Axe murders are murders done by an axe, right? Simple definition, one would think, but as Rachel James makes clear over the course of Whack Job, nothing is simple. Axe murder entered the headlines in the late 1800s, but the phrase still catches attention today. So if you are interested in examples of axe murders through the ages, read on!

James opens with an explanation of the hat brim rule of skull damage and uses that with Cranium 17 from La Sima de los Huesos which had holes in its skull that indicated it had likely been murdered by a hand axe 43,000 years ago. Chapter 2 skipped ahead to Seqwnenre Tao who worked on liberating Egypt from the Hyksos invaders but met his fate under an axe blade. Chapter 3 skips over to China with the burial of Quen Fu Hao of the Shang dynesty and her four axes and ritual deaths. Chapter 4 discusses Croesus's threats to the city of Lampsacus, the role of tyrants in the past and an axe used to strike down a son a generation later. Chapter 5 ships over to North America with the tale of Freydis Eriksdottir killing fellow Norsemen. Chapter 6 narrates England's HenryVIII and the role axes played in the execution of traitors. Chapter 7 brings in George Washington, the beginning of the French and Indian War, and the roles played by hatchets and tomahawks in settling North America. Chapter 8 tells the story of William Tillman, a black cook, who took back a ship captured by Confederate pirates during the American Civil War. Chapter 9 relates infamous tale of Lizzie Bordon who songwriters claim "gave her father forty whacks." Chapter 10 discusses the murders of Frank Lloyd Wright's family at Taliesin near Spring Green (IL). Chapter 11 supplies the story behind the murder of 6-year-old Linda Glucoft by the grandfather of her playmate. Chapter 12 has a sordid tale of how Betty Gore was killed in Dallas (TX) by the mistress of her husband. James ends the book with a final case - Mario Markworth who killed 2 men in 2019 in Kansas City (MO) with an axe.

If you are interested in examples of how axes have been used in killings over the centuries, Whack Job will whet your desire to find out more about these cases. Rachel James gives you plenty of examples in Whack Job along with her sources so that you can check out the details for yourself. So go forth and read!

Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this title.

Super quick and interesting non-fiction, but I wanted a little more.

What I liked:

I never thought I’d read a history of axe murder, but I love a niche non-fiction. I learned a fair amount of things I didn’t know. From ancient Egypt to our current times, the axe has been a ubiquitous symbol of violence and power.

What didn’t work for me:

Some of the chapters seemed to end a little abruptly.

I wanted more with this book. The book is a super quick listen, but I think I wanted some more meat to these chapters.

Whack Job: A History of Axe Murders, by Rachel McCarthy James, is not so much a litany of axe murders throughout time as it is a history of how axes have been used and have been changed over time. Her book is well-researched and her writing style engaging; however, if you come to this book for a gory and macabre history, you will be disappointed. She does discuss the most infamous axe murder in American history (the Borden murders in Fall River) but the Villisca, Iowa, axe murders of 1912 warrant nary a mention. Overall, this is a competent and informative piece of writing. Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for this advance reading copy.

I found Whack Job by Rachel McCarthy James to be absolutely fascinating. It dives deep into the history of the axe, tracing its journey from prehistoric violence to its roles in warfare, executions, and even pop culture. I was surprised by how much I learned and how engaging the narrative was. It’s both informative and incredibly readable. Whether you're into history, true crime, or just curious about the cultural impact of this ancient tool, this book has something for you. I came away from it both captivated and enlightened.

This is perfect for history and true crime fans. I was hooked from the start. I never thought about how far axe killings went and I found some new things to learn about it. I will definitely read Rachel's other book The Man from the Train: The Solving of a Century-Old Serial Killer Mystery.

Really is a 4.75 stars

Thank you Netgalley for letting me give my honest thoughts and feelings.

WHACK JOB review:
The introduction was terribly long for something that I feel is just rehashed in the beginning of chapter one. I ended up having to skim through the introduction as it went so long and made me lose interest quite fast.
I agree with other reviews stating that the author goes back and forth between academic writing and casual writing. I don’t truly understand why we need to go into so much detail about axes that are not even relevant to the stories the author wrote about. I also do not like that a lot of these stories are possible murders, they have no direct evidence that a murder even took place, let alone being able to distinguish that it was an axe murder.
I unfortunately had to DNF this book.

When I laid my eyes on the title of this book, I knew it would be up my street. Though axe murder itself is unfortunately only a minor focus, the history of the tool is fascinating from the different types of blades and handles to the reasons they have been used over the centuries to "axe murder" phraseology. They weren't designed for violence at first and were used in daily life for felling trees for fires, butchering animals for food, clearing land, and cultural and status symbols. Fancy gold and silver axes were buried with ancient Egyptian Ahhotep, Tudor England executioners used them, and the Lizzie Borden story is chock full of them.

The author also discusses desensitization to the words "axe murder" and horrendous crimes as well as examples of them in horror movies. She mentions the introduction of the more modern chainsaw. We still wield axes for various reasons but my favourite one is for camping. I've seen a few axe throwing competitions, too.

All in all, axes are intriguing to read about. Very niche, yes, but appealing to those who like to geek out!

As McCarthy James says, this book doesn’t fit well in any genre and that may be part of the reason I finished the book with the feeling of “What’s the point?” It was entertaining came across like a series of magazine articles rather than a “History of Axe Murder”. Other than the repeated statement that axes and hatchets are easily accessible, it didn’t feel that there was a thesis behind the narrative. The book has interesting facts, but don’t expect a cohesive whole.

While I appreciate the the research that went in to "Whack Job: A History of Axe Murder," it was quickly apparent it was simply the history of the axe in all its forms. It quickly became dull and I couldn't find myself compelled to continue reading.

**Thank you Net Galley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.**

Very much a love it or hate it proposition. This chronicles sharp objects-but mostly the ax- used to well, kill people. It's a mix of true crime and historical information that switches up in tone and tempo. There are gems in here but it ultimately wasn't for me because I felt it lost its way and wandered too much. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Over to others.

In all honesty, I did not finish this book. I enjoy histories that focus on a single item or concert and look at its evolution across time. But too late I realized that this was written by the co-author of The Man From the Train, a poorly-constructed narrative filled with weak or nonexistent suppositions. Sadly, what I read was haphazard and I put it aside when I realized why.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC.

I continue to search for my nonfiction read of 2025 and I was eager to see if Whack Job would be it. Unfortunately, it was not. While it covered topics I did not necessarily anticipate, it just didn't work for me.

While this book has an interesting topic, it didn’t end up being exactly what I expected. When you think of axe murders, you think of people like Lizzie Borden (Ch. 9), the Axeman of New Orleans, or maybe if you are a true crime buff, Elifasi Msomi (The Axe Killer). Instead this book is a collection of killings that are not really axe murders, as we think of them.

This first part of this book, until the chapter about Borden actually, focuses mainly on political executions, early killings that were done with something sharp, and some stories based on myths. I really struggled with the majority of this book and considered DNF many times. I stuck it out hoping it would get better. Instead I found myself skimming most of these stories because the author spends very little time actually talking about axes and axe murders. Borden’s chapter was the first that really felt like it focused wholly on axe murder.

While I know this is the author's personal opinions on axe murders, it would have been nice if she had at least explained how she viewed axe murder to begin with so the reader knew what they were getting into. I wasn’t expecting so much of this book to be about murders that might have involved an axe or other sharp object, or just political beheadings.

Overall, this book wasn’t what I was expecting. I think it was an interesting concept but the author didn’t present the information in a cohesive way that showcases axe murders.

TW: Discussions of murder; violence; gore; racism; pedophilia; graphic child death; homomisa and conversion therapy;

HOW is a book about axe murders boring???
I found the first couple chapters incredibly tiring to get through. They had a central theme but jumped around a LOT. Many of the ideas felt half-baked, and neither high-level enough for us plebs to get into, nor intricate enough for the actual history and weaponry buffs. The cover is SICK though.

A little less true crime-y than I was expecting (from a book with such a spiky, genius title), which Amateur Historian!Taylor honestly didn't mind, but other readers might. WHACK JOB bills itself as "a bloody examination of the axe's foundational role in human history, from prehistoric violence, to war and executions", which kinda pins down the fundamental problem with this microhistory to end all microhistories: some of the axe murders aren't really axe murders. Which, again, I personally did not have a problem with, but we must acknowledge the misdirection. Setting that aside, I thought this was a pretty fascinating book, albeit a bit tonally confusing, veering between accessible pop culture dialogue (with jokes!) and slightly over-detailed historical analysis. Some of the chapters slapped harder than others, while other murders were conspicuous in their absence from consideration here. All in all, I enjoyed it, but not overly. Definitely needed some parameters.

When I picked up Whack Job, I thought I was signing up for a backstage tour of history’s most infamous axe murders, blood, mystery, maybe a few ghost stories thrown in. Instead, what I got felt more like a “History of Sharp Objects… With Occasional Axe Sightings.”

Don’t get me wrong: Rachel McCarthy James clearly loves her axes. The early chapters are packed with fascinating tidbits about ancient tools and prehistoric whackings. But if you’re expecting nonstop Lizzie Bordens and Axemen of New Orleans? Yeah, you're gonna be waiting a while. Like… nine chapters kind of while.

The tone bounces all over the place too. One minute you’re getting a scholarly breakdown of prehistoric trauma, the next minute the author is cracking jokes about political executions. It’s whiplash, but not in a fun way.

That said, the few vignettes that do stick the landing (looking at you, Lizzie Borden and Taliesin) were super compelling. If you’re a hardcore true crime junkie with a soft spot for deep-dive weirdness, you might find a few gems here.

I wasn't sure if I would actually like this book, whether it would be satirical or serious, light-ish or morbid. I actually enjoyed it! It was part history of the tool and part chronology of true life crimes using the axe as a weapon or advertising tool. The author starts at the origin of the tool and follows its use through time. The amount of detail reflects the amount of research that went into this book. I found the book to be very interesting and have to thank Katie Layton of St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read an ARC of the book! I learned a lot and was captivated by the details of the crimes (clarified details of some crimes I knew of but was misinformed about). The book is not ghoulish or celebratory of the crimes. It is both factual and fascinating. This is a narrowly focused but comprehensive history book about all things axe told in the most interesting way!

After reading The Man From The Train, I was interested in James’ new work on the history of axe murders. Informative and humorous, Whack Job covers the history of murders that use aces and other bladed weapons. The book pushes towards the case James actually wanted to highlight about the murder of Betty by Candy. Although there is not much to go on with that case, James could have spent more time on that case and less on well-known axe murders. This was obviously a passion project, so I am willing to read what murderer or weapon she explores next!

I REALLY loved this one. If you’re a fan of books that look at history through a new lens, or if you like true crime, or if you resonate with the idea of being fascinated by a specific topic (in this case, it’s axe murder). This was seriously one of the best books I’ve read in 2025 so far, and I think you’ll love it too. Give it a shot! I learned a lot and am definitely putting this one on my list of instant recommendations to friends looking for a good read.

Whack Job by Rachel McCarthy James is a wild, razor-sharp ride through the darker corners of true crime, media obsession, and American absurdity—and I devoured every page. From the title alone, I knew this wasn’t going to be your typical true crime narrative, and thank god for that. It’s bold, biting, and unafraid to ask uncomfortable questions about how and why we consume these stories.

James has this brilliant way of balancing deep, often disturbing research with a voice that’s witty, clear-eyed, and totally unflinching. The cases themselves are strange, tragic, and sometimes downright surreal, but what stuck with me most was the critique woven through it all. This book isn’t just about the crimes—it’s about the systems and narratives that surround them, the spectacle of justice, and the blurred line between fascination and exploitation.

It made me laugh, it made me uncomfortable, and it made me think—a rare trifecta. I felt like I was being handed the messy guts of the American true crime machine, with James guiding me through the chaos with sharp commentary and zero patience for nonsense.