New Book 'London Falling' Traces a City's Decline Through One Teenager's Death

The account revisits the 2019 death of Zac Brettler, whose fall from a Thames-side luxury tower drew scrutiny of MI6.

A new book titled "London Falling" uses the 2019 death of London teenager Zac Brettler as a window into what its author frames as the city's broader decline, according to a review published in the Washington Examiner.

Brettler, then a teenager, fell from the fifth-floor balcony of Riverwalk, a luxury apartment building on the north bank of the Thames, in November 2019. His death set off weeks of speculation and mystery.

Closed-circuit television footage from the nearby headquarters of MI6, Britain's foreign intelligence service, ultimately factored into the case, offering investigators a rare vantage point on the events surrounding his death.

The book situates Brettler's story within a wider portrait of London, using the case as a lens for examining the city's fortunes. The review did not detail further specifics of the book's broader argument or its author.

— Compiled from reporting by the Washington Examiner.