Patrick Radden Keefe doesn’t get London
Patrick Radden Keefe's book *London Falling* examines the mysterious death of 19-year-old Zac Brettler, using the case to explore deeper issues of identity, deception, and the hidden criminal networks in modern London. While the book is praised for its emotional depth and investigative rigor, it faces criticism for oversimplifying London's history and relying on sensational storytelling techniques. The narrative ultimately paints London as a city where wealth, crime, and secrecy intertwine beneath a surface of legitimacy.
- ▪Zac Brettler, a 19-year-old from West London, died after falling from a balcony in Pimlico in 2019, an event captured on MI6 CCTV.
- ▪Investigations revealed Brettler had fabricated a Russian oligarch identity and was involved with underworld figures linked to the flat’s owner, known as 'Indian Dave'.
- ▪Text messages from that night referenced heated knives and blood cleanup, raising questions about foul play despite the initial suicide assumption.
- ▪Radden Keefe’s book highlights London’s role as a global hub for laundering illicit money through its financial and real estate sectors.
- ▪Critics argue the book oversimplifies London’s social history and overuses true-crime stylistic tropes, despite its empathetic treatment of the victim’s family.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Patrick Radden Keefe doesn’t get London This is the city of silences Nothing to see here. (Getty) Nothing to see here. (Getty) CorruptionLondonPatrick Radden Keefe Darran Anderson May 2 2026 - 12:20am 9 mins They used to call it the Silent Highway. Compared to its imperial heyday, there is far less traffic on the Thames now – mainly tourist catamarans, rusting barges, the odd police patrol, and occasional rib-pulling stunts. Once, it was “teeming, thrumming with commerce… the pulsing artery of London’s industrial boom”. Today, though the highway has largely ceased, the silence remains. Death has long stalked the river. An 1858 illustration in Punch features a skeletal Silent Highway-Man rowing along the putrid river during the Great Stink, when tens of thousands died of cholera.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at UnHerd.
