Reviews tagging 'Murder'

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

60 reviews

alylentz's review against another edition

dark funny informative medium-paced

4.0

Absolutely loved this. Accomplished the very difficult mission of true crime that examines the killer while really giving us a sense of who the victims were and the sense of loss they left behind. I enjoyed it as an audiobook and I think that would be a great choice for those who already listen to true crime podcasts. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, and Murder

alexg52's review against another edition

dark informative medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia and Murder

akchanda's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Biphobia, Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Infidelity

ktdakotareads's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Homophobia and Medical content

bookreadreceipts's review

challenging dark medium-paced

3.0

This is a quick read which documents a prolific serial killer in betting most of us, even us crime junkies, do t know about. Why you might ask? Because the discrimination and injustice that the queer and LGBTQ+ community faces, even today, is often swept under the rug. These murders are brutal, senseless, and reflect an murdered at once shaped and abetted by religion, conservative values, and society’s bigotry and judgement. 

While this undoubtedly tells an important story and highlights the inequality, injustice, and discrimination faced by the queer and LGBTQ+ community, this still fell a bit flat for me. The writing felt a bit stilted and while the adjacent crimes add additional context and evidence of the widespread discrimination the queer community was facing, it veered us off the oath of the main murders and serial killer. With just over 200 pages, every page definitely counts, so each diversion into another similar crime or political background created a break in the narrative and my attention. 

TW: murder, kidnapping, rape, dismemberment, PTSD, discrimination, stalking, derogatory language

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Stalking

emilykmaloney's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Murder

imstephtacular's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious sad medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Hate crime, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Homophobia and Grief

Minor: Alcoholism and Biphobia

whatskatiereading's review against another edition

challenging dark informative medium-paced

4.0

Thank you BookishFirst and Celadon Books for my copy of LAST CALL! LAST CALL is true crime, but it’s also a commentary on the ways in which the gay community (specifically in New York City) was seen through the eyes of the law and society in the 1970s - 1990s. The book only scratches the surface of that second part, with the majority of the book talking about the five victims of the Last Call Killer and the lead up to the arrest and trial of the murderer. Some of the names and locations were hard to follow at times, but I think it was just because there was so much information packed into one book. Once I got about 3 or 4 chapters in I got used to the format and ended up flying through the book.

I thought the social commentary around the crimes was excellently reported. Green included a lot of really great information, exploring why these crimes weren’t heavily reported and how these crimes were able to go virtually unnoticed outside of the gay community. If you are interested in true crime I would definitely recommend checking out LAST CALL. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Murder

Moderate: Homophobia

wherethewildreadsare's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious tense fast-paced

5.0

Wow, a fantastically researched story about a serial killer that isn’t as talked about due to the sexuality of his victims. Doesn’t dwell on the killer but brings to life the victims. Who they were before they were “victims” and what in their lives led them into the path of their killer!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, and Murder

glitteringeyes418's review against another edition

challenging dark informative sad slow-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, and Murder

Moderate: Homophobia