Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

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

10 reviews

jmross10's review against another edition

dark informative sad tense medium-paced

I will not be rating this book owing to the subject matter but that is not a reflection of my feelings. 

I think it was very well written and does not suffer from timeline confusion many historical nonfiction books do. It follows the narrative in a mostly linear fashion which makes it easier for readers to follow. 

Green did a good job of explaining the circumstances around the murders but also, in my opinion, trying to make these men more than just victims. He took the time to tell their life story separate from their tragic deaths which is so important. It forces readers to remember they are people and not just another name on the page. 

There is an air of mystery around the outcome which Green handles well. Not for the sake of monopolizing on the unknown but because that’s where it makes the most sense in the narrative. Once they start looking for legitimate suspects, the information about those individuals (including the guilty parties) is revealed. 

As a whole, I think it did a good job recounting the events. It had some information about forensics practices but didn’t overwhelm the reader with it. The historical context was helpful for those who didn’t have that information without being dry or feeling alienating. There was discussion of politics and society as well that made the history more fleshed out than just dates. Lastly, the commentary from his interviewees was well used and distributed throughout the book. It felt like a cohesive narrative and not just a hodge podge of other people’s work.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Homophobia, Murder, Violence, Pandemic/Epidemic, Hate crime, Outing, Blood, and Gore

Moderate: Drug use, Grief, Medical trauma, Racism, Mental illness, Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Medical content, Police brutality, and Suicide

amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Blood, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, and Hate crime

book_enjoyer's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious tense fast-paced

4.0

I’m not usually one for true crime, or even fictional murder mysteries, but I enjoyed this one. Green lays out the details of the Last Call Killer’s murders in unflinching, brutal detail, but he takes equal care with the victims’ lives and the gay bar culture that forms the setting of the book. As a queer reader, I appreciated that the book didn’t feel like it was written for a straight audience—Green doesn’t pause to explain what a bear or a leather daddy is, for example—and didn’t shy away from detailing the level of casual homophobia present at the time. In the epilogue, Green expresses some hesitancy as to whether he, a straight man, should be telling this story: “Could I do right by the queer community and its history? That’s not for me to say. What I tried to do in this book was let my sources tell the story.” In my opinion, he has risen to this challenge. Last Call is compelling, atmospheric, and thoroughly-researched, and it sheds light on a brutal serial killer whose actions were ignored for too long because of his victims’ sexuality. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Gore, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Murder

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Hate crime, Medical content, Racial slurs, and Sexual content

arlangrey17's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Hate crime, Medical content, Murder, Outing, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious reflective fast-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Homophobia, Murder, Medical content, Violence, Death, and Hate crime

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, and Rape

Minor: Drug use and Panic attacks/disorders

killerpancake's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious sad fast-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Rape, Physical abuse, Murder, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, and Alcohol

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Racism, Cursing, and Blood

This is true crime where the victims were gay men and includes crime scene information. I appreciate that it focused more on the victim's lives instead of venerating the killer.

readingwithcats's review against another edition

dark informative sad medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Homophobia, and Medical content

seriouslybookedup's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

5.0

Easily one of the best true crime books I've read in a while. I think the author does a great job balancing the details of the crime without it being too salacious or too dry and clinical in the storytelling. Sometimes I wonder if it was too gruesome, but I think it's important not to sugarcoat the heinous nature of these crimes especially since they were targeted at gay men. I think the book is also great at providing critical context about the time and place that these crimes took place and how it impacted the gay community (and how the local gay community members organized in response to these crimes). 

I was particularly moved and horrified by the court transcript of Harrow who had to relive the trauma of his assault and then had to watch as the perpetrator was set free - despite all the credible evidence. And, I was also surprised by the bizarre connection to Rudy Giuliani and how his indirect (maybe?) involvement may have sabotaged any efforts to investigate similar unsolved murders.

I felt like there were so many coincidences and connections that made this book feel intimate to me (e.g. I live in Orlando and the killer went to school in Florida where suspiciously similar unsolved case took place in Orlando). I was riveted and deeply moved by the spotlights on each victim which I think the author handled with a lot of compassion and care.  

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Medical content and Murder

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Alcoholism

ktdakotareads's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Homophobia and Medical content

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