Reviews tagging 'Murder'

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

49 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

evawondergem's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

paronomaniac's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Lesbophobia, Murder, and Homophobia

kirstym25's review against another edition

dark informative medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual assault and Drug abuse

kayla_hehe's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Murder, and Hate crime

thisiscourt's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Murder

bi_n_large's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Murder, Homophobia, Bullying, and Hate crime

Moderate: Transphobia, Drug use, Mental illness, Police brutality, and Alcoholism

Minor: Infidelity, Sexual violence, and Sexual content

siobhanward's review against another edition

dark informative medium-paced

3.5

 The content of the book was solid but at times it felt a bit all over the place. Some of the pacing was off - I understand Green's desire to focus on the victims rather than the killer, but this resulted in a very hasty account of a trial that definitely could have been more fleshed out. That being said, I enjoyed Green's approach - highlighting systemic failures that allowed these cases to be largely ignored for years (and even to this day in some cases) was really interesting. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Homophobia, and Death

ckbarnard_0317's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious tense fast-paced

4.25

True crime+ respectful reporting+ queer history= yes please. I was surprised that this was a debut book because it was so well-structured, with a good balance between the true crime aspects and historical context.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Torture, and Police brutality

phoebemurtagh's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious fast-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Lesbophobia, Blood, Death, and Homophobia