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The Axemans Jazz - Ray Celestin #inbetweeney

This has probably been my favourite inbetweeny so far. It was a present from my mum who liked the look of the cover. Based very loosely on real events it took place in New Orleans in the 1920s when jazz, racism and the mafia were rife.

I really enjoyed the three thronged approach used by Celestin. Who out of the three detectives was going to catch the killer?, could they all be right or were their clues/trails leading them down the garden path?

The 'catching' of the killer (sorry trying to not give too much away) was perhaps the weakest part of the book but I loved the ending and went away frantically googling Louis Armstrong to learn more.

I liked both Michael and Luca and wanted them to make up. I questioned early on how things would pan out for Luca – realistically how could he ever escape the mafia either in Italy or America?

Celestin really caught the flavour of New Orleans, the grizzly underworld of prostitution, opium and poverty coupled with the flair of its music and its general noise. I enjoyed the characters back stories even though they had no part in pushing the plot forward.

If you like crime stories but are sick of the old clichés (burnt out cop, divorced, teetering on alcoholism, traumatised from a previous case) this is a refreshing change that is well worth a read.

It's a stay on the shelfer for me


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