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

January 9, 2021

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

In the 1980's, a serial killer was preying on gay men in midtown New York, hanging around gay bars until closing time, when he lured lonely men to leave with him. Dubbed the Last Call Killer by the press, he was bland and inconspicuous and faded into the crowds at the gay bars (the pianist at one bar described him as forgettable).

Even though bags of body parts were showing up along New York highways, law enforcement were slow to recognize a pattern, partly because the victims were gay men, and partly because there was no online crime network at the time, so the police departments in the various towns did not work together. 

His crimes have been largely forgotten with the AIDS crisis and the rising crime and murder rates. Elon Green remembers the victims rather than the serial killer, allowing each man's life to tell his story. Love the noir-ish cover.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC.