Last Call was my favorite kind of true crime book because it gave a voice to the victims. So often true crime focuses on the perpetrator and doesn’t spend enough time on remembering those who were lost.
Another thing that I found both fascinating and horrifying was the account Green gave the reader of what it was like to be gay in metropolitan Manhattan in the 90s. Even when there wasn’t a serial killer targeting gay men it was still dangerous to be out and that is unbelievably sad. The 90s wasn’t that long ago and Manhattan was a large city with a wide mix of ethnicities and backgrounds, and still to be homosexual was actually dangerous. It is mind-blowing and terrifying. Green quotes a New York Times article (the most high profile report of any of the murders) which noted that the victims ‘“...spanned the broad experience of gay life, a life led with a current of tension and secrecy under even the most tolerant of circumstances.”’ Like so many victims of crime these men were marginalized and largely forgotten. I am so glad I read Last Call and highly recommend it.
Another thing that I found both fascinating and horrifying was the account Green gave the reader of what it was like to be gay in metropolitan Manhattan in the 90s. Even when there wasn’t a serial killer targeting gay men it was still dangerous to be out and that is unbelievably sad. The 90s wasn’t that long ago and Manhattan was a large city with a wide mix of ethnicities and backgrounds, and still to be homosexual was actually dangerous. It is mind-blowing and terrifying. Green quotes a New York Times article (the most high profile report of any of the murders) which noted that the victims ‘“...spanned the broad experience of gay life, a life led with a current of tension and secrecy under even the most tolerant of circumstances.”’ Like so many victims of crime these men were marginalized and largely forgotten. I am so glad I read Last Call and highly recommend it.