You’d think that a book that claims to be a history of axe murder would have more axe murder. 

Apparently not. 

I didn’t know I was settling in for chapter after chapter of dry and inconsistent storytelling about the history of the axe and how it was used in killing throughout the centuries. It’s not the subject matter of those chapters I object to, it’s the manner in which they were conveyed. At times McCarthy James is witty and even sounds like she’s geeking out a little, but then she’ll swing abruptly into a dense academic narrative that makes you feel like you need to pump the brakes and change gears yourself before you can continue reading. It’s not smooth and made for a less enjoyable read than this book could have been. 

Overall, I think I would’ve liked this book to just be more consistent overall: it couldn’t decide what it was or how it wanted to be told. 

I was pre-approved for a copy of this title as part of the SMP Early Readers Program via NetGalley. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. All reviews rated three stars or under will not appear in my social media. Thank you.