London Falling

by Patrick Radden Keefe · 2026

London Falling is a spellbinding work of investigative journalism that chronicles the tragic death of nineteen-year-old Zac Brettler and his parents' subsequent quest for the truth. After Zac is found dead in the River Thames in 2019, his parents, Rachelle and Matthew, discover he had been living a secret life, adopting the persona of a Russian oligarch's son and becoming entangled with dangerous figures in London's criminal underworld. Patrick Radden Keefe peels back the layers of this mystery to expose a city where dirty money, corruption, and organized crime thrive beneath a veneer of glamour. The book serves as both a gripping true crime narrative and a poignant inquiry into parental love, while methodically dismantling the illusion that authorities are effectively policing the illicit financial networks that define modern London.