The Breaking Point: A Body Farm Novel - Hardcover

Past, present, and future collide to throw respected forensic anthropologist Bill Brockton's successful, secure life into devastating turmoil in this, the most poignant novel yet in the New York Times bestselling Body Farm mystery series

"Bad guys lie. Bugs always tell you the truth."

Dr. Bill Brockton—founder of the University of Tennessee's macabre Body Farm—is riding high, enjoying professional acclaim and personal contentment. While celebrating his thirtieth wedding anniversary with his loving wife, Kathleen, Brockton recalls how close he once came to losing Kathleen and their son at the hands of a sadistic serial killer named Satterfield. But that was long ago, and in the years since Satterfield's conviction, Brockton's family has grown to include a lovely daughter-in-law and two lively grandsons. His career has flourished, too, as the Body Farm's pioneering research—along with Brockton's forensic expertise—have brought him respect, renown, and high-profile cases.

Now the FBI needs Brockton's help with his highest-profile case ever: identifying the remains of a pilot killed in a fiery plane crash outside San Diego. Are the charred bones indeed those of Richard Janus, a maverick humanitarian whose daring airlifts to international disaster sites made him a celebrity? And was the nighttime crash on a mountainside an accident, or was it suicide—or murder?

But a storm is about to hit Brockton with cataclysmic force. First, he discovers he's landed in the middle of a nasty political battle involving warring feds, secret agendas, a ruthless drug kingpin, and a celebrity whose life was a labyrinth of secrets. Then Brockton's identification of the crash victim is called into question, as is the future of his research facility. Reeling from these shocking blows, he receives a gruesome threat from the killer who nearly murdered the Brocktons more than a decade before. But worse is to come: from his beloved Kathleen—his lodestone and his source of security—Brockton gets the most shocking news of all.

Will the legendary Dr. Bill Brockton be able to weather the onslaught . . . or will it push him beyond his breaking point?

Jefferson Bass is the writing team of Jon Jefferson and Dr. Bill Bass. Dr. Bass, a world-renowned forensic anthropologist, is the creator of the University of Tennessee's Anthropology Research Facility, widely known as the Body Farm. He is the author or coauthor of more than two hundred scientific publications, as well as a critically acclaimed memoir about his career at the Body Farm, Death's Acre. Dr. Bass is also a dedicated teacher, honored as U.S. Professor of the Year by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. Jon Jefferson is a veteran journalist, writer, and documentary filmmaker. His writings have been published in the New York Times, Newsweek, USA Today, and Popular Science and broadcast on National Public Radio. The coauthor of Death's Acre, he is also the writer and producer of two highly rated National Geographic documentaries about the Body Farm.