London Falling

A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family's Search for Truth

By: Patrick Radden Keefe

Narrated by: Patrick Radden Keefe

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the bestselling, prizewinning author of Say Nothing and Empire of Pain, a spellbinding account of a family devastated by the sudden death of their nineteen-year-old son, only to discover that he had created a secret life which drew him into the dangerous criminal underworld that lies beneath London’s glittering surface

“Another blockbuster feat of reportage. . . . I sprinted through this addictive book in three days and gasped more than once at the true story’s twists and turns.”
—Esquire

A NEW YORK TIMES BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR SO FAR

In the early morning of November 29th, 2019, surveillance cameras at the headquarters of MI6, Britain’s spy agency, captured video of a young man pacing back and forth on a high balcony of Riverwalk, a luxury tower on the bank of the river Thames. At 2:24 a.m., he jumped into the river.

In a quiet London neighborhood several miles away, Rachelle Brettler was worried about her son. Zac had told her that he had gone to stay with a friend for the weekend, but then he did not come home. Days later, a police car pulled up and two officers relayed the dreadful news: Her son was dead.

In their unbearable grief, Rachelle and her husband, Matthew, struggled to understand what had happened to Zac. He had had his troubles, but in no way seemed suicidal. As they would soon discover, however, there was a lot they did not know about their son. Only after his death did they learn that he had adopted a fictitious alter ego: Zac Ismailov, son of a Russian oligarch and heir to a great fortune. Under this guise, Zac had become entangled with a slippery London businessman named Akbar Shamji and a murderous gangster known as Indian Dave. As the Brettlers set about investigating their son’s death, they were pulled into a different and more dangerous London than the one they’d always known, and came to believe that something much more nefarious than a suicide had claimed Zac’s life. But to their immense frustration, Scotland Yard seemed unable—or unwilling—to bring the perpetrators to justice.

In a bravura feat of reporting and writing, Patrick Radden Keefe chronicles the Brettlers’ quest, peeling back layers of mystery and exposing the seedy truths behind the glamorous London of posh mansions and private nightclubs, a city in which everything is for sale, and aspirational fantasies are underwritten by dirty money and corruption. London Falling is a mesmerizing investigation of an inexplicable death and a powerful narrative driven by suspense and staggering revelations. But it is also an intimate and deeply poignant inquiry into the nature of parental love and the challenges of being a parent today, a portrait of a family trying to solve the riddle not just of how their son died, but of who he really was in life.

Uncovers a lot of questions

The author reads a highly engaging deep dive into the global political forces and crime rings, local policies and corruption, and individual personalities and decisions that converge in the death of a young Londoner. It’s a gripping listen that raises questions of how society and law enforcement may selectively choose among all the data available about our lives (and deaths) to create narratives comfortable for them.

Incredibly gripping

His most gripping of all his books. Couldn’t put it down. Will reread some day

On the edge of my seat

It was captivating on so many levels, historically interesting
And as a mom who has recently gone through a wild journey with our 22 year old son this just captured my heart

Great (but troubling) story, very well presented

The story is difficult to learn about, but the author's research, writing and presentation all work together for an extremely well done audio book.
I often move directly past a book read by the author, but Mr. Keefe is a pro with both the written and spoken word. Well worth your time.
Avoid the dark side next time in London.

Authors due diligence

The amount and quality of due diligence by the author reverent in this book is highly respected and admired.