A rip-roaring tale of a crime in a million. Unforgettable. Learning the details only makes the story more compelling. Never lets up from the first page.

Vulgar Favors is, as most of you will know, the book on which Season two of American Crime Stories is based.

I read this book after starting to watch the series, it was actually a very good companion piece as the movements of Cunanan very fairly convoluted and book helps makes sense of what is shown in the series. Orth is a very good writer and her magazine style of prose has ping and impact which helps the story tear along at a good pace. However, unlike some magzine style writers she does not reduce to cheap stereotypes and tired tropes, rather she sensibly allows the characters the breathing space they deserve in the book and we see a full and interesting development for each of the main players.

All told this is a very good book which I can recommend to both the true crime fan and someone looking for a companion piece to the series, it certainly helped me to understand what I was seeing on screen.

NG is telling me "I will not be giving feedback on this title" but I don't know why as here's my review:

I always feel a bit strange reading books like this as if I shouldn't be = a bit like a car crash - when you can't help but stare. Havng watched American Crime story however I was intrigued and so thought this would be good background. It was, but there was a LOT of detail here which, although maybe necessary, did bog down the reading of it.
It obviously is a very dark story indeed and Gianni Versace's murder was one in a long line of men who were stabbed or murdered in some brutal way as Cunnanan took a dislike to them or felt they had rejected him in some way.
All of this takes place in the 1990s of course and so with that there's a lot of focus on the gay clubs and nightlife of the 1990s. The seedy side of this, not the norm - just like there's drugs and sex in straight people's clubs but this does read as if it was all very seedy back then. Sign of the times back then perhaps, but very very tragic in its own way.
The book focuses on the killer rather the victims and it's a crazy crazy world he lived in. A heavy investigation but fascinating in many ways as it is tragic. RIP Davide, Jeffery, Miglin, Reese, and Versace

*Declaimer I received a copy of this book through netgalley in return for an honest review*
Unfortunately, I did not finish this book, this is mainly due to the nature of the writer, this book was originally published in 2000 and you can certainly tell! This book pictures the gay “lifestyle” as filled with drugs, alcohol and sex. Also, being gay is not a lifestyle choice this book is so so so outdated!
While the author has certainly done her research, I did not like the way this book portrayed lgbt people, while I’m not condoning Andrew Cunanans crime, I am stating that the majority of lgbt people do not do the things he did. This book is certainly homophobic and outdated, but I may watch the TV adaptation based upon this novel.
1/5 stars

Amazing book. Andrew Cunanan was a clever, intelligent man, and yet ended up with a warped sense of resentment and entitlement. This book tells the tale of his slide into a dark twisted world. Such a waste of life.
Currently watching the TV series on BBC2, but definitely prefer the book.