London Falling : A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family’s Search for Truth

Emily says about London Falling: 
"In 2019, a London teenager, Zac Brettler, fell to his death from a luxury apartment building on the banks of the Thames. While on the surface this initially looked like an accident or a suicide, London Falling attempts to unravel the incidents that led to the tragic incident, confounded by  the fact Zac had been living a double life as the son of Russian oligich. I have always heard good things about Patrick Radden-Keefe but I was still blown away by this phenomenally well told story.  Incredibly thoroughly planned and thoughtfully written, the research is forensic and extensive but Radden- Keefe never strays away from the humanity at the centre of the story - one family’s grief."

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.

Author: Keefe, Patrick Radden

London, Greater London

Published on 7 April 2026 by PAN MACMILLAN (Picador) in the United Kingdom.

Hardback | 384 pages
165 x 243 x 35 | 604g