This book is yet another brick in the horrorscape that the 80s and 90s were for the gay community. The spread of AIDS and the resulting gay panic by others who called this affliction something equivalent to “the gay disease” is still one of the most heartbreaking stories for me. The way this community came together and fought for their lives is inspiring and I have intentionally consumed stories and media around this topic for some years now. (Some recents: The Great Believers, Pose, Dallas Buyers Club, Bohemian Rhapsody, The Normal Heart)
Last Call is entirely different take on this era of the AIDS epidemic as it focuses on the serial murders of several gay men from New York - a forgotten case in the shadow of a greater threat. Green introduces these men with the details of their deaths, but then dives into their lives and you feel much more close to them. You should know before diving in that the medical descriptions of the murder and bodies are detailed and thus quite graphic, if this sort of thing bothers you.
Overall, I liked this book, but felt something missing by the end. Even now, I am not sure I understand much about the motives or person behind the crimes. I always appreciate a true crime that makes the victims the center of the story, because isn’t is awful that we can name all the serial killers, but almost never name their victims?? Ugh. Guilty 🙋🏻♀️ However, I do want to know about the killer as well because this completes the story. Not that it remains a mystery as it does in Lost Girls by Robert Kolkker, but I didn’t find the investigation, discovery, and interviews with the killer very in depth and it made the ending a little thin. The story as a whole is worth your time and I encourage you to pick this one up and discover a true story that you’ve probably never heard of.
Thank you to @celadonbooks and @bookishfirst for an ARC in exchange for an honest review! 💜
Last Call is entirely different take on this era of the AIDS epidemic as it focuses on the serial murders of several gay men from New York - a forgotten case in the shadow of a greater threat. Green introduces these men with the details of their deaths, but then dives into their lives and you feel much more close to them. You should know before diving in that the medical descriptions of the murder and bodies are detailed and thus quite graphic, if this sort of thing bothers you.
Overall, I liked this book, but felt something missing by the end. Even now, I am not sure I understand much about the motives or person behind the crimes. I always appreciate a true crime that makes the victims the center of the story, because isn’t is awful that we can name all the serial killers, but almost never name their victims?? Ugh. Guilty 🙋🏻♀️ However, I do want to know about the killer as well because this completes the story. Not that it remains a mystery as it does in Lost Girls by Robert Kolkker, but I didn’t find the investigation, discovery, and interviews with the killer very in depth and it made the ending a little thin. The story as a whole is worth your time and I encourage you to pick this one up and discover a true story that you’ve probably never heard of.
Thank you to @celadonbooks and @bookishfirst for an ARC in exchange for an honest review! 💜