Reading the 20th Century discussion

I know some of us have read books by Patrick Radden Keefe before. I personally am a huge fan of his writing.

He has a new book out in April: London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City, and a Family’s Search for Truth

From the Baillie Gifford Prize-winning and Sunday Times bestselling author of Empire of Pain and Say Nothing – a stunning story of corruption and tragedy in one of the world’s great cities: London.

In 2019, a London teenager, Zac Brettler, mysteriously fell to his death from a luxury apartment building on the banks of the Thames. When his grieving parents began their desperate quest to understand how their son had died, they made a terrible discovery: Zac had been leading a fantasy life, posing as the son of a wealthy Russian oligarch.

In his inimitably gripping and forensic prose, Baillie Gifford Prize winner and New Yorker writer Patrick Radden Keefe follows Zac’s parents on a dark journey to find out what brought Zac to the balcony that night – and how a teenager’s world of make-believe drew him into the city’s terrifying underworld.

London Falling is at once a devastating family tragedy, a riveting story of greed, power and deception, and an indictment of the culture that has transformed London into a haven for the malignant forces that have come to influence us all.

Thanks, Susan. I saw this but didn't connect the author to Empire of Pain and Say Nothing, both of which were excellent. I will now put this on my to read list.

If it's PRK then I'm automatically in

This doesn't sound as grabby as the Troubles or bad pharma - but as Nigeyb said, I'm in.

He is a definite must read for me too.

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

I was surprised to learn that the young man the book is about went to the same school as my eldest son, although he was a couple of years younger. I showed the picture to my son who said that yes, he knew him, so that has brought the book a little closer to home...

Look forward to finding out more


PRK is reliable when it comes to investigative books

Wow, always a bit eerie when difficult stories come that close to home. I must check out my libraries for this.

It only came out yesterday, and I've only managed one chapter. Not sure I will get much reading time today, but it made it seem much more relatable and reminded me how young this young man was.

I remember when the story was in the news. Very intriguing and I had a lot of questions. I can see why PRK would have been interested

I read it a few years ago when it was a long form New Yorker article. Terrific story, although it has its limitations.

Good review in today's NYT. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/08/bo...

Guardian review concludes with....


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. Keefe, perhaps best known now for his books including Say Nothing and Empire of Pain, writes in the page-turning tradition of Gay Talese and Joseph Mitchell. He draws extensively from transcripts of police interrogations, emails, letters, and security camera recordings, but above all on hours of conversation with Rachelle and Matthew Brettler. For more than two years, Zac’s parents shared memories and reflections on the life of their much-loved child. They suffered a loss that can never be compensated – and for what? At the time of his fall, Zac was found to have all of £4 in his bank account.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/202...

I don't remember this story at all so will be reading cold when I get to it.

I don't remember it either. Doubt I will have much reading time until the weekend, but what I have read so far is gripping.

Another review….


Who really killed Zac Brettler?

https://observer.co.uk/culture/books/...

This review makes it sound unmissable


By the by, I’m enjoying the new Observer now owned by Tortoise media. More thoughtful coverage and eschewing breaking news. I’ve subscribed for a year

Blaine wrote: "I read it a few years ago when it was a long form New Yorker article. Terrific story, although it has its limitations.

Good review in today's NYT. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/08/bo......"

The Observer review makes it clear that PRK has unearthed a lot more information since the New Yorker article

Thanks Nigey

PRK on latest Louie Theroux podcast….


https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast...

Not heard it yet but will get to it

Nigeyb wrote:


"PRK on latest Louie Theroux podcast…."

Really interesting

Recommend

Patrick Radden Keefe is always a must-read I think. He is an author I just pre-order without even looking at what his latest is about.

London Falling is Strong Words book of the week


Ed says…

This is an absolute mind-blower of a book. Watch it tear your schedule to pieces as the urge to read a few more pages becomes overwhelming. It is an investigation by a star writer at the New Yorker (and longtime London-ophile) into the unusual death of north London teen Zac Brettler, who in November 2019 fell from the balcony of a luxury apartment block beside the Thames late at night. Cameras at the M16 building on the other side of the river captured the incident. Accident, suicide or murder? A few years on, his parents were exasperated that the police had done such a shabby job of coralling the details, but PRK's diligent pursuit of the leads reveals a story of mesmerising strangeness, starting with the revelation that Zac had led plenty of people to believe he was the son of a Russian oligarch.

Patrick Radden Keefe has been everywhere this week, including The Book Review and The Story podcasts. He is doing appearances at Daunt Books, did something with Intelligence Squared and is at Waterstones. I am going to hear him next month. Have some good author talks coming up April/May - Gwendoline Riley, Mick Herron, Holly Jackson and Will Maclean, along with Patrick Radden Keefe. I can confirm London Falling is a great read - highly recommend it.

Hurrah

My review of London Falling for anyone interested: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Great review, Susan. I also enjoyed this book. Having read Far from the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity, which the author references, I appreciated his discussion of that component of the story. I could empathize with Zac's parents for sure. And the lack of interest by the Met in following up obvious threads was shocking. Naively maybe, but I was surprised.

Although the inquest and much of the investigation took place during Covid, so I wondered whether that had something to do with it. I could see the issue the police had - he jumped and nobody pushed him. My husband is a lawyer, so I spoke to him about it and he said it would be difficult to charge either of the men with anything. It wasn't technically murder or manslaughter. So perhaps we are both being a little naive. You wanted them to be charged with something, but apparently, the law says not.

My latest audiobook is London Falling


I'm glad to finally be getting to it

Nigeyb wrote: "My latest audiobook is London Falling

I'm glad to finally be getting to it"

I just finished it. PRK does not disappoint!

No he doesn’t. I’m already engrossed.


Early days but I can’t help feeling it’s already started to go wrong for Zac having failed to get into the same school as his brother, and attending an alternative establishment which is full of entitled sons of oligarchs

Getting an Uber to class rather than walk 8 minutes is a jaw dropping detail, along with the ignoring the uniform policy and going around in expensive suits. It all sounds pretty grim and not conducive to giving their pupils any kind of sense of perspective

That's the school my son went to Nigeyb!

Gosh


I hope he has emerged as a well balanced and considerate person. I’m sure he has

I already feel so sorry for Zac’s parents. They were clearly trying their utmost to be the best parents they could be

He had a great time, and most of his close friends came from that time, so yes. I think he was a bit hard on the school to be honest and my son didn't board. There were though, admittedly, the children of a lot of Eighties singers and more than a few Russians. However, most were, like Zac himself, from normal, middle-class homes. It was when I was reading this that I think I realised he had gone to my son's school - a couple of years below him, but my son did recognise him.

Thanks Susan


That's interesting you feel that he was a bit hard on the school. The way it was represented by PRK made it sound like it was full of entitled rich kids, many seemingly primarily interested in conspicuous consumption

The book is inevitably making me think of the hoary old nature/nurture debate. Zac seems to have been drawn to a very materialistic lifestyle from early on however it would be fascinating to know how he might have developed if he'd grown up in a different milieu.

My own values and sensibilities are so far removed from seeking gaudy status symbols (big house, flash car etc) that I struggle to relate to anyone who feels drawn to those things.

Rubbing shoulders with the sons of oligarchs and other similar types must have left their mark on Zac but perhaps he was always going to turn out like he did? His brother and his parents were not like that - perhaps he was, in part, rebelling against them?

Either way, it's a fascinating story

I feel sorry for his parents, but allowing him to board just because he didn't like the longer commute seemed excessive.

Some of that school was a bit weird. However, the majority of parents, staff and kids were extremely nice and very normal. This is North London, though and, having grown up in East London, I quickly learnt that schools are a definite status thing here...

Thanks Susan


It's a fascinating world that's for sure

I've now got to the chapter when Zac goes missing

An absolute nightmare for his parents

I did feel really sorry for his parents in this book. It makes you think what could you do, as I feel there were a lot of red flags that they either missed or felt unable to address. I would not have liked any of my children saying, for example, they were spending so much time with an older man. Or going to clubs while still in education.

I do not in any way mean this to be judgemental but I often find some parents struggle to actually parent. I remember when one of my sons were at school they said there was a planned party in a sort of parkland, with no parents there. I think my son, can't remember which one it was, was only about 12. No adults? At night? With fireworks. So I said that no, he couldn't go. It just didn't seem a good idea at all. Another mother asked me, aghast, if I had said my son couldn't go and I said yes, I had. Unsupervised children, in the dark, with fireworks? Anyway, once I said no, other parents also pulled out, but nobody wanted to be the first and, so the 'party' had to be changed.

I just think that often people think they want to be their children's friend, but someone has to set the rules. Sometimes you have to be unpopular and it is tempting to always feel they should be able to do what they want, but you need to try to keep them safe.

I think Zac's parents absolutely DID try to keep him safe. They absolutely cared. But I think they struggled as his behaviour was not their normal and he never got the chance to grow out of it.

It was especially difficult for them because of his highly secretive nature. Also, as PRK observed, once he was 18 there was very little they could actually do by way of sanctions. He also appeared to have been prospering for much of the time. It was only towards the end when it started to unravel so spectacularly that the true extent of his lies and duplicity became apparent.

For anyone who wants a fun read about the madness of parenting in North London, A sociopath’s guide to a successful marriage was very amusing and made me glad my own children are now adults...

I've just been having this exact conversation with my brother about my nephew who is 14 and thinks he no longer needs parenting rules.

But if your son showed you his account with so much money in it, wouldn't you be panicked? They did seem to accept so much of what he said. 18 to me is technically an adult, but really they are straddling that age between childhood and adulthood.

I suppose that as I work with students, I see that they still defer to adults. They need guidance. They need you to get involved.

This book broke my heart. His internet searches near the end. It really distressed me.

Yes, the £850,000 bank balance was nuts though no one really knows if that was real. His parents were clearly freaked out by it but as he was an adult it's hard to know what they could do.

He also had a plausible(ish) account of what he was doing to get the money, and they regularly saw him engrossed in earnest deal-making type phone conversations.

It was all so far outside their own area of knowledge it must have been very confusing.

They did covertly observe him when they went away for the weekend, and also got his blood tested for drugs without his knowledge, and both revealed nothing untoward.

I can't be hard on them. It seems to me they were incredibly concerned during his late teens and did all they could and kept reassuring him and asking him questions about what he was doing. I guess they could have had him tailed but I'm not sure that would have revealed anything untoward.

On the surface Shamji was urbane and charming, and even Verinder Sharma was convincing as a well intentioned father figure.

Zac was clearly a complete fantasist and his lies were so outlandish that no parent could reasonably have guessed at what he was really doing

I agree they were concerned. Understandably so. Even though Shamji was charming, I think an adult man wanting to do 'business' with such a young man is concerning. It just doesn't ring true.

As a parent, though, I think you should feel able to intervene. 18 or not. They are still children at that age.

Speaking from my own experience (and fortunately both my kids seems to have emerged into adulthood as well balanced and thoughtful individuals) by the time they were 18 we had a much more adult to adult relationship. If I'd tried to control what they were up to it would have met with short shrift. Not that I ever tried. Fortunately they’re both reasonable and receptive to discussion and persuasion

PRK is one of the great writers of non-fiction. The details about Indian Dave aka Verinder Sharma, a violent 55 year old career criminal who was known to carry his bloody pliers in a polythene bag are worthy of their own book.

See also the Mayfair charlatan Akbar Shamji whose own father has a notorious background of business chicanery.

Given their backgrounds it seems incredible that the police took such a lackadaisical approach to the investigation

Everyone is different, Nigeyb. It is probably as I spend my life working with undergraduate and postgraduate students that I see they are usually adults in name only!

I agree that PRK is a wonderful writer. Incidentally, I am going to start A Spy in the Blood, which you recommended to me. I am going to Capital Crime in a couple of weeks, and there is a spy panel, which I am greatly looking forward to. I haven't had time to read all the authors I wanted to, but knowing how much you enjoyed this, I have pushed it up my TBR list.

Thanks Susan. I look forward to learning your reaction

Five stars for London Falling….


https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

London Falling will definitely be one of my books of 2026 - probably my favourite so far. That said, I adored A Room with a View. So I'll split those two into favourite non-fiction and favourite fiction read of 2026, at the nearly halfway stage

Good to hear, Nigeyb. Not sure it was my favourite non-fiction read of the year, but definitely 5-stars.