One of the most frustrating experiences for a journalist is when a story turns out to be less than it seemed. A rise in deaths has a banal statistical explanation, a juicy tale is an exaggerated rumor, a source turns out to be more boastful than accurate. A book cover for "London Falling" by Patrick Radden Keefe is pictured against a beige background. London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family’s Search for Truth, Patrick Radden Keefe, Doubleday, 384 pp., $35, April 2026