Vulgar Favors

The Assassination of Gianni Versace

By: Maureen Orth

Narrated by: Dan Woren, Maureen Orth

Length: 18 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

Hear the true story of the manhunt that inspired The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, the acclaimed FX series.

“The breadth and thoroughness of [Maureen] Orth’s research are often staggering.”—The New York Times

“Fascinating . . . ripe with chilling detail.”—Entertainment Weekly

On July 15, 1997, Gianni Versace was shot and killed on the steps of his Miami Beach mansion by serial killer Andrew Cunanan. But months before Versace’s murder, award-winning journalist Maureen Orth was already investigating a major story on Cunanan for Vanity Fair. Culled from interviews with more than four hundred people and insights gleaned from thousands of pages of police reports, Vulgar Favors tells the complete story of Andrew Cunanan, his unwitting victims, and the moneyed world in which they lived . . . and died.

Orth reveals how Cunanan met Versace, and why police and the FBI repeatedly failed to catch him. Here is a gripping odyssey that races across America—from California’s wealthy gay underworld to modest Midwestern homes of families mourning the loss of their sons to South Beach and its unapologetic decadence. Vulgar Favors is at once a masterwork of investigative journalism and a riveting account of a sociopath, his crimes, and the mysteries he left along the way.

©2010 Maureen Orth (P)2017 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“A fascinatingly detailed account.”—USA Today

“It will hook you from the first page and never let you go.”—San Francisco Chronicle

“Vulgar Favors by Maureen Orth might be called the complete Cunanan. . . . She [has] an indefatigable hunger to know everything.”—Chicago Tribune

ONE OF THE BEST TRUE CRIME BOOKS IN MY LIBRARY!

Journalist, Maureen Ann Orth wrote this great true crime story. She also happens to be the wife of the late and great reporter Tim Russert from CBS News. I'm sure everyone remembers the serial killer Andrew Cunanan who besides killing his ex homosexual lovers also murdered Gianni Versace, the famous designer. Ms. Orth traces the tragic life of Andrew and what led up to his horrible killing spree. I could not stop listening to this story, even though I followed it through live news outlets throughout the world twenty years ago. NOTHING IS DATED HERE!

If you are a true crime buff, add VULGAR FAVORS to your Audible Library. Do not let the original publishing date bother you. Sometimes I don't purchase a book for this reason. Keep in mind a great story will always be great. This book is timeless and ranks with THE STRANGER BESIDE ME and HELTER SKELTER, two of the best true crime books ever written. This is the third best true crime story I have ever listened to.

THIS IS A MUST READ!

One of the greats, with a couple of caveats

"Vulgar Favors" is among the best true-crime books I've ever read/listened to. I recall "the mysterious gay killer" wreaking havoc across the U.S., including where I lived, although his presence in SE New England turned out to be just a false sighting.
The author Maureen Orth takes readers along with her as she crosses the United States, contemporaneously reporting the deaths of Andrew Cunanan's first four victims. No one knew if, when, or where Cunanan was to strike next, but after she heard the news that Versace had been murdered, she was sent by "Vanity Fair" magazine to report Versace's -- and later Cunanan's -- death.
Although I did very much enjoy this book, the text is outdated in its mostly condescending tone regarding gay men. Orth describes gay men as shallow, vain, sex-hungry, drug-using, superficial, body-conscious, lesser-than individuals, who are either rich or money-grubbing. Some of this comes from the places where she did her interviews: Hillcrest (San Diego), Boysland (Chicago), South Beach, and San Francisco present a very narrow view of "a gay" (Orth's term, which is really bad phrasing; gay men never say, "Hi! I'm a gay!"). I would hope that if she were to revise the text one day, she would reconsider her judgmental categorization of gay men.
Also, Orth refers to Cunanan's case as the most bungled criminal investigation in U.S. history. That is not true. Here's just one example: the investigation into the Charles Manson family's killing spree was so disjointed that in hindsight it's amazing the defendants were found guilty, nevermind (originally) sentenced to death.
But -- despite these flaws -- I still recommend "Vulgar Favors" as engrossing and time well spent.

5 minutes and I wanted to kill the author.

Unbelievably biased and insulting to Gays , Cops and Crystal users ALL IN UNDER 5 minutes. Her Mother was WRONG Not any damn fool can write a book. This was probably the worst naration , plot outline and surefire lack of any true investigation into her subject. I hope she NEVER tries again .

Intriguing Material, Problematic Presentation

After watching (and loving) American Crime: The Assassination of Gianni Versace I was hungry to learn more about the people and the circumstance involved. Vulgar Favors definitely delivers with a lot of details/background info- a wealth of information. But I could only make it half way through, with about 7 hours left, before Orth's problematic narrative came to be too much. Orth's descriptions and characterizations of queer folks is at best, a product of the time in which the story was investigated and published (2000). At worst, Orth's characterization of the gay community is problematic, clumsy, and full of the writer's own judgment. I couldn't listen to the exaggerated caricatures, the over the top stereotypes, or language choices (e.g. "the gays" instead of the gay community/gay people).

"Of its time" argument is a cop-out

Seeing presumably intelligent, decent people torture logic to make this writer acceptable is just sad. The "product of its time" nonsense in so many reviews seems to indicate that hardly anyone who has read this was actually around in its time. This wasn't written in the Puritan colonies. Not even during the Eisenhower '50s. If I'd spoken to or felt about my gay male friends like this DURING THE ACTUAL 90s, I would have lost those friends. And rightly so. I find it hard to believe that Vanity Fair ever countenanced this homophobic harpy's "reporting" (yes, even ~at the time~). I'm very much a die-hard "the book was better" type. This is a glaring exception. How Ryan Murphy managed to make this turd into a truly moving, deeply human story for tv has got to be sheer sorcery. I've never said this before in my life, but here goes:

Watch the miniseries instead.

Interesting but not enough

I realize this book was written in 1999. Therefore, I give some slack to the writers at often times misguided and offensive portrayal of the LGBTQi community. Not all gay men flock to beach towns and do crystal meth with aspirations of being a porn stars. The over exaggeration of these stereotypes still exists today. Again, the book was written 21 years ago, but as a gay man who came out around 1997 I hate to think this is what others viewed me as.

Pretty interesting but...

it was also kind of homophobic in a bunch of parts, but just to the level that was typical in the 90s.

Sad.

all of us know at least one person like Andrew cunanan. The one who has done everything seen everything who won ups every story you tell. It just so happens this one turned out to be more of a spree killer than a real serial killer. I don't believe that he not killed Gianni Versace that too many people would know his name but it is a very interesting story the parts about his childhood or a little Bland but the middle and end of the story Earth incredibly well written and very engrossing

If you cab get past the homophobic

If you can get passed the homophobic language the case is fascinating. I'm assuming it homophobic language has to do with who wrote this book and the year it came out. I would love if they rewrote it and cute out all the stereo types.

A dark and complex expose into the interwoven channels of vice

A brilliant piece that challenges the paradigmatic ideas of good and evil as well as fortune and loss.