Synopsis
A riveting blend of true crime, social history, and investigative journalism written and read by one of the most decorated non-fiction authors working today, Patrick Radden Keefe.
From the Baillie Gifford Prize-winning and Sunday Times bestselling author of Empire of Pain and Say Nothing comes a riveting story of wealth, violence and deceit at the heart of a glittering city.
In 2019, a London teenager, Zac Brettler, fell to his death from a luxury apartment building on the banks of the Thames. On a desperate quest to understand how their son had died, his grieving parents made a terrible discovery: Zac had been leading a fantasy life, posing as the son of a wealthy Russian oligarch.
Patrick Radden Keefe follows Zac’s parents on a dark journey to find out what brought him to the balcony that night – and how a teenager’s life of make-believe drew him into the city’s terrifying underworld.
'Gripping, rigorous, smart . . . breathtaking' - Jon Ronson
'A phenomenal book that will stay in your soul long after the last page . . . it captures how easily a life can go wrong in the shadows of a city bankrolled by billionaires' - Emily Maitlis
'More addictive than any box set, London Falling will break your heart, instil you with cold rage, and make you see London in a completely new light' - Sathnam Sanghera
Details
Reviews
“Gripping, rigorous and smart, London Falling takes a terrible mystery with an extraordinary cast of characters and somehow manages to make it perfectly encapsulate the weirdness of how London has mutated these past decades . . . breathtaking”Jon Ronson
“[Keefe] has a real gift for storytelling, an ability to unfurl the narrative in a way that is completely engrossing”Louis Theroux
“I've barely left the house since starting Patrick Radden Keefe’s superbly gripping London Falling . . . it will become a defining book of our time”Johanna Thomas-Corr, chief literary critic, The Times and Sunday Times
“Mesmerizing. More addictive than any box set, this book will break your heart, instil you with cold rage, and make you see London in a completely new light”Sathnam Sanghera
