Reading a bit more like a history of New Orleans, this book with supernatural undertones tells the story of a retired detective's search for the Axman, a serial killer who terrorized New Orleans in the earlier part of the 20th century. Filled with interesting historical tidbits of New Orleans, Giancarlo Ribito investigates the murders of Sicilian storeowners in the immigrant sections of New Orleans. Interesting blend of history and police investigation, I enjoyed this book.

Setting was good and the Axman is interesting, overall, not for me. I was never pulled in really. 100% a me problem

The Devil’s Jazz: The Haunted Chronicles of the Axman of New Orleans" is a gripping blend of historical horror and supernatural mystery that brings the infamous legend to life. The atmospheric writing immerses you in the eerie, jazz-soaked streets of early 20th-century New Orleans, making the story feel both haunting and cinematic. With compelling characters and a chilling, suspenseful plot, this book is a must-read for fans of true crime-inspired horror.

A masterfully crafted, deeply researched, and gripping tale of suspense and horror, The Devil’s Jazz brings the colorful and sordid characters of the Big Easy to life.

In the sultry heart of New Orleans, a city haunted by the legacy of Jack the Ripper’s reign of terror in London, a new menace emerges. The year is 1918, and the Axman of New Orleans prowls the cobblestone streets, targeting the city’s large population of Sicilian immigrants.

Retired detective Giancarlo Rabito is reluctantly drawn into the shadows, entangled in the pursuit of the Axman, challenging the wide-spread belief that the Mafia is responsible. Hysteria grips New Orleans with each gruesome crime as the axe swings across the city, with no leads and hazy recollections from surviving victims.

His reputation more devil than man, The Axman mocks the citizens of New Orleans through a chilling letter to the newspaper, actually claiming to be a hellish demon. His ominous taunt: he will spare those who revel in the devil’s music, jazz, during his chosen night of killing.

New Orleans residents play jazz all night long, the rhythmic pulse of a city held captive by fear.

Venture deep into the soul of New Orleans where secrets thicken the humid air, and mingle with the spirits, in this thrilling can’t-miss homage to one of the most vibrant and culturally rich American cities.

My Take:
I was not familiar with this history of New Orleans. This book felt evocative-I could feel the swampiness and apparitions. I would recommend this book to people who like historical mysteries, intrigued by New Orleans, and don't mind their genre bending to include horror.

As someone from the New Orleans area, I am very familiar with this story. In fact, I know several people who still play Jazz on the anniversary of the crime(s). A fabulous read. Definitely recommend.

First of all, I love this case! It is one of my all time favorites to teach about, and my high school students love trying to solve it. I’m also madly in love with NOLA. The research for this book is meticulous and well done. However, the transitions between the fact sections of the book and the fiction sections are clunky and really need an editor to smooth them out. Also, the fantastical elements of the story were a little surprising. I like the way the author wove the Axman into the burning of the opera house, but the resolution of the book was a bit cliched. With some reworking, this could be wonderful, but it’s not there yet.

Retired Detective Giancarlo Rabito spends his days writing about his years on the police force. When an old unmasked adversary begins killing his fellow Sicilians once again he finds himself wrapped up in helping police and journalists find the Axeman.
This book contains some great apt descriptions of New Orleans, the Italian-American experience, and actual research of the infamous murders.
I had high hopes for this book as the premise had so much promise. However, the novel fell very short of those expectations. The sheer amount of extrapolation and over-explaining really took me out of the novel. It reads more like a historical fiction novel (emphasis on the historical) and has very little in terms of mystery and thriller.

This book was absolutely terrible, I got to 20% and gave up. The word Sicilian was literally every other word in the first chapter, there was far too much focus on this. There was too much focus on Giancarlo’s history, not the story.
The writing felt all over the place and not cohesive.
Thank you for giving me an Arc

The Devil’s Jazz by Vincent B. LoCoco is a historical fiction novel with elements of thrill and horror laced in. LocCoco brings the Big Easy to life with his skillfully crafted, deeply researched, and gripping tale of suspense and horror of the Axman. In 1918 the city of New Orleans's large population of Sicilian immigrants became the target of the Axmen. Giancarlo Rabito retires just as the Axmen begin his rain of terror. He is reluctantly drawn into the entanglement of pursuit to catch the Axmen. This proves challenging as the widespread belief that the Mafia is involved and responsible. The population of New Orleans becomes widespread with hysteria as each gruesome crime is committed by the axe-swinging madman. The police have no leads, only the hazy recollections from the few surviving victims. The Axman’s reputation grows more when he mocks the people of New Orleans with a letter in the newspaper. He claims he is a hellish demon, but will spare those who revel in the devil’s music, jazz, during a chosen night of killing. Captivated by fear the citizens of New Orleans play jazz all night long, but is it enough to stop the Axman once and for all?

I had high hopes that going into this novel, it would be a serial killer thriller. Unfortunately, that is not what The Devil’s Jazz genre is. I would say this novel is 85% historical fiction with 15% of it being a thriller. When I say thriller take it very lightly. I will credit the author who researched or knew his facts on the city and aspects around this time. The details of history were in-depth. The bouncing from history lesson to crime scene is where this book lost me along with being slow for the first 80% and then picking up the last 20%. Overall just not a book I would normally read for enjoyment. Thank you to NetGalley for the copy in return for an honest review.

The book was good. The main character was interesting and anything "Detective" like is always a plus in my book. however, I found that sometimes the story deviated from the main character and focus a lot on the surrounding and story of the city and its places of notability, which stretch the books by a lot, perhaps this is what a Historical Fiction book is supposed to be like, and this being my first, is something new to me.

The authors has a gift for transporting the reader to the places he is describing, you can almost smell the city in your mind.

If you are into Historical Fiction this is a good choice to read.

This book intrigued me with its historical fiction aspect as well as the murder mystery angle. It’s based on the story of the Axman, a serial killer who terrorized the city of New Orleans in the early 1900s. It’s a fictional tale that successfully blends in historical aspects of the city and its citizens. I didn’t especially love the characters but the story itself was good. And the accurate depictions of historical New Orleans make up for any other shortcomings.

I wasn’t familiar with the Axman of New Orleans and was drawn to this book to learn more about him. This was an interesting telling of the story. I felt it embraced the essence of New Orleans. I didn’t realize there was a Sicilian population in New Orleans. What the Axeman did to his victims was horrific and the author did a good job of describing the details. The ending wrapped it up well.

Thank you to the author, Cefalutana Press, and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

As a fan of historical fiction, murder mysteries, and New Orleans, this book checked a LOT of boxes. The historical aspects of this book were incorporated in a way that a reader could explore a topic further on their own while the details stayed relevant to the story. (Sometimes historical bits are forced into a storyline, I didn't feel that with this book.) I loved how the author told the stories of beautiful New Orleans and included things which aren't general knowledge, including the Sicilian history.
At the end did I want more? Yes! There are facets of this book that leave me unsettled, as a good mystery should. Did the author do it justice, absolutely.

Being a Louisiana resident, I truly love exploring the city and learning about all the mysteries and true crimes that occurred there. Really, if you ever get the chance= take a mule ride or a ghost tour and thank me later. There's a feel there that you'll never quite experience anywhere else, and this book delivered on giving me that vibe. The Axman is a story mentioned in every true crime museum- but it's still technically unsolved, which made for a somewhat disjointed plot wise book. I think LoCoco did an excellent job with such an interesting story full of folklore and intrigue.

This was such a wonderful read!
New Orleans is my favorite city so the wonderful descriptions of the city were fantastic. It painted New Orleans in a way I could truly envision.
The overall narrative with the retired detective was fantastic and well done.
The true crime aspect of the story was so well researched that it really grabbed you, but didn't take away from all the other aspects of the story.

This book was beautifully written, and I enjoyed every page. The writing style was very artistic and poetic. The author had a way of making you feel like you were in New Orleans. The characters were well written, and the plot was planned very well. I enjoyed the weaving of historical fiction, supernatural and true crime all in one book. It was interesting and fascinating at the same time. I was hooked from the first page. I can't wait for more from this author.

Thank you Net Galley ARC and Cefalutana Press

Would have loved to read this as fiction also. It's a good true crime book about a time and place that is very interesting and creepy. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for this free eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I am grateful to have received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This was a very smooth, engaging, fast, and intriguing mystery. The historical details are a phenomenal and added bonus to the mystery of the Axman murders. Readers not only get to experience the chilling mystery of the murders, and fears and conspiracies of the residents, but also get to enjoy additional details about the history of New Orleans and the Voodoo and Jazz culture during the time period. I even watched a documentary about this time period while reading the book because these additional details were so intriguing. I also very quickly connected with the main character and secondary characters, and maintained that connection, empathizing with and rooting for him and them throughout the book, which also helps pull you into the story. This is a great, entertaining, and quick read that is full of information and mystery to keep you hooked!

The Devil's Jazz: The Haunted Chronicles of the Axman of New Orleans, A Novel by Vincent B. "Chip" LoCoco was received directly from the publisher and I chose to review it. I had never read the author but I have been to New Orleans many times, for what that is worth. The fiction book based on true events. The book is, at times, a crime procedural book that is interesting, mostly never boring and has a nice history of New Orleans, jazz, some voodoo and of course New Orleans spirits, of both the ghostly and alcohol kind. If you, or someone you buy gifts for enjoys New Orleans or ghosts, serial killers, this book could be a nice holiday gift.

4 Stars

I went into this expecting a normal non-fiction book about the murders. I started out upset at getting a novel, but as I kept going I was surprised at how good this was.