Pre-order

London Falling

Already purchased

Click to open directly in the xigxag app.

Standard price shown. Sign in for personalised pricing.

Send as a gift Get in the xigxag app

Added to cart

Continue shopping or head to checkout

View cart
How does xigxag pricing work?

Listen to a sample

What to expect

From the Baillie Gifford Prize-winning and Sunday Times bestselling author of Empire of Pain and Say Nothing comes a riveting story of wealth, violence and deceit at the heart of a glittering city.

'Gripping, rigorous, smart . . . breathtaking' - Jon Ronson

'A phenomenal book that will stay in your soul long after the last page . . . it captures how easily a life can go wrong in the shadows of a city bankrolled by billionaires' - Emily Maitlis

'More addictive than any box set, London Falling will break your heart, instil you with cold rage, and make you see London in a completely new light' - Sathnam Sanghera

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.

Critics Review

Gripping, rigorous and smart, London Falling takes a terrible mystery with an extraordinary cast of characters and somehow manages to make it perfectly encapsulate the weirdness of how London has mutated these past decades . . . breathtaking
Jon Ronson
Mesmerizing. More addictive than any box set, this book will break your heart, instil you with cold rage, and make you see London in a completely new light
Sathnam Sanghera
Patrick Radden Keefe has done it again - a phenomenal book that will stay in your soul long after the last page. London Falling is a tale of money and fantasy, fear and deception - that leads a deeply loved teenager to his death. Haunting, harrowing, and rich with empathy - it captures how easily a life can go wrong in the shadows of a city bankrolled by billionaires. A grieving parent’s questions go unanswered; a vital clue is met with an official shrug. And the crimes of the capital are swallowed up beneath a gleaming corporate veneer. This is a chilling story - told with humanity, curiosity and quiet outrage. It’s one that simply will not let you go. Put the phone to airplane mode, turn on the out-of-office: I guarantee you won’t want to be disturbed
Emily Maitlis
Monumentally good. Patrick Radden Keefe is the finest non-fiction writer we have: a born storyteller with a fluent mastery of structure who marshals exceptional reporting with unsentimental compassion. London Falling tells the story of a family tragedy and of a city in flux, while also tracing a lineage of generational trauma and the human capacity for reinvention. I will never look at my city in quite the same way again
Elizabeth Day
Troubling, humane and gripping, a journey across London’s dark heart and the murky death of a young man – part thriller, part psychological journey, part modern morality tale, Keefe is a literary non-fiction great and he’s done it again
Philippe Sands
A gripping, heartbreaking and unsettling book about my city - a city, it turns out, I don’t know at all. Patrick Radden Keefe’s X-ray vision exposes the hidden networks, the dirty money, and our depressing surrender to malevolent billionaires. London Falling is important and brilliant
Nick Hornby
Nobody writes like Patrick Radden Keefe; nobody makes achieving something so powerfully complex and difficult look so easy. It’s a form of intellectual generosity and, I think, a form of genius. London Falling is a book everyone should read; it grips like a steel trap. To finish it is to be furious at the corruption, criminality and brutality hidden behind the facades of London’s wealth - but the warmth of the authorial voice, and the grace of the Brettler family, keep you from despairing
Katherine Rundell
Fabulous. Humane, rigorous, utterly fascinating and a page-turner
Mark Haddon
Eye-opening about a city you may think you know, enraging, and profoundly moving. Patrick Radden Keefe has done it again, showing he is one of the finest investigative journalists and non-fiction writers of his generation
Kavita Puri
Keefe’s approach is profoundly humane, particularly in his intimate interviews with Zac’s parents, Matthew and Rachelle, who convey a deep desire to understand their late son. Despite the murky material, Keefe arrives at an artful and clarifying explanation. It’s a remarkable new turn for the celebrated author
Publishers Weekly (starred review)

More from the same

Author

Narrator

About xigxag

Experience the best audiobooks with xigxag, an innovative and user-friendly audiobook platform designed for seamless discovery, purchase, and enjoyment of your favorite titles. Our flexible pricing model offers bestselling audiobooks for less, providing affordable prices and the best audiobook deals without requiring a subscription. Perfect for gifting, xigxag also features convenient audiobook gift cards and in-app audiobook gifting options.

 

Beyond the listening experience, xigxag stands as an exciting alternative to big tech, embodying a strong commitment to sustainability and ethical practices. As the only B Corp certified UK audiobook service, we ensure a guilt-free listening experience from a leader in audiobook innovation.

 

Effortlessly search audiobooks, access honest audiobook reviews that evaluate both the content and narration, and easily discover hidden gems. Whether you prefer to download or stream top audiobook titles, xigxag provides the best possible listening experience anytime, anywhere, on the UK’s best independent audiobook app. Discover the future of audiobooks today.