London Falling Characters

A charismatic young man with red hair and a knowing expression, born to Matthew and Rachelle Brettler. He becomes obsessed with money and status, adopting false identities such as the son of a Russian oligarch named Zac Ismailov, and ultimately dies by jumping from a fifth-floor balcony at the Riverwalk complex.

Arc: He transforms from a bright, cutup child into a rebellious, wealth-obsessed teenager who constructs an edifice of lies. His death leaves his parents struggling to understand who he really was and how he ended up in a dangerous criminal underworld.

• Matthew Brettler — his father, who is skeptical but supportive
• Rachelle Brettler — his mother, who worries about him and later seeks answers
• Joe Brettler — his older brother and rival
• Akbar Shamji — business partner and mentor figure
• Verinder Sharma — mentor and later adversary
• Dimitris — close friend at Mill Hill
• Andrei Lejonvarn — friend and tennis doubles partner
• Adam Massey — older cousin
• Zamira — neighbor he knew as Thaimas
• Mark Foley — acquaintance who vouched for him
• Archie Craddock — friend and helper

A ruthless gangster and debt collector known as Indian Dave, involved in kidnapping, extortion, and murder. He takes Zac under his wing but later becomes angry when he realises Zac has been lying about his wealth, dying of a drug overdose in his Riverwalk apartment a year after Zac's death.

Arc: He is a violent criminal who evades justice for decades, ultimately dying by suicide after feeling abandoned. His past of intimidation and murder is gradually uncovered by the Brettlers and the police.

• Zac Brettler — mentor and later enemy
• Akbar Shamji — friend and business associate
• Andy Baker — business partner in crime
• Dave 'Muscles' King — former partner turned enemy
• Dominique Sharma Clarke — his daughter
• Matisse Sharma — his daughter
• Chanze — his son
• Roger Vincent — hired enforcer
• Micky McAvoy — mentor figure
• Graeme Hammond — kidnapped and assaulted victim

A wealthy businessman and confidence man, the youngest son of Abdul Shamji. He introduces Zac to Verinder Sharma, lies to the police about his movements on the night of Zac's death, and is later arrested on suspicion of murder but never charged.

Arc: He presents himself as a successful entrepreneur but is exposed as a grifter who preys on people with capital. His reputation is ruined after the New Yorker article, and he moves abroad.

• Zac Brettler — business associate and friend
• Verinder Sharma — friend and business associate
• Matthew Brettler — father of Zac, who loathes him
• Rachelle Brettler — mother of Zac
• Daniela Karnuts — his wife
• Abdul Shamji — his father, whom he tries to impress
• Mark Foley — introduced Zac to him
• John Connies-Laing — business partner
• Sanjiv Bhattacharya — former friend and business partner
• Mervin Sealy — old friend from the music business

Zac's mother, who works for a Financial Times publication. She is protective and worried about Zac's lifestyle, and after his death she becomes determined to uncover the truth about his life and death.

Arc: She moves from a hands‑on but anxious parent to a grieving mother who conducts her own investigation, confronting the extent of Zac's lies and the dangerous world he entered. She ultimately chooses to live fully despite her grief.

• Zac Brettler — her son
• Matthew Brettler — her husband
• Joe Brettler — her elder son
• Hugo Gryn — her father
• Naomi — her sister
• David Gryn — her brother
• Gaby — her sister
• Jeannie Lorenz — her old friend

Zac's father, a finance professional who later founds a boutique firm. He is analytical and methodical, and after Zac's death he conducts his own research, compiling chronologies and speaking with witnesses.

Arc: He struggles with grief and guilt, initially trusting the police but gradually losing faith. He becomes fixated on understanding the mechanics of Zac's death and eventually seeks public accountability from the police.

• Zac Brettler — his son
• Rachelle Brettler — his wife
• Joe Brettler — his elder son
• Benny Brettler — his father
• Akbar Shamji — he loathes him
• Rory Wilkinson — detective handling the case

Zac's older brother, initially an easy child who excels academically. He becomes estranged from Zac, but after Zac's death he feels the loss deeply and grows closer to his parents.

Arc: He starts as a successful student but later drops out of university. He struggles with the reversal of roles when Zac appears to thrive, and after Zac's death he copes through therapy and cherishes memories of his brother as a young boy.

• Zac Brettler — younger brother and rival
• Rachelle Brettler — mother
• Matthew Brettler — father

A wealthy Ugandan Asian businessman who built an empire after being expelled by Idi Amin. He is convicted of perjury and serves 15 months in prison, and his life is marked by fraud and political connections.

Arc: He flees Uganda, rebuilds in England, cultivates Tory connections, but is eventually exposed as a fraudster and convicted. His legacy of deception influences his son Akbar.

• Akbar Shamji — his youngest son
• Zarina — his wife
• Margaret Thatcher — former political friend
• Ian Fraser — corrupt banker

Rachelle's father, a rabbi and Holocaust survivor. He lies about his age at Auschwitz to survive and later fabricates studying at Cambridge. He lives a double life, fathering a secret child with Angela Wood.

Arc: He builds a public persona as a respected religious leader, but after his death the family discovers his lies about Cambridge and his secret affair. His legacy of deception parallels Zac's.

• Rachelle Brettler — his daughter
• Naomi — his daughter
• David Gryn — his son
• Jacqueline Selby — his wife
• Angela Wood — lover and mother of his secret daughter
• Ester — his secret daughter

Matthew's father, who left Germany on a Kindertransport and made a new life in England. He has an extraordinary memory and later tells Matthew he believes Zac was murdered.

Arc: He survives the Holocaust and builds a family, but struggles with loss and becomes an observer. His hopefulness about his brother Moritz persists.

• Matthew Brettler — his son
• Zac Brettler — his grandson

Verinder Sharma's daughter, who is present at Riverwalk on the night Zac dies. She later testifies at the inquest, claiming her father's call was a pocket dial and defending him.

Arc: She maintains loyalty to her father despite inconsistencies in her story, and after his death she finds his body and begs the hospital to keep him alive.

• Verinder Sharma — her father
• Akbar Shamji — left the apartment with him
• Zac Brettler — acquaintance she liked

A close friend of Zac at Mill Hill School. He watches movies with Zac, declines to start a business, and is shocked by Rachelle's call about Zac's death.

Arc: He serves as a contrast to Zac's ambition, preferring to hang out rather than pursue wealth. At the funeral, he is amused that people Zac hated attended.

• Zac Brettler — close friend

A friend and dormmate of Zac at Mill Hill. He notes Zac's memory and obsession with money, and calls Zac a compulsive liar.

Arc: Not much change; he remains a friend who observes Zac's behavior.

• Zac Brettler — friend and tennis doubles partner

Works for Roman Abramovich at Chelsea FC. He meets Zac at a charity auction and introduces him to Akbar Shamji, believing Zac is a Russian investor's son.

Arc: He is unwittingly used by Zac to gain entry to business circles. He later recounts the meeting to the narrator.

• Zac Brettler — acquaintance he vouched for
• Akbar Shamji — introduced Zac to him

A friend of Zac who drives him around in a Maserati and helps with errands. He is out of the country when Zac disappears.

Arc: Minor role; he gives Rachelle Akbar's number when she tries to find Zac.

• Zac Brettler — friend and helper

A Russian single mother and neighbor who knows Zac as Thaimas from Kazakhstan. She becomes skeptical after Zac claims his father died but holds no funeral.

Arc: She provides insight into Zac's false identity after his death, telling Rachelle the truth.

• Zac Brettler — neighbor known as Thaimas
• Rachelle Brettler — Zac's mother

Detective Inspector leading the investigation into Zac's death. He presents evidence to the Brettlers but later seems to lose interest and admits the case is closed without prosecution.

Arc: He initially appears thorough but eventually the Brettlers lose faith in his efforts. He defends the police work while acknowledging gaps.

• Matthew Brettler — communicates with him about the case
• Rachelle Brettler — communicates with her

A private investigator hired by the Brettlers to find Zac. He reviews CCTV and interviews Verinder, later speculates that Verinder might have been an intelligence asset.

Arc: He assists the Brettlers in the early stages of the investigation, but later his role diminishes.

• Matthew Brettler — client
• Rachelle Brettler — client

Verinder's business partner in criminal activities, involved in kidnapping and violence. He later serves 11 years in prison for other crimes.

Arc: He goes from a gangster loyal to Verinder to a prisoner who sings 'I Fought the Law' as he leaves court. He eventually speaks to the narrator about Verinder.

• Verinder Sharma — business partner in crime

The ringleader of the Brink's-Mat gold heist. He is enlisted in 2003 to resolve a violent dispute involving Verinder, and later authorises the murder of Dave 'Muscles' King.

Arc: He serves 16 years in prison, marries while incarcerated, and remains a figure of authority in the underworld.

• Verinder Sharma — mentee and later dispute resolver
• Roger Vincent — mentee who carries out murder

An ex-plumber turned armed enforcer who carries out the murder of Dave 'Muscles' King on Verinder's behalf. He is convicted and sentenced to decades in prison.

Arc: He goes from a debt collector to a contract killer, ultimately caught and imprisoned.

• Verinder Sharma — friend and employer
• Micky McAvoy — mentor

A drug importer and former partner of Verinder, accused of being a police informant. He is murdered by hired hitmen outside a gym.

Arc: He falls out with Verinder and becomes the target of a contract killing, resulting in his death.

• Verinder Sharma — former partner turned enemy

A facilitator for Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky, involved in money laundering. He dies by falling from his apartment window, one of several suspicious deaths among the 'Cipriani Five'.

Arc: His death mirrors Zac's, and the Brettlers note the pattern of unexplained falls connected to Russian wealth.

• Boris Berezovsky — employer

Runs a chauffeur service and takes Zac on as an intern, co-founding Omega Stratton with him.

Arc: Minor role; he later says the company never really did anything.

• Zac Brettler — boss and business partner

Akbar's business partner who attends meetings with Zac and later introduces the narrator to Mark Foley.

Arc: He confirms Akbar's account and later says the public revelation ruined Akbar's life.

• Akbar Shamji — business partner
• Mark Foley — acquaintance

Works for Roman Abramovich and introduces Zac to Akbar. He is unwittingly fooled by Zac's false identity.

Arc: He remains a peripheral figure, later recounting his encounter with Zac.

• Zac Brettler — acquaintance
• Akbar Shamji — introduced Zac to him

Roman Abramovich's confidante and CEO of Chelsea FC. Zac brings her a real estate opportunity at One Hyde Park.

Arc: Mentioned only in passing; she buys an apartment after Zac's tip.

• Zac Brettler — business contact

A London businessman who texted with Verinder about Zac. He denies knowing Zac well and is evasive when contacted by Matthew and the narrator.

Arc: He remains frightened even after Verinder's death, declining to speak on the record.

• Verinder Sharma — acquaintance

A London businessman and professional gambler who pays for Verinder's Riverwalk apartment. He says Verinder died of a drug overdose and was his friend.

Arc: He provides information about Verinder's death but no further involvement.

• Verinder Sharma — friend

An exiled Russian oligarch who hires Scot Young and later dies in a locked bathroom, ruled non-suspicious.

Arc: He resists Putin from exile, but his death joins a series of suspicious fatalities.

• Scot Young — employer

A former student at Mill Hill who later becomes Lord Lebedev, owner of the Independent. He is noted as an example of oligarch children attending the school.

Arc: Mentioned only as context for the school's pupil body.

• Alexander Lebedev — his father