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Last Call: Chapter Sampler
This excerpt from Last Call by Elon Green contains the first two chapters of the 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.
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.
34 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 8, 2021
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About the author
Elon Green
4 books205 followersElon Green has written for The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, and The New Yorker, and appears in Unspeakable Acts, Sarah Weinman’s anthology of true crime. "Last Call: A True Story of Love, Lust, and Murder in Queer New York" was his first book and won the Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime. Green was an executive producer on the HBO series adapted from Last Call.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 28, 2022
Elon Green stumbled across the story of a serial killer in New York City that he'd never heard of before and wondered why that would be. When he learned that the Last Call Killer, as he was called, preyed on gay men, the disinterest made more sense. In those days, as AIDS was about to strike the City, the public had little sympathy or interest in the plight of gays.
In this book, Green tells the story of the victims and the killer, and in so doing paints a bigger picture of what it was like to be gay at a time when understanding, let alone acceptance, of homosexuality was scarce. Having interviewed hundreds of people, he uses their words to tell the story that is as much about the killings as the reasons why the crimes would go largely unnoticed. It's an interesting portrait that lacks some of the lurid details common to true crime books.
In this book, Green tells the story of the victims and the killer, and in so doing paints a bigger picture of what it was like to be gay at a time when understanding, let alone acceptance, of homosexuality was scarce. Having interviewed hundreds of people, he uses their words to tell the story that is as much about the killings as the reasons why the crimes would go largely unnoticed. It's an interesting portrait that lacks some of the lurid details common to true crime books.
Displaying 1 of 1 review