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.

Whack Job by Rachel McCarthy James is exceptionally well-researched, offering a deep dive into the history of axes and axe murders. I learned more about the topic than I ever expected, and the level of detail is impressive. While the content itself can be a little boring at times, the author’s passion for the subject and the thorough research make it a fascinating read. It’s clear that James poured a lot of dedication into this book, and that effort shines through, making it a unique and insightful experience for readers interested in this niche subject.

Whack Job is about the history of axe murder, or at least, that's what it purports to be. The author fails to provide a definition of "axe murder," which results in a lack of structure and clarity. For many, "axe murder" encompasses interpersonal violence, in which an individual yields an axe to end the life of another. It's personal, it's individual. The word "murder" itself has a strict definition, especially in a legal sense. McCarthy James not only includes such instances of interpersonal violence in her book, but also state executions, war deaths, and even unknown deaths. To me, a state execution sanctioned by the King of England is not the same as Lizzie Borden or an unknown assailiant killing two people with an axe in the home. McCarthy James can include anything she wants in her book, but the lack of definition and the varying stories under vastly different circumstances result in an disjointed narrative. It also means the title is quite misleading. I feel the book is more about death by axe, rather than strictly "axe murders."

Additionally, there are a few glaring omissions in Whack Job. The Axeman of New Orleans is not covered, nor is Karla Faye Tucker. McCarthy James also briefly mentions the Villisca Axe Murders, but I felt she could've expanded on them more. I am aware she wrote an entire book on the subject, but I, and perhaps many others, have not read that book. I don't necessarily want to read a whole other book on the subject, when it could be summarized in a book that is supposed to be about axe murder.

Another issue I found is there is no overarching thesis. The chapters are seemingly cobbled together without a cohesive throughline. In the introduction, McCarthy James talks a great deal about how axe murder became comedic, but doesn't flesh it out further. She also says the axe was such a commonplace item, not at all special because it was so ubiquitious. But then she discusses examples where the axe was proudly displayed in royal courts as shows of power and that certain axes are indeed unique. So, which is it? Is she arguing that they're commonplace or special? Or both? Again, it's not clear or fleshed out.

Finally, I am not a fan of the writing style. I felt the sentences were clunky and long-winded. I think an editor needs to pass through this another time for both grammatically errors (I found a few) and to tighten up the writing.

There were a couple of positive elements of Whack Job. I appreciate McCarthy James' extensive research into the history of axes and deaths by axe. I also enjoyed the last few chapters of the book, which featured axe murders (interpersonal violence) between individuals that I had not been aware of. They were fascinating stories and I am pleased she included them. Overall, I wish the book was more like the last few chapters, because that is what I initially expected from the title, description, and front cover.

Halfway through the introduction to Whack Job I thought, "Man...this author knows a LOT about axes." Then I started to worry that maybe she knew too much about axes, you know? Like when you go to a party and compliment someone's sweater and then it turns out they made it themselves and you spend the next half hour hearing about it. Just me? Anyway, my worry was unfounded. Yes, Rachel McCarthy James knows A LOT about axes; no, it wasn't too much and I was riveted throughout the book.

Billed as a history of axe murder, Whack Job reminds me of those "history of the X in 20 objects" books only here all of the objects are axes. We learn about axes used by cavemen, in ancient Egypt and Greece, by Vikings, during Henry VIII's tyrannical reign, and on and on. There's a chapter for Lizzie Borden, as one would expect, and the author neatly sums up exactly why the case is weird and impossible to solve for sure (even though Lizzie probably did it).

I learned a lot about axes, yes, but also about people through the ages and the fact that axes, once a crucial part of everyday life for everyday people, have pretty much died out as far as household tools go. Some people have one lying around, and if you burn wood or go camping regularly you're more likely to use one, but for most of us Target shoppers and suburbia dwellers we can go our entire adult lives without hefting one.

I really enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone with a passing interest in true crime, axes, or general history. There are a ton of interesting anecdotes here that I'll do my best to keep to myself so I don't talk about them constantly and freak people out. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC.

I went into this book with the wrong expectations and I think that influenced my reading experience. That being said this does dig in deep to a topic and I learned things but I’m not sure this was the topic for me.

Wow! I didn’t know i needed a history of axes, but here we are. This was so entertaining and informative.

I was drawn to this book because I hoped it would be a fairly concise and quick overview of an interesting topic. I wouldn't call myself a true crime fan, but I do like reading books on the topic from time to time, so this seemed like a good choice for me.

Unfortunately, this book is only kind of what it claims to be. The summary says Whack Job is "[a] brilliant and bloody examination of the axe's foundational role in human history, from prehistoric violence, to war and executions, to newspaper headlines and popular culture", but the subtitle of the book specifically says it's a "history of axe murder". I feel like the summary gives a more accurate idea of the contents of this book. Rather than being about "axe murder" (a term the author never really defines), I thought this book was more about axes in general. Some chapters barely even feature axe-related violence. Around halfway through when we get to the chapter on Lizzie Borden, the book truly becomes a look at axe murders, but before that it's a very unorganized collection of historical anecdotes that might happen to involve an axe.

The first half of the book also felt very surface-level in its analysis of both the historical events and the importance of the axe in that specific historic and cultural moment. If everything leading up to Henry XIII's chapter had been condensed into one chapter just running through the history and significance of axes in various cultures with some anecdotes thrown in, I don't think much would be lost.

(The chapter on Henry VIII straddles the line between "tangentially axe-related" and "actual axe murder". I would say that a state-sanctioned execution is murder, but I wouldn't classify a beheading as "axe murder". Which goes back to the problem of the author not clearly defining her parameters for what is and isn't an axe murder.)

As for the structure of the book, I didn't really like the way the chapters were set up. The first part of each chapter (i.e., the largest/main part) is about a specific incident of "axe murder". The very end of each chapter is a short introduction to specific type of axe. The axe introduced at the end of one chapter tells you where the next chapter will take place (e.g., the second chapter ends with a description of the yue, a type of Chinese axe, and the third chapter talks about China). I personally didn't like that. I would've preferred a shorter paragraph about the axe as an epigraph at the beginning of the axe's relevant chapter.

Also, the author's writing style just didn't work for me. She is trying to inject some humor into the narrative to make a pretty grim topic a bit more bearable. But the jokes just didn't land for me personally.

While the second half of this book was quite enjoyable, that doesn't cancel out my many problems with the first half. There was a major lack of focus throughout and some pretty lackluster writing.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Wow I really loved this! I went in already expecting to like it just based on the fact that I love a niche deep dive, but the author really surpassed my expectations.

The story was linear, easy to follow, engaging and struck just the right balance between thoughtful, respectful and humorous.

Would absolutely recommend this one

Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me a copy of this book.
I really wanted to love this book, given my affinity for both true crime and history, but I think I expected something somewhat different, and that's on me. There are a lot of facts, clearly a lot of research happening, and also some opinions thrown in. There newer information and on (and I'm talking about Henry VIII, so that gives you an idea of how far back the researched information goes) is more relatable, as it is more familiar. I have to say that up until that point it wasn't as gripping. Loved the second half/two-thirds of the book.

I don't always believe authors need to give people exactly what they are expecting. Some of the best stories can come out of nowhere. I am reminded of Patrick Radden Keefe's amazing Say Nothing. It was billed as a true crime story about a woman who was disappeared. It was a bit of a misdirection, but Keefe ultimately told such an exceptional story that myself (and a lot of other people based on reviews) let it slide without a peep. I bring this up because Rachel McCarthy James's Whack Job: A History of the Axe Murder is quite misleading in a bad way.

When you think "axe murder", you probably think of Lizzie Borden. She is chapter 9 out of 12 in this book. For historical true crime junkies (guilty!), you also think of the Axeman of New Orleans. The Axeman is not in this book. What is in this book is a hodgepodge of killings that most people would not define as axe murders. In fact, Lizzie Borden at chapter 9 is probably the first axe murder in the narrative. Before that are political executions, early man killings (maybe!) with something sharp, and stories which may actually be myths.

Now, I always say the author gets to write the book they want and not what the reader wants. James is allowed to define the term axe murder any way she wants. However, James doesn't even fully define what an axe murder is from her perspective at any point (pun intended!) in the book. This causes another major problem with the question of what is the book really about? Is it just a loose list of killings with a sharp object? Is there anything deeper here? By the end , I did not find any real analysis or reason for this book to exist.

There is also a major tone problem. James will often times write almost flippantly or casually and then will veer off and quote a scholar or academic. I don't have a problem with either approach, but mixing them together makes it seem like two books jammed together. It also leads James to use some gross word choices or be overly simplistic about events around what she is writing. I read an ARC, so I won't quote directly from the source, but I sincerely hope the author and publisher take a second look at the section on the Korean axe murder incident where two U.N. officers were murdered. It is a shallow explanation and vaguely dismissive of a tragedy.

(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and St. Martin's Press.)

A fascinating read on a topic that permeates culture. I found this to be a really interesting read as it wove the history of axe murders in a comprehensive narrative that made sense. After hearing about so many through movies and pop culture, it was interesting to see where the folktales and actual happenstances came from and how they influence our interpretations of them today.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for this ARC for an exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for providing this ARC for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Whack Job: A History of Axe Murder by Rachel McCarthey James is a pop nonfiction title with an eye-popping title and an even snappier subject. While the book bills itself as a walk through the human history of “axe murder” the book doesn’t seem to find its footing.

From the start, the very definition of ‘axe murder’ never really gets pinned down. In order to create a cohesive history of anything, parameters help create some guidance as to what’s of narratrice violence. Across the chapters the “axe murder” vacillates as wildly from ‘inconclusive evidence of early hominid violence with blunt tool’ to ‘political executions.’ Neither of these things really seem to fit the model and make it seem as if perhaps there aren’t data points to create a full story. The book is notably brief and skips known axe murders like the early 1900s Axeman of New Orleans, which is a somewhat confusing omission.

The other element that really holds the book back is the lack of cohesion. Across the several chapters there is very little cohesion, very little thesis. With the exception of the brief sections at the end of the chapters, the chapters feel more like a series of dots than a true “line.” The writing, like the chapters, at times couldn’t seem to pick a tone. In certain chapters the tone bordered on scholarly and dry and in others it was peppered with asides from the author. While the intrusion of some snark from the author isn’t unwanted in a good pop nonfiction piece, it’s the inconsistency that really struck me.

The book was not totally without bright spots. When the author gets it right, they really do a wonderful job of creating dynamic and interesting vignettes. The balance of scene setting and facts was particularly good in the chapters about Lizzie Borden and the murders at Taliesin.

For the truly voracious true crime reader who had an appetite for knowing about any and all things morbid, this could be an interesting read. That being said, I thought the issues in macro editing and tonal choices did not make it something I’d personally recommend. 2/5.

Thank you to the author/publisher and Netgalley for a copy of this book.

I thought this would be more true crime storyline driven but it started off with a large history about the backstory of axes lol. It was still an interesting read but just an FYI before jumping into a story that you might think to be different.

Whack Job by Rachel McCarthy James, this was a great book with lots of crimes I never heard of and then some I have the one thing they all have in common is all the murders were done with the axe. If you find True Crime is interesting as I do you definitely find the stories enjoyable as much as one can enjoy True Crime. I like this book as much as I liked miss James‘s first book with her dad Bill, which was called The Man From The Train, another True Crime book I absolutely enjoyed and was obsessed with and this one is equally as interesting. I totally totally recommend it. #NetGalley, #RachelMcCarthyJames, #WhackJob,.

As a historian who loves niche topics, I loved this book. I enjoyed how it was structured and I found the tone to be just light enough while holding space for the heavy stories it was telling. I think it could have benefited from some edits and images, but I will be recommending it to anyone who likes nonfiction!

I loved this so much. Great historical research, fantastic stories, and a wonderful writing style. I hope the actual book has illustrations that didn't show up on my kindle because some of these axes sound like they look amazing.

This book was a little bit dull and boring for me. It was too dense and it made it very very hard to get through. I really wanted to DNF this book but I struggled on..

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complementary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

***Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this upcoming book***
While not what I was initially expecting based on the cover and description of the book, this was a very entertaining and informative look at the history of axe murders. What I didn’t expect was the book to go back literally to the beginning of human life on earth and provide history lessons on how the axe was created and the part it played in the lives of these early humans. There was a long section about Viking society and the axe’s role in that as well. All of it was well researched, thoughtful and often times hilarious….as hilarious as a book about axe murders can be!

This would be a great addition to any true crime fan’s shelf or for anyone who likes their history a little tongue in cheek. Before reading this, I had no idea that this is the same author who co-wrote The Man from the Train, which I own but haven’t had a chance to split open (see what I did there?) yet. Now, I am very much looking forward to doing so!