Home › Books › Last Call: A True Story of Love, Lust, and Murder…
Last Call: A True Story of Love, Lust, and Murder in Queer New York
by
41/99
Critics' Rating Index
16/99
Readers' Rating Index
n/a
Scholars' Citation Index
92/99
Volume of Reviews
84/99
Volume of Reader Ratings
Sign in to add to your shelf, rate, or review this book.
About This Book
The gripping true story, told here for the first time, of the Last Call Killer and the gay community of New York City that he preyed upon.The Townhouse Bar, midtown, July 1992: The piano player seems to know every song ever written, the crowd belts out the lyrics to their favorites, and a man standing nearby is drinking a Scotch and water. The man strikes the piano player as forgettable.He looks bland and inconspicuous. Not at all what you think a serial killer looks like. But that's what he is, and tonight, he has his sights set on a gray haired man. He will not be his first victim.Nor will he be his last.The Last Call Killer preyed upon gay men in New York in the '80s and '90s and had all the hallmarks of the most notorious serial killers. Yet because of the sexuality of his victims, the skyhigh murder rates, and the AIDS epidemic, his murders have been almost entirely forgotten.This gripping true-crime narrative tells the story of the Last Call Killer and the decades-long chase to find him. And at the same time, it paints a portrait of his victims and a vibrant community navigating threat and resilience.
Reviews
"more than just a standard true crime exploration of these killings."
"At one point, he quotes then NYPD commissioner Bernard Kerik about the handling of Rogers's case, noting in a footnote, without elaboration, 'Off the record, Kerik said something different,' leaving readers to wonder what that was and its significance."
"Reflecting both its author's compassion and journalistic chops, this gripping narrative also focuses on forensic innovation and jurisdictional intrigue ..."
"The victims deserve to be remembered for who they were and not just how they died, and Green takes care to see that this is done...[and] provides a broad view of why homophobia continues to be a real and persistent threat."
"the killers often become the focus, the object of fascination.This is not true in Last Call, which puts the victims first, and which, when it does reveal the discovery of the killer, doesn't attempt to make him seem like an anti-hero."
"Their lives mattered, and Last Call is a testament to how homophobia shaped these men's lives and, eventually, their deaths ..."
"Green's profile of Rogers is objective and gripping as he pieces together his movements, tactics, and behavior to commit and cover up any traces of his contact with the victims ..."
"He provides an adrenalized police-procedural plot without ever losing sight of the fact that these were innocent human beings who were duped, butchered and discarded."
"A deeply researched reclamation of a series of unfairly forgotten, gruesome crimes."
"In the epilogue to his book, Green says that, as a straight man, he had to ponder whether this was his story to tell."
Preview
Reader Reviews
0 reviewsSign in to write a review.
No reader reviews yet. Be the first!