Book
London Falling : A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family's Search for Truth.
'London Falling' is a tells the story of a family devastated by the sudden death of their 19-year-old son, only to discover that he had created a secret life which drew him into the dangerous criminal underworld that lies beneath Londons glittering surface. From the author of 'Rogue' and 'Say Nothing', which was named one of the Twenty Best Books of the Century by The New York Times Book Review.
Record details
- ISBN: 9780385675482
- Physical Description: 448 pages
- Publisher: Canada : Doubleday Canada, 2026.
Content descriptions
| General Note: | LA |
| Immediate Source of Acquisition Note: | Library Bound Incorporated |
Search for related items by subject
| Subject: | HISTORY / World POLITICAL SCIENCE / American Government / General POLITICAL SCIENCE / General |
Available copies
- 0 of 1 copy available at Tsuga Consortium.
Holds
- 4 current holds with 1 total copy.
Show Only Available Copies
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakeshore Branch | ON ORDER | pr08247277 | NONFIC | On order | - |
- Random House, Inc.
From the bestselling, prize-winning 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 Londonâs glittering surface.
In the early morning of November 29th, 2019, surveillance cameras at the headquarters of MI6, Britainâs 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 neighbourhood several miles away, Rachelle Brettler was worried about her son. Zac had told her that he had gone to stay with a friend, 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 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 âIndian Dave.â As the Brettlers set about investigating their sonâs death, they were pulled into a different and more dangerous London than the one theyâd always known, and came to believe that something much more nefarious than a suicide had claimed Zacâs life. But to their immense frustration, Scotland Yard seemed unableâor unwillingâto bring the perpetrators to justice.
In a bravura feat of reporting and writing, Patrick Radden Keefe chronicles the Brettlersâ quest, peeling back layers of mystery and exposing the seedy truths behind the glamorous London of posh mansions and private night clubs, 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.
