Versace estate quashes book

The New York Post reports that the estate of slain fashion designer Gianni Versace has put a stop to the publication of Frank Monte’s book The Spying Game, which posits that Versace’s murder was actually a Mafia hit. The book was pulled by publisher Pan MacMillan a day before its first run of 25,000 was to have gone on sale in Sydney, Australia. The author intends to fight this decision. A spokesman for the Versace estate, Lou Colasuonno, stated, “Our only interest is in protecting Versace from false and baseless allegations. Any action on this book is being taken by the publishers, and clearly they have doubts about it.” Colasuonno makes clear that it’s nothing personal, declaring, “We have no interest in the book or its author.” The action is not unprecedented: In 1999, Versace’s sister Donatella managed to have a book by Christopher Mason about her brother’s murder canceled by publisher Little, Brown.