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London Falling

The Sunday Times Number One Bestseller

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London Falling

By: Patrick Radden Keefe
Narrated by: Patrick Radden Keefe
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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

 Abductions, Kidnapping & Missing Persons Con Artists, Hoaxes & Deceptions Editors Select Organized Crime True Crime Exciting Emotionally Gripping Heartfelt Scary Thought-Provoking England Inspiring
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Critic 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)
He is a master — perhaps even the master — of the non-fiction narrative, and has an enviable knack for telling complicated stories with perfect clarity (Craig Brown)
A compulsive tale of money, lies and avoidable tragedy . . . a scrupulously researched work of narrative nonfiction . . . London Falling, grimly absorbing from start to finish, opens a window on to a world of financial dirty work and Walter Mitty-like fantasies of aspirational wealth (Ian Thomson)
Magnificent . . . London Falling is partly – and brilliantly – about the way London affects its young, forcing them to grow up so fast within sight of corruption . . . riveting and powerful . . . [Keefe] has a dramatist’s gift for structure and a novelist’s fascination with human character and motive . . . [An] enthralling masterpiece, by one of the world’s great non-fiction writers (Laura Cumming)
Engrossing . . . In deftly unpicking [the story], Keefe makes it terrifyingly clear what dangerous company Zac had got himself into . . . rigorous and thoughtful (James Walton)
Fortunately for him and his family, Zac Brettler came the way of one of the finest, and most famous, magazine writers in the English-speaking world, Patrick Radden Keefe . . . When Keefe flies into Heathrow, he comes to knock on the conscience of a nation . . . such a richly plotted maze, as twisting and interconnected as a nervous system . . . full of such extraordinarily rich scenes (Nicholas Harris)
London Falling is a parable of a 21st-century global city’s moral decay . . . I was intrigued by whether an American writer could capture the nuances of the city’s metamorphosis. Keefe does so admirably . . . Through masterful narration and exhaustive research, Keefe leaves the reader with little doubt as to why Brettler jumped (Edward Luce)
All stars
Most relevant
Extraordinarily gripping and well-researched - I binged this book in two days. Patrick Radden Keefe has a spectacular knack for weaving together seemingly unconnected threads that illuminate the history of London and British society as well as bringing to life the tragic mystery at the book’s heart. You have the sense of important minutiae as well as the wider tapestry - no stone is left unturned. Refreshing in an age of polemics and hot takes is the author’s scrupulous use of primary sources and sense of balance, fairness and sensitivity. Fantastic.

Brilliant

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A frightening tale which straddles the diverse cultures and contexts that are housed in the world's greatest city. How privilege and generational trauma can corrupt the young and lead to disaster for a loving family and the death of a lost young man. Gripping and painful.

London, as it is in all its horrors

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Firstly, I love PRK's delivery. Great voice. I am a Londoner and pride myself on knowing my city but this American gets right under the skin of London and deep into the dark belly of infiltrated crime. A stunning achievement. Best it reads like fiction but is 100% fact. This book is riveting.

Finest portrait of London since Dickens

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When I reflect at the end of 2026, this will without a doubt be one of my books of the year. Keefe tells Zak’s story so eloquently, and makes a non-fictional tale read as if it were fiction. Simply put, he is a master at telling stories. I actually found myself delaying picking up the book because whenever I did, I struggled to put it down. Strong recommend.

London Falling

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Brilliantly written book about the dark side of the London of the rich and the devastating effect on young, impressionable minds that social media can exact.

Eye opening account of a largely hidden London.

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