Death at Every Stop: The True Story of Serial Killer Andrew Cunanan—The Man Who Murdered Designer Gianni Versace

by Wensley Clarkson

THE SPREE KILLINGS THAT TERRORIZED THE NATION

April 29, 1997-- The body of 28-year-old Jeffrey Trail found wrapped in a rug in a Minneapolis apartment. May 3-- Fishermen find the body of 33-year-old architect David Madson in Minnesota's East Rush lake. May 4-- The tortured body of wealthy 72-year-old real estate investor Lee Miglin found in his garage. May 9-- 45-year-old caretaker William Reese found in a New Jersey cemetery with a bullet in his head. July 15-- World-renowned fashion designer Gianni Versace shot twice in the back of the head and left to die in front of his South Beach mansion.

THE CAT AND MOUSE CHASE THAT GRIPPED THE COUNTRY
The man responsible for these horrific slayings was Andrew Cunanan, a cunning, cold-blooded killer who eluded police for three months until July 23rd, 1997, when, after a harrowing standoff on a Miami houseboat, police found Cunanan inside the boat--dead by his own hand. But as the tragic crime spree comes to an end, the mystery is just beginning--who was Andrew Cunanan and what led him to savagely murder five men? What was his relationship to the victims? And how did a handsome, privileged young man venture so far into the dark side?

THE FINAL ENDING THAT SHOCKED THE WORLD
Described as everything from a flamboyant playboy to a transvestite prostitute to a gold-digging "kept man," Andrew Cunanan has remained an enigma--even in death. Now, in this searing expose, author Wensley Clarkson examines Cunanan from the inside out, revealing never-before-told facts about his life,

- The truth about the wife and child he claimed to have had
- A scandalous affair Cunanan claimed to have had with an older TV star
- The tragic childhood that sparked his fury
- How Cunanan starred in gay porno videos
- Cunanan's deadly obsession with Tom Cruise
- And much, much, more

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction

288 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 1997

Reviews

[CrabbyPatty · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been watching The Assassination of Gianni Versace (America Crime Story) and this book caught my eye. Can't say it's well-written, but it covers a lot of details about Cunanan's crimes, and also leaves a lot unexamined. There is no motive ascribed to Lee Miglin's murder, other than he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. There are just a few pages about David Madison and Jeff Trail's murders, and parts of the book puts imagined words into Cunanan's mouth and puts together scenes for which there are no supporting facts. 2.5 to 3 stars.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting account of the events surrounding the death of five men, all murdered by Andrew Cunanan. The ACS Versace series and Darren Criss' breakout performance started my interest in reading about this topic. While the book is well written, in a journalistic style, there are many inconsistences of the specific details. That is to be expected because no one really knew Cunanan and he left nothing behind to suggest his motives.

[Amy Mawdsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This guy was seriously sick.
The book was well written with few errors. I enjoyed the writting style and details provided by the author.

[Kristen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not well written. Plain and simple.

Pretty sure this was a rush job that the publisher wanted to get out ASAP in the months following the story to capitalize on the public interest. But there are inaccuracies that are easily fact checked. I’ll give the author the benefit of the doubt and assume the things I caught were discovered after the publishing of this book.

Also, this author has a bad habit of prescribing motive that he couldn’t possibly know, and describing scenes (as fact) that no one could possibly know happened. Because those involved are dead. So yeah.

[Erin Freeman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve read almost every book written about Cunanan thus far. The writing was good for this, but there were things written that have been basically disproven (the insistence Cunanan had HIV - I know this had been talked about as a “reason” for the killings. He very well may *have* believed he was positive, but his test results came back negative during his autopsy.)

This is the only book I’ve read that makes any mention of Cunanan dressing in drag on a constant basis to pick up clientele. I’m not saying he didn’t do it, but I’ve just never heard anyone else come to this conclusion.

Unfortunately, there are so many stories (so many of them from Cunanan himself) told about him that we’ll probably never know exactly who he was or what he did. That said, I did feel like this novel tended to veer into gossipy territory and sensational more than an attempt at writing a truthful biography.

All in all, it wasn’t horrible, but definitely it my favorite.

[Hope · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would have maybe given this a better rating but one thing that bothers me is when an author embellishes things he could not possibly know, such as when telling things that Cunanan did when no one else was around him, or things he thought. There is no way to know what he was thinking or what he did when he was alone, so don't embellish that.

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nobody knows, but Clarkson knows because he has read all the headlines.

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn’t know much about Cunanan before reading this. I don’t know much about Versace’s murder either. I may have been too young or because it was in America it may not have been such a widespread news item here. Cunanan was a horrible human being even before his murder spree. He seems creepy even though he came across as rather suave. His parents were definitely messed up but I don’t 100% agree with blaming the upbringing on such violent tendencies. Serial killers will always intrigue me but not the point of turning them into deities.

[Ronnie Cramer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fast read, and interesting to boot. Some facets of the story are unknown (and unknowable) yet the author was able to put together a compelling narrative, so the mind reading and invented dialog were totally unnecessary.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sad to read but a well written book with explicit details on the killer. Unfortunately we'll never know why he killed.