London Falling

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.

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
The Sunday Times – 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
The Guardian – Ian Thomson