Whack Job: A History of Axe Murder

In this gleefully grisly cultural history, true crime author James (The Man from the Train) focuses not on a single incident, but on an instrument of murder: the axe. She begins with the weapon’s ancient origins, first as a crude stone tool circa 1.6 million years ago, then as the more refined battle axe. From there, she examines the axe’s role in various civilizations, from the enameled axes enshrined in the tombs of Egyptian royalty to the Vikings’ use of axes as a symbol of power. The history is breezy and informative, but James really flexes her narrative muscles in the book’s back half, where she recounts more contemporary axe murders. Particularly lurid is the case of two suburban Texas housewives—Betty Gore and Candy Montgomery—whose fight over a man ended with Montgomery whacking Gore in the head more than 40 times, then getting acquitted after pleading self-defense. Also entertaining is the section on the legendary Lizzie Borden, whom James posits may not have been an axe murderer at all, since her murder weapon was never found. Little here feels revelatory, but James keeps the pages turning. It’s a bit of macabre fun. Agent: Laura Usselman, Stuart Krichevsky Literary. (May)