The Axeman

During a rainy stretch in New Orleans right after the end of World War I, a serial killer stalks the city. The killing method is by ax, and the conceit is a tarot card left behind at the crime scene. Michael Talbot, a shunned police detective, gets saddled with the case, while Ida Davis, an ambitious young black girl with a fondness for Sherlock Holmes, pursues the murderer on her own, in hopes of starting her detecting career. The Mafia has its own interest in finding the Axeman, too. Celestin's first novel is immersed in noir atmosphere, and the characters are engaging enough. But the mystery is slow to build, especially with three detectives and three viewpoints, and a teenage Louis Armstrong is only a tagalong to the female PI. It's based on an actual unsolved case that covered 17 months rather than the two months depicted here. The ending comes at the reader from all directions, like a Gulf storm.