Reviews

The Axeman's Jazz by Ray Celestin

lilbabydaisy's review against another edition

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

son_no's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.25

cameronaverwhy's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Overall, a brilliant book! Some bits were a bit laggy and probably didn’t need to be as long as it was, but it was engaging and a thoroughly enjoyable read.

annajhx17's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

gracegeorgeson5's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

sophiavass's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

hannahcramp's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

abigel's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

This book satisfied the reason I bought it: I wanted a book set in 1920s-30s New Orleans, preferable with some supernatural elements. The supernatural part wasn't true for this book, but it was plenty mysterious regardless. That being said, this book should have been at least 100-200 pages shorter. The language is way too copious, the narrative jumps rapidly between the perspectives of the many characters, and there are lots and lots of names. Of course, a large cast of characters is typical for a crime novel, but most of those books are not nearly this thick. 

With all this, I had some fun, but I struggled to finish it.

mollymadworld's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I am not a big crime/thriller reader but I really enjoyed the close look into New Orleanean culture at the time this novel was set, the pay off for the central mystery was good, the epilogue was lovely and I had a really fun time with the entire novel and the themes portrayed.

tillyy_yy's review against another edition

Not enough about Axeman himself and why teenage detective Louis Armstrong in it??