Last Call was an interesting book. I'm always intrigued by true crime stories, so I knew this book would appeal to me. I was shocked to see that page 1 of this book opened up in the county I live in, at a turnpike rest stop that I've surely been to. So as you can imagine, my interest was immediately piqued.
This was definitely different than other true crime books I've read. Rather than giving a lot of focus to the killer and his backstory, the focus was definitely more on the victims. And while I'll admit that at times I questioned why some of the information was being shared, as it really had to bearing on the story, I do appreciate that the author gave more focus and attention to the victims. It is the victims that deserve to have their story shared, not the perpetrator.
Although I do believe it's the victims who deserve to have their story told, as someone who wants to understand the motivation behind killers and why they do what they do, I would have appreciated a little more backstory on the killer in this book. I would've liked to have learned more about where he was killing them, why he did what he did to the bodies after killing them, etc (trying to be vague so as not to give away any spoilers). What caused him to become the way he did? And for all I know, these may not be answers that the author had, but it just felt like the story was lacking a bit in that aspect.
It also seemed that too much detail and attention was given to the backstories of people who related to the story, but were neither victim nor perpetrator, i.e. the piano player, the bartender, etc. It just felt that some of that information was unnecessary and could've been left out of the book.
Last Call also gave a detailed backstory on the AIDS/HIV crisis and how it impacted both NYC and the gay community at that time. I appreciate that this was addressed, as HIV was much more prevalent in the news at that time. It was talked about constantly and certainly impacted the way people lived their lives. But while it was so prevalent in the news, the gay community was largely ignored. I think that's what I never heard of this serial killer before - because he was preying on the gay community, it was not largely publicized. It was a different time and this book made sure to remind the reader of that.
I did find the pacing of the book to be slow at times. The beginning and end definitely kept my attention, but the pacing ebbed and flowed throughout the middle, sometimes losing my interest.
Thank you to BookishFirst and Celdaon Books for the free review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.
This was definitely different than other true crime books I've read. Rather than giving a lot of focus to the killer and his backstory, the focus was definitely more on the victims. And while I'll admit that at times I questioned why some of the information was being shared, as it really had to bearing on the story, I do appreciate that the author gave more focus and attention to the victims. It is the victims that deserve to have their story shared, not the perpetrator.
Although I do believe it's the victims who deserve to have their story told, as someone who wants to understand the motivation behind killers and why they do what they do, I would have appreciated a little more backstory on the killer in this book. I would've liked to have learned more about where he was killing them, why he did what he did to the bodies after killing them, etc (trying to be vague so as not to give away any spoilers). What caused him to become the way he did? And for all I know, these may not be answers that the author had, but it just felt like the story was lacking a bit in that aspect.
It also seemed that too much detail and attention was given to the backstories of people who related to the story, but were neither victim nor perpetrator, i.e. the piano player, the bartender, etc. It just felt that some of that information was unnecessary and could've been left out of the book.
Last Call also gave a detailed backstory on the AIDS/HIV crisis and how it impacted both NYC and the gay community at that time. I appreciate that this was addressed, as HIV was much more prevalent in the news at that time. It was talked about constantly and certainly impacted the way people lived their lives. But while it was so prevalent in the news, the gay community was largely ignored. I think that's what I never heard of this serial killer before - because he was preying on the gay community, it was not largely publicized. It was a different time and this book made sure to remind the reader of that.
I did find the pacing of the book to be slow at times. The beginning and end definitely kept my attention, but the pacing ebbed and flowed throughout the middle, sometimes losing my interest.
Thank you to BookishFirst and Celdaon Books for the free review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.