One for the Books: Thrilling new true crime is out

Americans can’t seem to get enough of true crime. Books, podcasts and documentaries abound, and TV shows — even entire channels — are dedicated to accounts of crimes and court trials, and they’re more popular than ever. The books often make the nonfiction bestseller list.

“London Falling” by Patrick Radden Keefe is one of today’s bestsellers. In 2019, a 19-year-old man jumped into the Thames River in London, in an apparent suicide. Images of the event were picked up by London’s ubiquitous cameras. Why would this young man, Zac, commit suicide? Or was something more sinister at play here? Zac’s parents wanted answers, but they weren’t getting many from the police. The information surrounding Zac’s death came out in layers, revealing “a darker side of London” — a seedy and dangerous world of billionaires, drug lords, Russian gangsters, and violent criminals.