The Axeman's Jazz - City Blues Quartet (Paperback)
Ray Celestin (author)Published: 23/04/2015
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
ISBN: 9781447258889
Number of pages: 464
Weight: 313 g
Dimensions: 197 x 130 x 28 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
A rewarding crime novel, swinging its way to a terrifying denouement with all the panache of a New Orleans marching band . . . An excellent debut * The Times *
A fascinating portrait of a vibrant and volatile city and a riveting read * Guardian *
Gripping . . . Celestin smartly evokes the atmosphere of 1919 New Orleans, and a city dominated by music and the mob. * Sunday Times *
Based on a true story . . . this thriller blends voodoo, gangsters and jazz into an intoxicating mix * Sunday Mirror *
Outstanding * Daily Telegraph *
A clever and utterly believable procedural with a suitably grisly killer, set in a brilliant and vibrant historical background * Crime Review *
The best debut I've read this year * Scotsman, Crime Books of the Year *
Superb. * Guardian Crime Books of the Year *
Celestin has skilfully woven around the facts a clever story of three detectives who, in different ways and for different motives, set out to find the murderer. He brilliantly portrays the mood of a city under a siege of fear. Fictional musicians mix with the real jazz artists of the period, not least Louis Armstrong. * The Times, Crime Books of the Year *
With such unlikely figures as Oscar Wilde being dragooned as sleuths in crime fiction, perhaps jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong is not such a stretch - Ray Celestin's debut novel places him as one of a group on the trail of a serial axe murderer in early 20th-century New Orleans. The Axeman's Jazz quickly gleaned awards, sporting an acute sense of period shored up by an evocation of the sound of early jazz - no easy thing on the printed page. There's a challenge for this writer: how does he follow this up? * Independent Crime Books of the Year *
An absolute must for true crime fanatics.
* Refinery29 *You may also be interested in...
“A brilliant character driven crime set in the murky New Orleans underworld”
A fantastic summer read - thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish. A bonus for jazz fans - Louis Armstrong appears as a amateur teenage sleuth! Brilliant.
“Fantastic read”
I have found it hard to find a really good crime novel, and finally I have found this!
Absolutely riveting and offers a real escape, whilst the crime element isn't trying to be so clever that you have no clue...
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“A romp through the bayou”
Based on the real life murders in New Orleans during 1918-1919, The Axeman’s Jazz is a pulpy slice of true crime that rattles along at a brisk pace, neatly filling in the gaps between facts with entertaining and... More
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