User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
The world was not warm or welcoming for gay men in the 1980s. Discrimination, bias and inexplicable hate made for an uncomfortable existence, at best. Not only was homosexuality grossly misunderstood; but AIDS was becoming a familiar fear for everyone.
Repercussions could be very real for any openly-gay man. Life turned from unpleasant to terrifying with the discovery of a dismembered male body. And later, another grisly, heart-wrenching find. More would follow.
Law enforcement was not convinced that the scarily-similar manner of disposal connected the crimes. Faint lines leading to New York City piano bars— where gay men felt somewhat safe—seemed more than a stretch. Prejudices towards the victims’ “life-styles” and the lack of a crime scene, coupled with “dump sites” in different jurisdictions, meant that these crimes were not priorities.
Family members, friends, Lesbian and Gay Advocate Groups would not allow these deaths to be ignored, though. Patrons, pianists, and bartenders all mentioned one man, in particular. The suspect was a nurse at a NYC hospital, but no one knew more than that.
In the same way that stellar wait-staff are inconspicuous when their service is spot-on, Mr. Green simply sets everything up, almost allowing each man to tell his own story.
This review was written by jv poore for Buried Under Books, with huge “Thank You!” to Celadon Books for the Advance Review Copy, which I will donate to my favorite high-school classroom library.
Rating: really liked it
This is a really great true crime book about the last call killer, who I knew nothing about. This book was so descriptive and so informative, it felt like I was listening to a true crime podcast.
Rating: really liked it
While reading a back issue of “The Advocate” a few years ago, journalist Elon Green came across an article about a serial killer that terrorized New York in the late ‘80s/early ‘90s. How could it be that he’d never heard of these "Last Call Killer" murders? He turned to the internet to learn more, only to discover there wasn’t even a Wikipedia page about the LCK.
Green set out to tell the full story of the crime spree, which was specifically targeted at gay males who frequented The Townhouse Bar in Manhattan. The backdrop of the times, naturally and tragically, was the height of the AIDS epidemic and raging homophobia.
Last Call paints a vibrant portrait of not only the brutal crimes but also the zeitgeist of the era. Much more time is devoted to the victims’ stories than the killer himself. Some readers may find this approach unsatisfying, but I very much appreciated it. In fact, I even had to google the name of the killer again while writing this review. His arrest and trial are almost afterthoughts in the book, and since it clocks in at a mere 272 pages, a little more detail there could have been warranted.
Last Call is a very worthy entry into the canon of 20th century true crime exposés, and a must read for anyone looking to learn more about these crimes. As of today, there’s still not even a Wikipedia page about them.
Blog: https://www.confettibookshelf.com/
IG: @confettibookshelf
Rating: really liked it
”Ten minutes short of three o’clock on a moderately warm Sunday afternoon, a turnpike maintenance worker was emptying the green barrels at a rest area in Lancaster County on the westbound side of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. He was looking for aluminum cans to sort, when he pulled hard on a plastic trash bag that he simply couldn’t lift. A strong five foot six, he’d never had a problem emptying the barrels in the six years on the job. What’s in this bag that I can’t lift?
Annoyed, he rooted around for a stick, and opened the bag. ‘But every time I opened one bag there was another bag,’ he recalled years later.
Another poke, another bag. Another poke, another bag. Another poke, another bag.
He assumed it was a deer carcass. Now he realized it was, in all likelihood, something more sinister.
When he finally got the last bag opened--eight in total--he couldn’t make out what it was.
‘It looked like a loaf of bread,’ he says. ‘But then I saw freckles.’”It all begins with a John Doe.
But the story doesn’t begin with a dead body. This John Doe had a life before he was found brutally murdered. He had family and friends who cared about him. He had a successful career. We can hope that the discovery of his dismembered body in a turnpike trash can isn’t the end of his story. There are questions that need answers. His narrative must continue, and the only people who can insure that it continues are the detectives investigating his murder. They must write the end of his story.
They must find his killer. This murder is just a random act of brutal violence until they find another dismembered body and then another. The killer doesn’t disarticulate the bodies, but saws them apart through the bones. He double bags and double knots to make sure the bags don’t leak fluid. The bodies are of small men, middle aged men, and as they begin to ID these men, they start to realize a pattern.
They are all gay men.
They are in the closet.
They are all successful men, except one.
It is the 1990s, and violence against gay men is at an all time high. The AIDS epidemic has made a bad situation worse. Roving bands of “heterosexual” men feel justified in beating the crap out of random men in New York they perceive to be gay. They are, in their small minds, cleansing the earth of a pestilence, and at the same time, they get to take out their failures and frustrations on a demographic that society has deemed contemptible.
I moved to San Francisco in the late nineties to pursue an opportunity to work for a prestigious bookstore. I can still remember when a staff member showed up to work with cuts, contusions, and a limp. He and a friend had been jumped and beaten coming home from a bar late at night. These attackers weren’t interested in robbing them. They were only interested in hurting them. It was hard for my friend to fathom the source of the rage that inspired these men to beat them so viciously. The older gay staff members all felt lucky to be alive as they had buried so many of their friends who had died horrible, lingering deaths from AIDS. After growing up in Kansas and going to college in Arizona, I was now getting a full education on what it meant to be gay in America.
They feel cursed because they are vilified, and God, if there is one, has turned his face away from them. They are seen as a weakness, a perversion in society by those who don’t understand how intelligent they are, how creative they are, and how caring they are. Still, I believed we were steadily moving forward to a more tolerant civilisation until 2016.
The problem back in the 1990s was to get the police to see that these crimes are not the murders of deviants and criminals, but the murders of people not that dissimilar from themselves. One police chief rails at his staff to leave their prejudices at home. Now, if these murdered men had been pretty women instead, then every effort would have been made to apprehend and stop the killer. The press would have demanded nothing less.
The author, Elon Green, is careful not to paint all the police with the same brush, but the police are a reflection of our society, and when we are racist, homophobic, and sexist, they feel very comfortable being so as well.
This killer picks his victims from patrons of gay bars and deems himself, appropriately, The Last Call Killer. Unlike other serial killers who have a wikipedia page with an in-depth listing of their notorious deeds, no such page exists for The Last Call Killer. It is as if there is a collective decision by those in
the know to make sure these murders remain hidden from the public eye. Elon Green has rescued this disconcerting history from the dusty archives. It is a tale some believe best forgotten. This book is the story of the victims, the role of society in their deaths, and of the perpetrator who preyed on these vulnerable men. The victims were men who had the audacity to seek, at least for a few hours, the safe haven of a gay bar with heavy pours, a show tunes piano player, and the atmosphere of normalcy towards the aspect of their character that the rest of society deemed perverse.
Green will weave you through the events of a decades long hunt for the killer. You will feel anger, bafflement, frustration, but in the end you will see the killer caught. It will feel like a muted justice though because, like me, most of you will think to yourself, why don’t I know about this? Why were these events kept out of the glare of the public eye for so long? Why was this narrative left for Elon Green to tell in 2021?
This story is much bigger than just a series of murders. It is about queer New York in the 1990s and the resilency of a community under the threat of AIDS, under the threat of being beaten or murdered, and their ability to adapt to societies demands that they remain closeted. Don’t forget this was the era when
Don’t ask Don’t tell began. Ignoring this story for so long was keeping the spotlight off of our collective prejudices. Thanks to Elon Green this dark time has been recast against the backdrop of the current issues with sexual orientation that continue to plague our society. The past and the present collide, but it doesn’t mean that we have to let the same issues cloud our future. Maybe we can achieve collective acceptance.
I would like to thank Lauren Dooley of Celadon Books for offering me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit http://www.jeffreykeeten.com
I also have a Facebook blogger page at:https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten and an Instagram account https://www.instagram.com/jeffreykeeten/
Rating: really liked it
This book deserves all the stars, and it completely broke my heart because it really happened. For true crime readers, this is a must for your lists.
The Last Call Killer went on a killing spree in the 80s and 90s, and his victims were gay men in New York. Abhorrently, according to the author, the murders didn't receive the attention they should have because of the time in which they happened. As a result, it took decades to solve them.
The book is about that manhunt, but it’s equally about the victims and sharing their stories. It’s also about the gay community of New York City, and in that way, Last Call is not your typical take on a true crime. It’s not a lengthy book, and in its brevity gets to the heart, beauty, and steadfastness of a community.
I received a gifted copy. All opinions are my own.
Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader
Rating: really liked it
First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Elon Green , and Celadon Books for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.There’s nothing better than a riveting piece of true crime, especially when it’s written by someone who can artfully present the story. Elon Green does well with Last Call, where he explores the murder of a handful of men whose connection to a gay bar in New York City eventually led to locating a killer no one suspected. Full of great descriptions, both of the victims and the LGBTQ+ scene in New York in the 1980s/90s, Green keeps the reader wanting to know more until the final reveal. Likely a piece true crime fans will want to add to their collection.
It all began with the discovery of a dismembered body along a Pennsylvania highway. When the authorities discovered the body, cut into pieces and bagged multiple times, they knew this was something that needed their undivided attention. With the help of some identification, found in a trash can up the road, the search began to better understand the victim and why he might have been targeted.
Green explores the victim and his ties to the LGBTQ+ community, which he colloquially calls the ‘queer scene’, and some of the local establishments in the early 1990s. This was at a time when gay rights were still not prominent and the police had less respect for an overall protection of citizens, no matter their orientation. There was also a comprehensive discussion to the ‘secret life’ lived by the victim, likely part of the veiled persona gay men presented at the time, while also holding down a job in a profession where homosexuality was not as accepted.
When a man is found killed and dismembered in New Jersey, officials are equally as baffled, but also quite intrigued at the attention paid to dispose of the body. This was not a simple slash and dump, but a detailed understanding of the body and how it is ‘assembled’, thereby providing key steps to cut and properly package a body before leaving it to be collected. The authorities noted this attention to detail could only have come from someone in the medical profession, or with access to the various tools.
Green circles back to explore gay rights and the LGBTQ+ scene in the early 1980s, particularly in the early years of HIV/AIDS. The detail offered about how medical professionals were downplaying it and then labelling it as a disease of homosexuals offers the reader some insight into how the community was treated and branded by the larger American society. Green depicts this so well and keeps the reader wondering as he slowly discusses progress and the emergence of gay rights amongst local and state politicians.
Green comes around to explore how one man’s long history of luring and attacking gay men as far back as the 1970s played a role in the identification of a person of interest. The meticulous planning and playacting to lure victims to his home helped to create a sense of calm, only to be destroyed after drugging and attacking these men. While the ending came together quickly in the final few chapters, the reader can see how a single lead, in the form of an expunged record of forensics, brought the case together, providing a termportary sense of relief to those who felt themselves constant targets.
While I am not a regular reader of true crime, I can respect those who enjoy the genre. Elon Green does a decentr job of piecing together the story and filling in many of the gaps he discovered in news coverage. Many of these cases are from close to three decades ago, when reporting was less thorough and not as easily accessed. As Green stresses throughout, it was also a time when ‘gay crimes’ were seen as more ‘unfortunate events’ than being on par with those of the heterosexual community.
While discussion of the crime scenes was great (who does not like to hear how the body was discovered in eight layers of bags?), it was the social commentary on gay rights and the HIV/AIDS situation in New York that had me quite intrigued. I wanted to see how things would progress and how little was done at a time when America (and much of the world) was still trying to come to terms with violence against some, while the authorities did nothing. Green effectively presents the struggles and issues with class, educating the reader throughout the book.
Green writes very effectively and efficiently, providing the reader what they need to understand how things fit together. There is some great social commentary on the legal acceptance of gay rights and how hate crimes were slow to catch up, all while HIV/AIDS became the face of the LGBTQ+ community. With chapters that vary from overviews of the situation to highly detailed, Green offers the reader what they need, told with a strong narrative that pushes the story along.
If I had to find a downside to the book, it would have to be the abrupt end to things. The last few chapters became more of a halting train than the smooth ride that the book presented beforehand. Once the killer’s identity became known, it was a rush through the legal process and the reader was left to sigh that this was not added to a pile of cold cases. Green’s great build up seemed almost trumped by that anti-climactic end.
Kudos, Mr. Green, for an interesting look into this series of crimes. I will have to see what else you’ve penned that may be of interest.
Be sure to check for my review, first posted on Mystery and Suspense, as well as a number of other insightful comments by other reviewers.
https://www.mysteryandsuspense.com/re...
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
Rating: really liked it
Author Elon GreenIn the early 1990s a serial killer was murdering gay men who frequented New York City bars and pick-up spots, but the crimes got little press coverage and passed below most people's radar. Now that true crime has become such a popular genre, Elon Green tells the story of the 'Last Call Killer', who eluded law enforcement for many years.
The story starts on May 5, 1991, when a maintenance worker on the Pennsylvania Turnpike found a body wrapped in plastic bags in a rest area trash can.
The victim was Peter Anderson, fifty-four, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The next year, on July 10, 1992, two New Jersey Department of Transportation employees found a disarticulated body in plastic bags at a rest stop in the Garden State.
The dead man was Thomas Mulcahy, fifty-seven, of Sudbury, Massachusetts.
Then on May 10, 1993, plastic bags containing the dismembered body of Anthony Edward Marrero, forty-four, of Philadelphia, was found on a roadway in New Jersey.
And finally, on July 31, 1993, the butchered body of Michael Sakara, fifty-six, from Manhattan, was found in plastic bags on a roadside in Rockland County, New York.
Road in Rockland County, New YorkWhen investigators on the separate cases shared information, it became clear a serial killer was at work, and authorities speculated about additional victims, as yet unfound. A multistate task force was assembled to catch the perpetrator, but the killer was elusive, and the endeavor took years.
In addition to describing the murders and the police investigations, author Elon Green delves into the history of the victims and the anti-gay atmosphere that forms the background for the crimes.
The 1900s were not friendly to queer people. A 1923 New York State law made it a criminal act for a man to even ASK another man for sex, and after WWII "the U.S. State Department was purged of gays and lesbians, whom Senator Joseph McCarthy deemed a threat to national security." Prejudice against gays increased when the AIDS pandemic started to spread in 1980, and gay-bashing in the streets of New York became common.
A man kneels down at a memorial for Mark Carson, after another man yelled homophobic slurs at him before shooting him in the head. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)Sadly, New York City law enforcement showed "systemic indifference" to crimes against queer people. As an example, Green writes about three gay men in Chelsea who were attacked by white kids with bats in 1980. "One man lost two teeth; another sustained thirty-six stitches to his forehead, a damaged eye, and a broken nose. Reporting such crimes to the police was considered not worth the trouble, for there was rarely any recourse. An activist told the Daily News, 'If you go to court and it's brought out that you're gay, the defense will make a bum out of you'." This feeling was commonplace, and many queer victims suffered in silence.
To meet in a relatively safe atmosphere, homosexual men would congregate in gay bars, which spanned the gamut from cheap joints to elegant piano bars. Green describes many New York City gay bars - their location, atmosphere, and clientele.
A gay dive bar in NYC
The Townhouse piano bar in NYCThe Townhouse, a gay bar that opened in 1989, was old-fashioned by design. Green writes, "Geographically, the Townhouse wasn't so far away from the noise and the grime and the cut-rate sex workers - walking distance even. But milling around that warm, inviting back room nursing a cocktail, a few feet away from the piano and elegantly attired men, you could almost pretend it was another country."
The police learned that several of the serial killer's victims frequented the Townhouse bar, which seemed to be a favorite hunting ground for the perp. The murderer was thought to pick up a victim near closing time, and he was dubbed the 'Last Call Killer. '
Serial killing, even of gay people, was anathema, and the push to protect the queer community was assisted by the Anti-Violence Project (AVP), which began on the cusp of the AIDS epidemic. Green details the birth and evolution of the AVP, which was instrumental in making the police and district attorney more accountable for anti-gay crime in New York.
The slayer is identified toward the latter part of the book, and Green outlines his background, appearance, profession, habits, modus operandi, etc.
The Last Call KillerThe author tried to interview the perp, but the killer refused to cooperate, so Green's analysis is incomplete, but still very informative.
The author's end-notes demonstrate how much research went into the book, which is an encompassing account of LGBTQ issues in 20th century New York and a fascinating story of the Last Call killer and his crimes....which began before he took the life of Peter Anderson in 1991. I don't want to give away spoilers, so for a complete picture, you'll have to read the book.
Thanks to Celadon Books for a review copy.
You can follow my reviews at https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot.com
Rating: really liked it
I received this Advanced Reading Copy from Celadon Books for an unbiased review.
It has been many years since I have read a true crime non-fiction book.
The book is well written and meticulously researched. I was impressed at the amount of research Elon Green did as well as the amount of detail he presents. The appealing thing is with all is with all the research and detail the book is not boring. In fact, it reads as if it was a novel. The story takes place in New York City in the 1980s-90s. It follows a serial killer of gay men during the AIDS’ epidemic. If you enjoy true crime stories, this book Is for you.
I read this as a soft back book. It contains 255 pages and is published in 2021 by Celadon Books.
Rating: really liked it
3.5 stars
In the 1980s and 1990s, the Last Call killer targeted gay men in New York. I've read quite a few true crime books over the years, and it's not hard to feel sorry for the victims and the loved ones they left behind. My heart weighed extra heavy after reading this book knowing due in part to the victims' sexuality not much attention was paid to the crimes back then or even now. What is also sad is knowing there are most likely other undiscovered victims of this serial killer.
If you do not count the Acknowledgments and Notes, this book is a little bit over 200 pages which is on the shorter side for a true crime book especially one featuring multiple crimes. I think it is worth noting that even though you get some of the details of the crimes, the victims, and the killer, this book is also just as much about the gay community in New York during the 80s and 90s. The author does a good job painting the picture of what life was like for a gay man during that era. You have the AIDs epidemic, the fear of being outed if you were closeted, rampant homophobia, and hate crimes that weren't taken very seriously by the general public or law enforcement. It's a heartbreaking and infuriating read but one that is certainly important in order not to forget the history.
I think this book is a worthwhile read but it is not the strongest true crime book I have ever read. I felt more like I was getting a snapshot of the victim's life and then the author would move on to the next one. There were many names brought up in the book, not just victims, but others that were part of the NYC social scene and it was difficult at times to keep track of everyone. I also was surprised the author barely devoted any time to the court case. That's just minor criticism though as overall I found it to be a fascinating read.
I received an advance copy from Celadon Books. All thoughts expressed are my honest opinion.
Rating: really liked it
This plainly written heartfelt true crime book focuses on the four victims, which is refreshing, of course, and very laudable, yes, but uncomfortably serves to remind us nasty readers that we’re much more interested in the criminal who commits the vile acts than the poor ordinary blighters that stumbled into his grisly purview. We probably really shouldn't be, but we are.
There were four distinctive murders of men, all of them dismembered post-mortem, drained of blood, bagged, double-bagged and dumped in rural trash bins. The cracking of the case had to wait some years for forensic science to develop a much better technique for lifting prints off the bags. Or to be more accurate, it had to wait for one of the cops working these cases to stumble over the information that a much better technique for lifting prints off plastic bags had been available for some years already.
Yes, this book exposes the often chaotic nature of policing in the USA. There was no national fingerprint database, for instance. So investigators had to laboriously send their prints, when they finally got them, to ALL FIFTY state crime laboratories, and wait for the results. Can you imagine!
Plus, the initial fingerprinting of individuals left quite a lot to be desired: “The patrolman or the sheriff often didn’t have the expertise and didn’t know how to take fingerprints” says Maine’s crime lab guy.
All too frequently, there was too much ink on the pad, and the print would be smeared, or there wasn’t enough ink, so the print lacked the necessary detail. As a consequence, many of the hundreds of thousands of ten-prints scanned …were functionally uselessInsert facepalm emoji here.
So anyway finally they find the murderer and there’s this casually dropped in on page 200 :
The investigators didn’t talk about it at the time, but they all believed he had killed dozens of men. In fact, they assumed he killed people whenever he went on vacation.Well, the murderer is currently languishing in New Jersey State Pen, aged 70. The victims, however many there really were, are still dead.
This was a very solid account of a complicated case. Nothing spectacular, but a fine example of uncovering case that should not have been forgotten.
Rating: really liked it
“Last Call: A True Story of Love, Lust, And Murder In Queer New York” (2021) is a remarkable and commendable true crime narrative of literary achievement written by Elon Green. In the years between 1991-1993, several men were last seen in a Manhattan gay piano bar, and were found brutally murdered at locations in three different states. Despite the horrific nature of these crimes, the “Last Call Killer” remained at large for nearly a decade. This is a notable and important book of the LGBTQ community and history, the Anti-Gay Violence Project (AVP) and hundreds of volunteers that demanded justice and fiercely battled against tidal wave of hate crimes and homophobia, and the law enforcement officials that never gave up the search to find a viscous killer.
“Queer people don’t grow up as ourselves, we grow up playing a version of ourselves that sacrifices authenticity to minimize humiliation and prejudice. The massive task of our adult lives us to unpick which parts of ourselves are truly us and which parts we’ve created to protect us.” ~Alexander Leon
The men who were murdered, someone’s son, father, husband, grandfather, brother, uncle: Peter Stickney Anderson 54, of Philadelphia - Thomas Mulcahy 57, of Sudbury, MA. – Anthony Marrero 44, of Philadelphia – Michael Sakara 56, of Manhattan. Green included illistrated maps and thoughtfully written biographical portraits of each man based on research and interviews-- these men were loved and mourned by distraught family members and friends.
In the past, Homosexuality was illegal in many states-- it was considered a crime in some states for one man to ask another for a date. Outrageous bias, prejudice, and stigma existed for decades against gay men. Hate crimes increased 86% from 1985-1986. Many of these crimes weren’t reported, as unknown numbers of men were closeted and fearful for their personal safety. In addition to victimization by strangers, many gay men were harassed unmercifully by law enforcement officials and targeted for arrest in sting operations, some men lost jobs, marriages, and social status.
There was a degree of acceptance, respite, and safety in the vibrant culture surrounding gay bars, nightclubs, and restaurants—The Five Oaks and Townhouse (est.1989-) were popular in the Manhattan club scene where some of the victims were last seen.
“Violence Against Homosexuals Rising” NYT (1987) this was the first article taken seriously to appear in a major newspaper, and was related to the AIDS crisis and epidemic. Previously HR3193 was the first Bill introduced that provided data collection that represented LGBT people. Gay and Lesbian rights activists refused to stop fighting for their rights. Lt. Matthew Kuehn took the investigation to another level after watching a documentary on Vacuum Medal Deposition (VMD) a Canadian lab located in Toronto agreed to test the crime scene evidence at no charge. A major breakthrough was connected to the murder of Frederick Allen Spencer (1973). Green explained how the “Gay Panic Defense” was used to unleash a monster that violently destroyed human life while working as a registered nurse at a Staten Island Hospital. Elon Green’s writing has been featured in NYT Magazine; he has been an editor since 2011, "Last Call" is his first book.
Rating: really liked it
I haven't read a True Crime book in a while and this reminded me that I need to try and read more. Elon Green is the perfect author for this book. He meticulously researched the many cases involved and brought the victims to life. His compassion for the victims and the lgbtq community shined through as well as his goal of bringing this killer to light.
Not only did the investigation of the case hold my interest, but I also found the social history of the time equally as interesting and important in terms of how the case was eventually solved. I found the author's note quite moving and could easily see how much Mr. Green cared about getting this story exposure so the victims had some justice. I also appreciate how he highlighted the circumstances that aligned in order for law enforcement to catch the killer.
My slight criticism and reasons for adjusting down to 4 stars is because the first half was a little bogged down with superfluous facts about the victim's lives. Some might appreciate the deep, deep dive, but I felt it took away from the story a little bit and more importantly, made it hard for me to keep track of the information I was learning. The amount of names in the victim's family, every day life, each member of law enforcement was getting confusing and kind of interfered with my overall enjoyment. I'm happy to say once the book moved to the second half, this lessened and I felt much more immersed in the story.
What really has stayed with me these past few days since I finished the book was just how terrible those assumed to be gay or were out as gay were treated. Reading some of the transcripts provided made me physically wince with how abhorrent the language was. I think the author did a great job highlighting an underlying theme of why these cases didn't receive the attention they should have given the nature in how the bodies were discovered (there is a quote in the book dedication that left me speechless on what it feels like to be your true self). Ultimately, this is a great read and one I will be recommending.
Thanks to Celadon Books and Elon Green for the advanced review copy.
Review Date: 02/01/2021
Publication Date: 03/09/21
Rating: really liked it
I have long been a true crime junkie, and this is an interesting book about murders that took place in the 80s and 90s that many people have never even heard about.
What I appreciated the most about this book was the author's focus on the victims and their lives rather than putting the spotlight on the murderer. Yes, the reader does find out who killed them, but the focus is more on why these murders didn't garner much of a mention--mostly because they took place in the gay community of New York City during a time where that community was forced behind closed doors and blamed for the incidents themselves rather than the true culprit.
What didn't work as well for me was the endless mentions of people and places and details that just bogged the narrative down overall. This is a very short book, and learning about the different clubs and who ran them and how they were run made me glaze over a bit. I can understand that the author really wants to acknowledge the victims and those who loved them and try to put a more human face on the community as a whole, but for readers not familiar with New York City the details were overwhelming.
This book does a great job with emphasizing the humanity and horror that these men experienced, and the jaw-dropping things the killer got away with in the years leading up to his final arrest and conviction. And again, I really applaud the author for his care and dedication to bring the focus onto the victims rather than the killer. I think that it is far from time that we stop focusing on evil people and shine a bright light onto those whose lives have been mercilessly cut too short.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.
Rating: really liked it
I love reading thrillers and murder mysteries, but reading a true crime novel, especially this one written by Elon Green, “Last Call: A True Story of Love, Lust, and Murder in Queer New York” blew my mind in this truly gripping read.
The Last Call tells the story of the killer who was a pediatric nurse in NYC, and the killing spree that affected the gay and queer community in the East Coast, that took decades to solve.
The whole time I was reading this, I was so immersed into the stories and the lives of the victims and their families, the detectives, and the forensic scientists that worked on this case. I found that the layout of how the book was presented, to the time you learn about the killer, is so well done that you yourself will feel a part of this manhunt. Green included a plethora of minute details into the book, that you will feel the depth and years of research that went into this amazing true crime novel.
If you love reading mysteries and true crime novels, this is a must read for you and not to be missed.
Thank you Celadon books for providing this ARC and having me as an early reader. All opinions are my own.
Rating: really liked it
Last Call is a true crime novel of a notorious serial killer that stalked the gay bars of New York and how he lured men with his charms into a deadly end. The story occurs during the '90s, at a time where the climate towards gay men was hostile. Because of that, the investigations into the grisly murders stalled until breakthrough fingerprint technology emerges. It is with that new technology that the Last Call Killer is finally identified and brought to justice.
The Last Call is a gripping tale about the seemingly endless hunt for the Last Call Killer during a time of the AIDS epidemic and how that epidemic played into the stagnant and lackadaisical attitude of the people charged with investigating the crimes.
Elon Green has done a superb job in his research as evidenced by the copious amount of notes at the back of the book. Green has crafted an outstanding true crime story that is not only intense but shockingly real. A must read for true crime fans. Five stars.
I received a physical ARC from Celadon Books through the Bookish First raffle. The review herein is completely my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions.
