At the center of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/08/books/review/london-falling-patrick-radden-keefe.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Patrick Radden Keefe’s new book, “London Falling,”</a> is a mystery: In 2019, a young man named Zac Brettler disappeared, and a few days later his body was found in the Thames River. Surveillance footage showed what appeared to be Zac jumping off the balcony of a nearby luxury tower, leading some to speculate that he had taken his own life. His family, though, didn’t quite believe that theory; though troubled, Zac, in their view, hadn’t seemed suicidal. Then the Brettlers learn that before his death, Zac had pretended to be the rich son of a Russian oligarch, and fallen in with a dangerous crowd in London’s criminal scene.
So what happened? That’s what Keefe attempts to answer in “London Falling.”
On this episode of the Book Review Book Club, the host MJ Franklin discusses the book with his colleagues Jennifer Szalai and Sadie Stein. You can follow along and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/31/books/review/london-falling-patrick-radden-keefe-book-club.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">add your own comments to the discussion here</a>.
Books discussed on this episode:
“Say Nothing” and “Empire of Pain,” by Patrick Radden Keefe
“Reunion,” by Fred Uhlman
“Putin’s People,” by Catherine Belton
“Strangers to Ourselves,” by Rachel Aviv
“Days of Love and Rage,” by Anand Gopal
“Bad Blood,” by John Carreyrou
“Catch and Kill,” by Ronan Farrow
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