hard to believe it was a first novel.It was recommended to me by a Swiss-French friend, who is a big fan of New Orleans.
F**9
Interesting characters, attention to detail, and a solid murder mystery
New Orleans. 1919. A serial killer dubbed “The Axeman” is roaming the streets, taking out his victims and leaving cryptic notes and cards behind.I think one of the things going for The Axeman’s Jazz, and some reviewers might take this as a negative, is that there is an extensive build up of events—or exposition—before we get to meaty part of the novel where the action and plot developments really pick up (and the bodies start to pile up as the hunt is in full force).I really liked the sequencing of the three different parties searching for and hunting for clues about the Axeman and his possible motives. Celestin spends a good deal of time letting us get to know key characters, and for that reason, I think the reader can be more invested in these characters and what ultimately they want to accomplish. Celestin does an effective job of fleshing out his main characters, letting you into a bit of their motives and backgrounds, and ultimately why they are interested in the case and finding the killer at large.Not only that, The Axeman’s Jazz is very well written. While the novel does not dig into the underbelly of New Orleans perhaps as much as it could have, certainly Celestin effectively establishes atmosphere for this crime novel, and does so with strong prose and attention to detail about the city and its history.While there are murders within the novel, the author does a pretty good job of not over-sensationalizing the details of the crimes, which can be an easy thing to do for an author writing a crime book trying to score some “shock” points. Instead, he keeps the main focus on the characters, mystery and pursuit of the killer. I was intrigued to find out how events would eventually pan out.In my estimation The Axeman’s Jazz was mostly effective as a murder mystery, crime novel, and historical based novel. That being said, one of the bigger flaws in my mind was after spending so much time building up to the climax of the book, the sequencing of resolving everything seemed a tad forced. The conclusion and resolution felt a little too pact and tidy and, for that reason, seemed a bit rushed.All things considered, however, I still found The Axeman’s Jazz to be a very satisfying read and an impressive opening novel for this author. I’m interested in continuing on in the series, reading “Dead Man’s Blues” and seeing where things go from here.
L**)
good novel based on scary true story
The basis of this novel is a real series of unsolved murders that took place in New Orleans in the 19-teens (the novel is set in 1919); I’d never heard of it, but it has, I learned, been the subject of several true-crime books as well as other fictional treatments. The Axeman killed mostly Italian men (so Mafia involvement was suspected, but never proved), but sometimes he did in whole families. Perhaps his most unusual characteristic was a fondness for jazz: he claimed in a letter to the local newspaper that he would not attack any household that was playing jazz on the night (specified in the letter) that he planned to come for his next victim (shades of the Passover story). Celestin makes wonderful use of this idea, which apparently was part of the true events, in his novel.The novel alternates among several characters trying to discover the Axeman’s identity:Ida Davis, a young light-skinned black woman, and her jazz-playing friend, a young Lewis (as he then spelled it) Armstrong; Michael Talbott, a police detective; and Luca, a disgraced former police officer who was once Talbott’s mentor and is also, rather unwillingly, tied to the Mafia. The Axeman’s activities themselves, for the most part, take a back seat to their activities. Each character or set of characters discovers part of the (fictional) answer to the Axeman puzzle. I found these answers convincing individually, but perhaps not collectively: with as many agendas in play as there turned out to be, I would have expected a lot more victims than were mentioned.The characters are well developed, though not super-outstanding; Ida and Lewis are the best and most appealing. The most vivid character in the book is the city of New Orleans herself: Celestin does a wonderful job of filling in background and providing detailed descriptions, starting with a classic jazz funeral. As mentioned, the citywide party spurred by the Axeman’s letter is particularly lively. Celestin emphasizes both the dark and the colorful sides of a city that certainly has an abundance of both.
W**T
I love this book
I love this book. The novel is very well written, the plot is intersting, and the characters are well drawn. There are three main characters in the novel, a police detective, a private detective, and a mafia man. All three characters are likeable in their own way. It is also fun to see Louis Armstrong make a cameo in the book. Highly recommended!
G**E
Well-worth reading
It took me a while to get into this book but once I realized that there were three different detectives all trying to solve a number of crimes in their own way and for their own purposes, everything fell into place. It then became a very enjoyable read, and I now have Ray Celestin's next book on my Kindle.
Trustpilot
1 week ago
1 day ago
