The Axeman of New Orleans

February 1, 2017

Davis's (Dame Kathleen Kenyon) first foray into true crime is a great read. Her research into these long ago unsolved crimes, in which Italian grocers and their families were attacked and murdered in New Orleans, first by meat cleaver, then by axe, is exhaustive and thorough. She picks apart previously held theories about the Axeman and his crimes as well as clears old suspects, such as Frank and Iorlando Jordano, who were accused of attacking the Cortimiglia family in Gretna, LA, in 1919. Davis also carefully exposes crimes originally grouped with the Axeman's, but, at this far viewing, do not appear to be related. Davis uses modern theories and ideas about serial killers and profiling to help explain what the police and newspapers could not--that the Axeman was driven to kill by compulsion--and the similarities of the murders--all Italian grocers living in corner buildings, attacked the same way with an easy-to-find and -discard weapon--are more important than rumors of the Black Hand or vendettas that waylaid the police. She skillfully connects previously unidentified cases with the Axeman post-1919 in other parts of Louisiana. VERDICT A superb read for those who love historical true crime writing, New Orleans history, and real-life tales of serial killers.--Amelia Osterud, Carroll Univ. Lib., Waukesha, WI

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from February 1, 2017
Even the most rabid true-crime fans might be surprised to learn that, just about a century ago, a serial killer was operating in New Orleans. Between 1910 and 1919with a still-unexplained six-year gap in the middle of that perioda killer known first as the Cleaver, and then as the Axeman, targeted Italian grocers, breaking into their homes and attacking them with an ax or similar instrument. To this day, the killers identity and motive remain a mystery, although multiple theories exist about both. The author, a historian, brings an analytical eye and a keen sense of skepticism to the story, dredging through the sparse historical record (which includes contemporaneous newspaper and police reports, as well as some speculation by true-crime writers years after the events took place) to try to bring some sense of coherence to the case. And that is no small task: the story of the Axeman is a story of false leads, bad assumptions, sloppy police work, racial hatred, and even outright deceit on the part of some of the alleged victims (one women knowingly fingered an innocent man as her attacker and almost sent him to the gallows). A riveting story of a serial-killer investigation in a time long before modern-day investigative techniques, even before the term serial killer was invented.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)