An informative and disturbing recap of the axe and its bloody role throughout human history. McCarthy James takes readers through a historical roundabout that highlights the axe's importance as a weapon, an adornment, a tool, a pop culture reference, and also a murder weapon.

I liked journeying through the various time periods, whether it was Egypt or Rome, dynastic China or Victorian England, to hear about the ways in which the axe was utilized for good or for ill. However, I do wish there was at least one chapter that broke down the pop culture significance of "axe murder" since it is in the title of the book. That said, still an interesting read!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for my review.

I've come to the realization that I don't really like true crime, but this was still interesting! It gives a lot of historical details about how axes have been used throughout history, which was really interesting. I already can think of a few people who will be interested in this book when it comes out, and I'm excited to have it at the bookstore I work at!

From the pharaohs to the present there has always been an ax. Whether it is a decorative piece, a weapon of war, a tool for dealing with wood, or a murder weapon, this book has a handle on it (bad pun). The author describes in detail its history in ancient Egypt, dynastic China, the Viking and later Tudor era of England (think beheadings), wars in the later centuries, and eventually into details of several murders including Lizzie Borden, Taliesin and other 20th century axe murders. The writing is not dull or boring and there is meticulous research and documentation.
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected digital galley from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley.
Avail May 13, 2025
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What attracted me to “Whack Job: A History of Axe Murder” by Rachel McCarthy James, was that wonderful title. I mean, it’s catchy. And the cover - you know looking at it exactly what this book is about. This is a nonfiction book about axe murder - just as the title states, no ifs, ands, or buts. However, the insides of this book didn’t quite live up to the outside. “Axe murder” isn’t really defined by the author, which seems rather sloppy. I thought that this book would mainly focus on axe murders - or maybe a history of the axe, including usage in murders and then falling out of favor. And both are kinda addressed, but for a book focused on the axe itself, not all the stories focus on, well, that. There are cultural references - Jack Nicholson and “The Shining” gets mentioned, as does the rather surprising illustration of a Peanuts character being “axed” by Charles Schultz. I think that confused me was how Ms. James would go from being rather scholarly and fact listing to then dropping asides, almost as if being serious for that long would bore the reader, so pull them back in with snarky comments. However, when Ms. James has done her research and tells the story, it’s done with care and in a very interesting way. Another reviewer mentioned that this book might be better as a podcast - and I have to say that comment has a bit of merit. I think that if you are interested in the history of the axe in murders, this book is a good start.

The pedantic complaint about this book, a history of axe murder, is that it is not about murder. It includes both lawful and unlawful killings.

It is also not about axes, or it requires a sort of acknowledgment of the concept of the axe in conceptual rather than material form.

That is also what makes the subject interesting, in the sense that the axe exists as an ancient, prosaic tool that also has utility for death. But on the third hand, that is what makes the mixture of the types of killing awkward. It is not, strictly speaking, about the misuse of the tool, but also (considering war and executions) use of the tool as designed. It is like if a history of the fork included the history of the trident. In contrast to its subject, the read is short and breezy. Too much so sometimes, with abbreviated takes that walk right up to misleading, and odd springs where the author decides to police her own tone.

The emphasis here is on murder. Having been ...axe...pilled? by a previous book, I expected more of the material history. This is true crime primarily, a story that moves through time, starting in prehistory with what we think might be death via axe of hominins, and ending in the contemporary world.

The stories are good. The storytelling is good. At worst, it tries too hard, landing more sentimental than sensationalist. But the author blends cultural study into the facts of the cases to look at the way that the deaths were perceived, specifically since 'axe murderer' is a trope, and that trope itself has a history. This is why I think that the later chapters are stronger than the earlier ones: the author is having a more enjoyable time with more extrinsic material to work with. Likewise, the tone of the book is nonchalant in a way that plain meshes better with more densely framed material, which the author has in the present and does not have in the past.

My thanks to the author, Rachel McCarthy James, for writing the book, and to the publisher, St. Martin's Press, for making the ARC available to me.

I gave it a valiant effort but I just could not get past the dry history lessons. Rachel McCarthy James adds some interesting quips here and there throughout it, but it’s not enough to help the information digest comfortably.

I'm torn on this one, the subject is interesting to me, but the writing style was too dry. The pace picked up as it went on, but ultimately I struggled to finish it. Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.

I really only volunteered to read this book because I'm particularly interested in how the seax affected the Saxon takeover of dark ages Britain. As it's not mentioned at all in this book, I was somewhat letdown and less interested than I thought I would be. I really am more interested in older history than really recent stuff and very little of the book takes place before 1500. There was still a decent amount of interesting stuff to learn about the axe and axe murdering, but there were times I was a bit bored as well. Decent for what it is but focused a little too much on being kitschy with a cool concept instead of providing a truly interesting read.

I received this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

While interesting and engaging, I feel like this fell a little flat. For one thing, it feels like it could have used another once or twice over by an editor. There were a few times that I had to reread paragraphs to understand who did what with what implications due to clunky language. The intro seemed longer than most chapters. The epilogue probably could have just been chapter 13, as it wasn't structurally much different than the regular chapters. Finally, the latter half of the chapters didn't feel as historically or symbolically impactful as the first. We start with ancient times were not only was the axe a weapon and tool, but James discussed the symbolism and socio-economic impact. As we move forward in history it felt more like random stories of axe murders without much beyond, "it was interesting they chose an axe because that had better options." Like idk, these chapters lacked depth.

When I first read the title and description of this book it sounded like a really fun read (me being who I am, I had visions of Jason Voorhees and So I Married and Axe Murderer dancing through my head. While both we mentioned and briefly discussed in the book, this was not that type of book. Which isn't a bad thing. I actually really liked the book and its' historical examination of the axe throughout history. Each chapter was its own story, with the common thread being the axe (or a hatchet). I also learned a lot, having never read the stories about George Washington and Frank Lloyd Wright. Lizzie Borden I had heard of, but had never read that type of detail about her story. This book was well written, easy to read, and clearly researched in great depth. I will definitely recommend it to my friends.

I received a free copy of, Whack Job, by Rachel McCarthy James, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This is the story about the axe. People all over the world, through the centuries have used an axe. Probably the famous user of an axe is Lizzie Borden. This was an interesting read, on the axe.

So I kind of have to start this off with an apology. Back in 2018 (which feels so long ago, you guys) I wrote a Medium piece about THE MAN FROM THE TRAIN, which was a book written by Bill James, the noted baseball savant, and Rachel McCarthy James. And I started it off kind of pooh-poohing Rachel McCarthy James. What it seemed like, at the time, was that Bill was the author and Rachel was the behind-the-scenes researcher. If you read, say, POPULAR CRIME, and then read THE MAN FROM THE TRAIN, the voices are the same.

I read WHACK JOB, and the one thing I came away with was the idea that Rachel McCarthy James was not only a gifted researcher, but that she could write as well. So maybe she wrote more of THE MAN FROM THE TRAIN than I thought at the time, so I apologize.

WHACK JOB is about axe murder, but leaves out the murders that the Jameses reckoned were committed by the murderer in the previous book, which is a good idea. (I would argue that this book should have left out Lizzie Borden, because--oh, dear God--there are just so, so many books about poor Lizzie Borden--including what Bill James wrote about it in POPULAR CRIME--and WHACK JOB does next to nothing to advance the conversation, but I also don't know how you write a book about axe murder without Lizzie Borden.) And it goes through the entirety of human history, starting with a Neanderthal-era murder victim and going all the way to the present day.

Because THE MAN FROM THE TRAIN was also about an axe murderer, there's a suspicion that WHACK JOB is sort of a crazy-quilt compendium of facts that were salvaged from the cutting floor of the first book. I tend to think that's not the case, more that it's inspired by the sorts of books about salt and cod and other unlikely things that became best-sellers. To that extent, it works just fine and is not nearly as bloody and gruesome as you might expect. It's a perfectly pleasant read about something that's shocking and brutal.

Ms. James makes the point that axe murders are going out out style because axes aren't quite so much in common use as they once were, which I think is overall a good thing. For that matter, not that many people are killed with maces or morningstars or halberds anymore, for which we can count our blessings. WHACK JOB has only one problem, and that it is kind of anticlimactic, which I suppose is a good thing.

Whack Job is an interesting book, but it isn't at all what the title and description promise it to be.
Given its name, I thought this would be a collection of accounts of murders committed with an axe, and some explanations or view of the axe's place compared to other murder weapons. Instead, it is much more a series of snippets of biographies that end up mentioning axes at some point, but the axe isn't the main point in most of those stories and rather, just one aspect of them.
Each chapter follows a different person or few persons in a different era of human history and for a few chapters I felt a bit lost, as the book delved into politics and history and relationships that seemed fully unrelated to the topic. Every paragraph I was waiting for the axe to come into it or become central to the storytelling, which hurt my enjoyment of this book. Then, the chapter would include one or two pages talking about axes (sometimes only maybe) being important in that person's life, but still, the focus would be on the people and on their own importance rather than the axe.

So, if you go in knowing this book is much more a collection of small historic stories of violence instead of the history of axe murders, you'll enjoy it more. In this sense, I would recommend this book! I was taken aback but once I stopped caring about the axe itself and instead just learned about Chinese and Greek history and pre-Neanderthals and Tudor London, I liked it more.


Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this ARC. This book comes out on May 13th, 2025.

has become amusing in contrast to the weapons people have available to them now to inflict violence. But in many of these stories, especially the more recent ones not reliant on interpretation of physical remains, there’s nothing funny about the way people were killed. It can be quite easy to shoot someone with a gun and be cold blooded about it. These people were victims of tremendous rage or utter insanity. There were parts of this book that were very interesting, but the tone felt inconsistent, and relies heavily on mixing hearsay and speculation with fact to provide the narrative. I may have been missing the point of the tone McCarthy James was trying to set, but I feel like this would have been a better book if it was either all factual about the ax and what it was used for, or geared more as a true crime story centered around the people and the acts of violence that were committed. I do love the title, though! A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Whack job follows a chronological examples of axe murders and axes from pre-history to the 2010s. I greatly enjoy history, so I found this book to be a quick read and I learned a bit, especially about the pit from half a millennia ago and ancient Egypt. I appreciated that the author chose less well known murders as examples, Lizzy Borden's chapter notwithstanding.

However, I found the tonal changes occasionally jarring. The tone is often lighthearted, even snarky, in the same chapters that describe a brutal murder. It sometimes felt like a strange conglomeration of a podcast about true crime and an academic delve into the anthropological history of axes. I'd recommend this to someone looking for an overview of the topic, but not for someone looking too much into the science or psychology behind axe murders.

I read this as an ARC from Netgalley.com

Rachel McCarthy James’s Whack Job is a deeply researched book, but the title is a bit misleading. Rather than a deep dive into axe murders, it’s more of a history of the axe itself—starting in prehistoric times and working its way through ancient civilizations before even touching on true crime. If you’re expecting a gripping, grisly account of infamous axe murderers, this isn’t that book.

Lizzie Borden, the name most associated with axe murders, doesn’t even appear until chapter nine. The notorious Axeman of New Orleans? Not here at all. Instead, the book covers a mix of violent incidents—some involving axes, others stretching the definition. Political executions, early human conflicts with sharp tools, and even mythological tales and films (The Shining) take up much of the narrative.

Tone-wise, Whack Job is a bit inconsistent. James shifts between an almost casual, flippant style and scholarly analysis, making it feel like two different books merged together. That said, the depth of research is impressive, and the book offers an interesting, if unexpected, look at how axes have been used throughout history. Just don’t go in expecting a sensational true crime read—this is more of an academic exploration than a page-turning thriller.

Okay so for starters, this book wins for catchiest title. That aside, it’s a good book, too. This book is a walk through history. The beginning is farthest back and as the book goes on it gets closer to current day. Each chapter looks at a different era, specifically a different axe and axe murderer. I found it extremely interesting to learn about the evolution of axes based on what was happening in the world at each given time period and what other inventions had occurred. It was also interesting to learn about the uses the axes served (ya know, besides murdering) over the years. I feel like I learned a lot of history from this book, and it wasn’t just about axe murder. The only thing I would’ve liked more of was a deeper dive into the psyche behind “why the axe.” There was some discussion about it being convenient or lightweight yet sharp, but I wanted more of a psychological review. Otherwise, this book was great!

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest rating and review.

I really tried to get into this one, but I struggled immensely.
I am still really thankful to Rachel McCarthy James, Netgalley, and St. Martin's Press for granting me advanced reader access to this before it hits shelves on May 13, 2025.

This was an absolutely fascinating look at the history of axes and murder that spans from BCE times to modern times. I didn’t expect the book to take on such a wide-ranging topic, but I think it was better for having done so.

The author’s wit was on display several times, which was lovely. There were a few throwaway comments I don’t ascribe to, but to each their own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

Whack Job is a well researched and fascinating look at the history of one of the craziest ways to die: Axe Murder. Rachel McCarthy James delivers a tour de force similar to History of the World in 6 Glasses diving into the popular stories of Axe Murders and the overall history of the sometimes tool and sometimes weapon.