Man with an Axe: A Detective Sergeant Mullheisen Mystery (Detective Sergeant Mulheisen Mysteries) [Paperback]

Jon A. Jackson (Author)

Book Description

Series: Detective Sergeant Mulheisen Mysteries | Publication Date: February 5, 1999

Detroit Detective Sergeant "Fang" Mulheisen is about to begin an investigation into the mystery surrounding a headless corpse when a young kid arrives with an e-mail cartoon message addressed to Mulheisen. Soon the detective is being led on a scavenger hunt that takes him into modern jazz history, the Detroit police archives, and the notebook diaries of Grootka, his now-dead mentor .

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Two dead legends?real-life Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa and Jackson's fictional Grootka, the take-no-prisoners mentor of Detroit homicide detective Sgt. Fang Mulheisen?grab center stage in the seventh book in Jackson's lively, quirky series (after Dead Folks, 1996). The sound of jazz music (the titular "axe" is in fact a saxophone) also permeates the story: Grootka was a devoted fan, and Mulheisen so thoroughly shares his passion that he describes an attractive researcher who has a grant to dig into Grootka's past as looking like "the great Detroit jazz pianist Geri Allen. The same bright look, the vitality and obvious intelligence." The book begins on the day of Hoffa's disappearance?July 30, 1975?as gifted tenor saxophonist Tyrone Addison reluctantly rescues the labor leader from gangster assassins and hides him at his uncle's house on Turtle Lake, a resort favored by blacks in upstate Michigan. Twenty years later, long after both Hoffa and Addison have disappeared, Mulheisen finds a series of notebooks left by Grootka and reopens his late friend's investigation. The constant switching between the present, narrated by Mulheisen, and the past, told in the third person, gives the narrative a two-step jerkiness. But Mulheisen is, as always, a smart and mordant observer of his hometown's eccentricities, and Jackson remains a master of irreverent, hard-boiled comedy.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Through five novels, Jackson's Fang Mulheisen series quietly established itself as perhaps the toughest, most darkly comic, consistently superior American procedural on the market. Then, with the publication of Dead Folks (1996), the chorus of critical praise grew to a crescendo, and the word was finally out. Now comes number seven, and there is no reason to stop shouting. Jackson bites off a lot here--a plot hinging on who killed Jimmy Hoffa; a narrative structure in which much of the story is told in the form of a dead cop's diary--but for the most part, he pulls it off superbly. The diary interludes impede narrative flow just a bit, but they allow Jackson to resurrect Fang's delightfully obscene former partner, Grootka, who posthumously leads Fang on a scavenger hunt into the past, revealing not only what happened to Hoffa but also why it happened and who was involved. The explanation has the ring of plausible speculation, but more important, it works as fiction, as does the parallel plot strain involving a saxophone player who makes the mistake of giving Hoffa a ride. Like Loren Estleman's Amos Walker series and the early Elmore Leonard novels, Jackson makes the most of Detroit's mean streets and Mob-stained history, but in addition to these obvious connections, the rumpled, jazz-loving, crotchety but empathetic Fang has a perfect complement across the ocean in the form of John Harvey's bedraggled British copper, Charlie Resnick. Anyone who sits on the hard-boiled side of the aisle and hasn't yet met Fang Mulheisen is in for a rare treat. Bill Ott --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Grove Press; First Edition. 1 in numberline edition (February 5, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802136036
• ISBN-13: 978-0802136039
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,164,081 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Boppin' With Cool Jazz, December 2, 2001

By 

sweetmolly (RICHMOND, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Man with an Axe: A Detective Sergeant Mullheisen Mystery (Detective Sergeant Mulheisen Mysteries) (Paperback)

"Max With An Axe" is Mr. Jackson's 7th "Fang" Mulheisen's novel. The story is soaked with music and is pure Detroit. As a first-time reader of Mr. Jackson with no knowledge of Detroit and not near as much jazz intelligence as I thought I had; I felt very much the latecomer to the party. This series is one that definitely should be read in order. However, this may require some perseverance because many of the earlier books are out of print. The endeavor would be worthwhile because Mr. Jackson is a writer with a difference. He has a smoky, almost opaque flavor that is very addictive.

The story has a good hook, i.e., "what really happened to Jimmy Hoffa?" The tale is very plausible; one that getting there is half the fun. The characters are indelible, not a hero in the bunch. "Fang" so-called because of his wolverine smile (?) is an edgy cop, always faintly dissatisfied with himself. He'd like to be totally stone (he loves his nickname), yet be seen as a cultured man. He tries to quickly and subtly convince an educated acquaintance of his equal intellectuality. Unfortunately, subtlety is not Fang's long suit. You need to acquaint yourself quickly with many of the characters, because a goodly number are not going to be around very long. Mr. Jackson doesn't telegraph his punches, and you are as surprised as the victims at their sudden demise. The author has a knack for women characters; he is one of the few who lets them first develop as people, then gradually develops their feminine aspect, first and foremost how it affects themselves and secondly its effect on others. I consider this unusual.

This is an enjoyable multi-layered novel. It requires some thought and insight by the reader and engenders empathy with some fairly low-life types. Recommended.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If Jackson only wrote for the Sopranos, March 8, 2004

By 

Michael Moore (Statesboro,, Georgia USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Man with an Axe: A Detective Sergeant Mullheisen Mystery (Detective Sergeant Mulheisen Mysteries) (Paperback)

Think of how much fun that would be. I started reading Jackson when he first started and would catch back up to him every four or five years. So I am catching back up. It was great to see Grootka resurrected and so in character. This novel is a lot of fun with all the Jackson trademarks of character, Detroit life, music, etc. The only other writer in this genre who I think is as good as Jackson in similar ways (DC life and popular culture) is George Pelacanos. If you are new to this author don't start here. It pays to start at the beginning simply because it is more fun that way.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Man with an Axe, July 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Man with an Axe: A Detective Sergeant Mullheisen Mystery (Detective Sergeant Mulheisen Mysteries) (Paperback)

I loved this book, I am originally from Detroit, and I found this to be a very, well written book, the author obviously loves Detroit and does a credible job of describing Detorit in the 1970's.