Book description
"Ray Celestin skillfully depicts the desperate revels of that idiosyncratic city and its bizarre legends in his first novel, THE AXEMAN." - The New York Times Sunday Book Review (Marilyn Stasio, Crime Columnist)
The Axeman stalks the streets of New Orleans...
In a town filled with gangsters, voodoo, and jazz…
Why read it?
3 authors picked The Axeman as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
This historical thriller, set in New Orleans in 1919, features a black female detective and Louis Armstrong appears in the beautifully plotted fictionalized events.
It has a great sense of place and time, its biggest selling feature for me as a historian. The interlinked rise of Jazz and the Mob at the heart of the action was also riveting.
When I finished reading the novel, I wanted to begin all over again because I did not want to let go of the characters, but they all reappear in three follow-up books in the brilliant City Blues Quartet – Dead Man’s…
A young Louis Armstrong as an amateur detective – if that concept doesn’t draw you in, I’m not sure what will!
The year is 1919 and there’s a terrifying serial killer on the loose in New Orleans. This is the first installment in Celestin’s City Blues Quartet. I love all four books but The Axeman is probably my favourite because of the New Orleans vibe. You get jazz, mafia, Pinkerton detectives, crooked cops, and a taste of the macabre.
From Louise's list on capturing the magic of jazz.
This unique story intelligently and creatively brings the reader a true story with both fictional and actual characters from 1920s New Orleans, including one of jazz's greatest icons, Louis Armstrong. I learned a lot about early twentieth-century New Orleans and an account of a real-life serial killer that plagued the citizenry for a nightmarish one-and-a-half-year period of time. Admittedly, there are graphic descriptions of the serial killer’s evil deeds that you may prefer to skip over, but that will neither detract from the flow of the storyline nor create any confusion.
As a fan of jazz music, and a fan…
From Keith's list on the sleuth will set you free.
If you love The Axeman...
These Blue Mountains
A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.
German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…
Want books like The Axeman?
Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 86 books like The Axeman.
Share your top 3 reads of 2025!
And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.
1,340
readers submitted
so far, will you?
📚 If you like The Axeman, you might also like...
Foxfire in the Snow
It's a time of change, between magic and alchemy.
Born the heir of a master woodcutter in a queendom defined by guilds and matrilineal inheritance, nonbinary Sorin can’t quite seem to find their place. At seventeen, an opportunity to attend an alchemical guild fair and secure an apprenticeship with the…
The Main Gate
Dr. Elise Marquette has spent years burying the past—until the past refuses to stay buried.
Hired to join Earth’s first interstellar contact team, she hopes the vastness of space will finally offer distance from the ghosts of war and the wounds left by a mother who never let her be…
