I enjoyed this audiobook. Rother gives a detailed account of the mysterious case. I enjoy true time and had never heard of this case. Rother's detailed accounts and layout of the case throughout the book had me questioning what I believed happened to the McStay family. I also felt that the author remained unbiased. I would recommend reading the physical book or immersive listening, as there are many people involved throughout this book, and I found it hard at times to keep track of all of the names. All in all, I would highly recommend this book to any true crime fan!

Should be 3½ stars really!

Thank you to Tantor Audio, the author and NetGalley for a LRC in return for an honest review.

By delving into thousands of pages of investigative documents, including crime scene affidavits, witness testimonies, DNA analysis, and judicial hearings, Caitlin Rother has delivered a first class well researched book - her first solo true crime offering. The finished product took her 12 long painstaking years to research and compile. What we are left with is the riveting story of a botched investigation into the mysterious disappearance and brutal murder of a family four. Whether the man convicted of this quadruple murder is actually guilty or not is left to the reader to decide. Rother gives a totally unbiased deep dive into all the facts - some of which were kept from the public for years.

The author explains that Down to the Bone went through a complex and increasingly strict legal review process, common these days with true crime books, especially with smaller publishers. This process, particularly around photo permissions, has become so demanding that it’s discouraging, prompting many authors, including herself, to shift more towards writing crime fiction. Additionally, the oversaturation of true crime content on TV and podcasts actually makes it harder to sell books. Internal publisher issues also led to the book’s release being delayed three times. The original release date of January 2024 was eventually pushed back to June 24, 2025,

The narration by Christina Delaine is well-paced and easy to follow, even through the complex legal and forensic sections of the book.

#DownToTheBone #NetGalley

This true crime was a binge listen which felt heavy going in places and tried to be overly factual and balanced . The first half felt too factual for me as i had no prior knowledge of the case but it was worth while sticking with. It was true crime and therefore all the problems associated with the case were real. This was interesting once we got part the start, I'm not sure this has been fully solved but i would recommend this to any true crime fan especially anyone who has prior knowledge of the case. There were sections which could have been more people orientated and explained without so much background. The listener was lead to their own conclusions however it was clearly hinted that the true culprit may not have been punished. I found this a bit distracting as it then backtracked to maintain balance whereas it would have had more impact the other way round. The narrator did a good job with the source material. Thank you netgallery, publisher, author and narrator.

This book follows through the absolutely heartbreaking and horrific murder of the McStay family in 2010. When a husband, wife & two little boys vanish into thin air everyone is left scratching their heads. Caitlin Rother does an amazing job of taking us through every detail on this case. From who the family was, to the bodies being found to the evidence & then the suspects & most importantly the trial. This was a truly perplexing case that i (surprisingly) had never heard of.

As a longtime true crime enthusiast, I was intrigued when I saw Down to the Bone by Caitlin Rother available as an audiobook. I had never heard of the McStay family or their tragic story prior to this, which made me all the more curious to dive in and learn about the case.

The premise is chilling: a family of four disappears without a trace, only for their remains to be discovered years later in the Mojave Desert. The brutality of the murders, particularly what could be deduced from the condition of the remains, was deeply disturbing and heartbreaking.

One of the most compelling aspects of this book was the sheer amount of unanswered questions. From flawed investigative procedures to baffling choices made by authorities, I often found myself frustrated and wondering how so much could go wrong. Sometimes I wondered what people were doing or thinking. Giving me a ?????? moment. The trial itself felt chaotic, and I can only imagine the emotional toll it took on the victims’ families. With so many inconsistencies and overlooked leads, I’m left questioning—could an innocent man now be sitting on death row?

Caitlin Rother clearly devoted years of research to this book, and her dedication is commendable. Her effort to maintain journalistic neutrality throughout such an emotionally heavy topic is no small feat, and I appreciate the balanced tone and how much work went into this.

That said, I struggled with the audiobook narration. While I understand that true crime typically calls for a straightforward delivery, I found the narration lacking in engagement—it made it harder to stay immersed in the story.

Overall, this book introduced me to a case I’d never heard of, raised important questions about the justice system, and provided a thorough overview of a disturbing and complex crime. While it wasn’t a perfect listening experience for me, I’m still glad I gave it a chance.

Thank you to Tantor Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen and review this title.

"Down to the Bone: A Missing Family's Murder and the Elusive Quest for Justice" by Caitlin Rother is a gripping true-crime audiobook that dives deep into the chilling disappearance and murder of the McStay family in 2010. Narrated by Christina Delaine, the audiobook runs just under 12 hours and delivers a haunting, investigative journey through one of California’s most perplexing criminal cases.

If you’re drawn to true crime that’s both emotionally resonant and deeply researched, this one might hit the mark. It’s less about gore and more about the pursuit of truth in the face of ambiguity.

You know, this was interesting enough, but Summer got the shit end of the stick in this retelling. Poor woman gets murdered, and a lot of the book is like “she was cold and was probably a w*ore of some kind” (paraphrasing here) 😂 This whole trial just seemed like the worst kind of mess.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an advance copy of the audiobook for review. All opinions are my own.

The narrator was great, btw!

I hate to say this but I chose to DNF this book. I made it 40% of the way in and I could just not get interested. I understand that the backstory most likely has something to do with what happened but to me reading about business ventures and all that bores me. I have read some true crime where they did the back story and yes I got a little bored with those too but they bounced back and forth and didnt last quite as long it seems. I had to chose to wait it out or quit and I chose to quit. The book just did not have me hooked enough to wait out the parts that I could not concentrate on.

This is a little darker than my normal reviews, and honestly I’m not too used to reviewing true crime, so I will focus on the writing and presentation of the story as the content is a tragedy and shouldn’t be rated out of “enjoyability” in my eyes (which is how I tend to review most other books)

This is a true crime novel about a family of four who was missing for 3 years before tragically their graves were found in the desert

It was foul play

I found this book to be interesting and compelling, easily understanding the people and how their story played out, but also quite confusing in a few areas

There were so many people, situations, and motives in this story that I found myself confused a few times, having to go back to try to remember who was who.
There were also few side tangents and informational sections that in the end I don’t feel were relevant to the case, just random sidelines that weren’t all too important

What I found truly interesting was the trial and how many shenanigans were afoot during

The amount of information that wasn’t allowed in court, the lack of concrete evidence, and the eventual verdict floored me

I would say if you’re interested in true crime that this is a solid audiobook to listen to, I feel the story was told well and left enough questions and oddities that you’re not just listening and nodding away, you’re critically thinking and wondering why certain things were done the way they were, and how the jury got to their conclusion

Now this is a non-fiction true crime so do be wary if you don’t do well with gore or descriptions of voilence

I hope for peace for this family 🕊️

This is a really difficult review to write. So, to clarify I’m reviewing and rating purely based on how much I enjoyed the book, which is usually how I work.

Firstly, kudos to Caitlin Rother for the years of dedicated research that have clearly gone into the writing of this book, kudos also for managing to uphold a journalistic neutrality. I feel like this must have been very difficult. I was completely unfamiliar with this case, I’m not a massive true crime buff, and I hadn’t seen any of the series or documentaries centred around the murders.

The whole thing seems to be stranger than fiction, it was exceptionally difficult to hear about the brutal murders of a whole family, those poor little boys especially. The whole case was botched, and I think it’s fair to say every detail was botched, and, does an innocent man now sit on death row.

Now, the hard part, I wonder if people familiar with the case or more into true crime than me would enjoy the book a lot more. While I credited the author for being so thorough, it’s also where I struggled. It felt like she crammed in every detail she had picked up, and I’m almost embarrassed to say that at times it was really monotonous. The book, and the case itself, certainly open up a discussion for future prosecutions and makes you question how often this happens or has happened in the past.

I didn’t love the narration, I don’t expect a bells and whistles production on nonfiction title, but it needed a bit of oomph.

2.75 guilty stars 🌟

Many thanks to Tantor Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this audiobook which published today 🎧

Many thanks to NetGalley, Kensington Publishing | Citadel, and Tantor Audio for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of this true crime book by Caitlin Rother, with the audiobook wonderfully narrated by Christina Delaine. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4 stars!

A Southern California family of four seemed to just disappear without a trace in 2010. Everything at home looked normal with no signs of a crime, but the family was just gone. Almost four years later, a motorcyclist found the McStays' remains in the desert, showing signs of murder. A suspect was found, put on trial, and sentenced to death. But is that the end of the story?

This was a very well-researched account of this crime, with questionable actions by the investigators, and a controversial trial. The author did a great job of walking through the suspects, the crime scene and investigation, and trial. It's such a sad story and leaves you questioning the system. Pick this one up if you like a true crime mystery ripped out of the headlines.

The first 2/3 of this book was really interesting, I felt like I didn’t want to stop listening because I was waiting to hear what came next.

Unfortunately, the last 1/3 took a nose dive. The talk of the trial and prosecution had so many people, and so many things happening (many of which didn’t feel especially important, but more to show bickering and shame everyone involved) that I couldn’t wait for it to be over. I don’t feel like I was able to really keep track of that last 1/3 of appreciate what the author was trying to communicate. It felt about as botched as it seemed like the investigation was.

All in, I’d still recommend taking a look if it interests you - perhaps you can find something in that last bit that I didn’t.