The Music of Murder: A True Crime Tale from Jazz Age New Orleans – The Axe Man Files

Unsolved Murders, Jazz Panic, and the Legend That Haunted a City

De: Eliza Hawthorne

Narrado por: Virtual Voice

In the shadowed streets of Jazz Age New Orleans, music filled the air, fear crept through locked doors, and a killer walked freely.

Between 1918 and 1919, a series of brutal attacks gripped New Orleans. Victims were struck in their own homes, often with their own axes. No clear pattern emerged. No suspect was ever convicted. And amid the chaos, the city found itself confronting a chilling reality: the murderer seemed to strike in rhythm with the music and madness of the era.

The Music of Murder is a deeply researched narrative examination of the Axeman of New Orleans, one of America’s earliest and most unsettling serial killer cases. Set against the backdrop of a city defined by jazz, superstition, and social upheaval, this book reconstructs the crimes, the investigation, and the cultural panic that followed.

Author Eliza Hawthorne weaves historical records, contemporary newspaper accounts, police reports, and social history into a gripping true crime narrative that captures both the facts of the case and the atmosphere of a city on edge. Readers are taken inside the homes of victims, into the minds of investigators, and through the streets where rumors spread faster than the truth.

This book explores the infamous letter attributed to the killer, the role of music and fear in public response, and the limitations of early twentieth-century policing. It also examines how race, class, and misinformation shaped the investigation and influenced which lives were prioritized and which were overlooked.

Inside this book, readers will uncover:

• A detailed timeline of the Axeman attacks and known victims
• The historical context of New Orleans during the Jazz Age
• The investigation’s most compelling suspects and theories
• The role of media, panic, and superstition in shaping public fear
• Why this case remains unsolved more than a century later

Written in a narrative nonfiction style, The Music of Murder reads like a detective story while remaining grounded in documented history. It avoids sensationalism, focusing instead on evidence, context, and the human cost of unresolved violence.

As part of the Shadows of the Past series, this book shines a light on forgotten crimes that still echo through time. It is ideal for readers who enjoy historical true crime, unsolved serial cases, and richly detailed accounts of America’s darker past.

Some killers vanish into history. Others leave a rhythm that never fades.
Step into the Jazz Age and uncover the chilling mystery of the Axeman of New Orleans.