Reviews with content warning for Murder - Last Call: A True Story of Love, Lust, and Murder in Queer New York

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Last Call: A True Story of Love, Lust, and Murder in Queer New York by Elon Green

59 reviews

goose's review against another edition

dark informative sad slow-paced

3.75

I wanted to love this book more than I did, but maybe Green’s writing style isn’t for me. The writing of the book isn’t straightforward and sometimes take a meandering stroll down an avenue that you can’t quite figure out the relevance of until the next page break. However, in terms of bringing to light a forgotten case as well as bringing to life that time in Manhattan for queer people it does a great job. I also think centering the book around the victims and their lives is how true crime should be. I do wish we got to hear more from the Anti Violence Group, maybe that would be for a different book. I also commend the sheer amount of work researching for the book must have been. Truly bravo on that front. The followups in the epilogue as well as in the addition written in 2021 for this edition were a nice treat, even though they come with bad news.

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shieldbearer's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative medium-paced

4.5

I have to strongly recommend the audiobook, because the author's interview at the end of the book provides so much context with the author's intent upon writing this. It is very clear that this book was written from such a place of empathy for the victims and their loved ones to honor their lives and memories.

Almost every complaint in the reviews stems from completely missing this point.

+ While I agree the use of the n word was not necessary (and is why I have docked the book by half a star for such an egregious oversight) the use of the f-slur are because of the sources the author was utilizing, included to contextualize the sort of environment queer people had to live in, and are direct quotes from people involved in the case. If you do not understand why this contextualization matters, you need to get off twitter.

+ the absolute genius who complained this was a "limited" "exploration of queerness" missed the memo where the author is working to show us the victims and their lives- their specific experiences and histories, and the failures of the system and society that made their deaths possible. This is not a book about "queerness" and furthermore, there is no universal "queerness." again. please get off twitter.

+ the vague "disappointing... not what I was expecting" reviews are almost invariably more interested in the
"glamour" of the killer's motives and the gory details of the case. The author is thoroughly uninterested in the killer, and continually centers the victims and their lives.

This book has ruined all other true crime books for me.

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writingbookscoffee's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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bloom_18's review against another edition

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dark informative reflective tense medium-paced

4.0

This account of the gruesome murders of four queer men in the 1990’s is well researched and generally well structured. It’s an enjoyable- and sometimes horrifying read. However, the author’s sensitivity to language sometimes feels awkward. In the sentence after he describes, with jarring detail, the way a victim was found, Green remarks that the victims favorite bar was a blazer mandatory- “pen in pocket”- affair. This remark is upsetting because, well, another word that begins with “pen” was just at the crux of a brutal image. Anyways- no book can have it all.

Ultimately, the best books about queer life and queer violence are written by queer people. Green is an empathetic writer, but his exploration of queerness is largely limited to sexual preference. Queerness can be so much more than that. Check out david wojnarowicz‘s memoir if you want to read more about queer life.

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cghegan's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative sad tense fast-paced

3.75

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kaylacapers's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative sad tense medium-paced

3.5

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amyljb's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad medium-paced

3.0

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iadoreforks's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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book_enjoyer's review against another edition

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dark informative mysterious tense fast-paced

4.0

I’m not usually one for true crime, or even fictional murder mysteries, but I enjoyed this one. Green lays out the details of the Last Call Killer’s murders in unflinching, brutal detail, but he takes equal care with the victims’ lives and the gay bar culture that forms the setting of the book. As a queer reader, I appreciated that the book didn’t feel like it was written for a straight audience—Green doesn’t pause to explain what a bear or a leather daddy is, for example—and didn’t shy away from detailing the level of casual homophobia present at the time. In the epilogue, Green expresses some hesitancy as to whether he, a straight man, should be telling this story: “Could I do right by the queer community and its history? That’s not for me to say. What I tried to do in this book was let my sources tell the story.” In my opinion, he has risen to this challenge. Last Call is compelling, atmospheric, and thoroughly-researched, and it sheds light on a brutal serial killer whose actions were ignored for too long because of his victims’ sexuality.

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arlangrey17's review against another edition

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dark informative mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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