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    The Breaking Point: A Body Farm Novel
    The Breaking Point: A Body Farm Novel
    The Breaking Point: A Body Farm Novel
    Audiobook11 hours

    The Breaking Point: A Body Farm Novel

    Written by Jefferson Bass

    Narrated by Tom Stechschulte

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

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

    It’s been ten years since Dr. Bill Brockton created the Body Farm—the world’s first postmortem research facility dedicated to advancing the frontiers of forensic science—and the researcher is at the pinnacle of his career. Under his leadership, the University of Tennessee’s forensic anthropology program has become the most prominent in the world, and Brockton’s skills and knowledge are in high demand among top law enforcement. Calling him in for a number of high profile cases, the FBI now wants him to identify the charred remains of a maverick millionaire, killed in a fiery plane crash.

    But a storm is about to hit Brockton with cataclysmic force. First, his identification of the crash victim is called into question. Then he receives a threatening message from the serial killer who attempted to murder the scientist and his family a decade ago. And from Brockton’s beloved wife Kathleen—his lodestone and his source of security—he gets the most shocking news of all. Will Brockton be able to weather this deluge . . . or has he finally reached the breaking point?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateJun 9, 2015
    ISBN9780062350725
    Author

    Jefferson Bass

    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.

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    Reviews for The Breaking Point

    4/5

    24 ratings13 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Paul is new to GATE high school, a private school where his mom has gotten a teaching job. He is bullied and picked on until he becomes friends with a boy named Charlie. Charlie seems like the perfect child. He doesn’t get in trouble at school, he gets good grades, he is very popular with the students and the teachers, and he is in athletics. When Paul starts hanging out with Charlie everyone becomes his friend. He begins drinking, causing minor destruction like knocking over mail boxes, and leaves campus at lunch with his new friends. Girls start to notice him and he begins to party. The problem is, hanging with Charlie comes at a price. The first time Charlie asks for a favor, it is to break into the school and change Charlie’s grade for one class. Paul hesitates with this and says no. The next day, Paul is back to being bullied. So, Paul decides to do it. Then Charlie and him become closer. Paul goes over to Charlie’s house everyday after school. They play video games together on the computer and tell each other secrets. Charlie calls Paul his best friend. It isn’t until Charlie asks Paul to do something even more dangerous that Paul hits his breaking point.Flinn states that she wrote this book about something that scared her. She wanted to investigate what it would be like to be inside the head of a high school student that was traveling through this uncertainty and struggle with the hatred of his classmates. What would it take for someone to be pushed so hard that they would take drastic measures. As a school teacher, I often wonder the same thing. I studied a lot about violence in schools because I wanted to be someone who would stop it. I enjoy the fact that my students like to be around me even though I can be strict in class. I’ve often found that middle school and high school students put more effort into your classroom when they enjoy being there. I know this aside is not directly related to the book, but it is the reason why I wanted to read it in the first place. I try to read all of the books that I can that involve school violence. This is very well written. I can identify with Paul. I wish that someone would have seen what was going on before the plot escalated. I wonder if people saw the trouble in Charlie and ignored it. That direction is something I would have enjoyed discovering more about. I would recommend this book to young adults that are 14 and over with some discussion from adults. I think it’s an important topic to investigate and discussion is crucial in that investigation. Parents and teachers should definitely read this book with their students/children.4/5 stars
    • 1/5
      Alas, this is practically a carbon copy of Cormier's much better book The Chocolate War.
    • 3/5
      One of newest novels in the Body Farm series, it is actually the sequel to Cut to the Bone, and at the same time a prequel to the rest of the series. It’s been ten years since Dr. Bill Brockton created the Body Farm—and Brockton is at the pinnacle of his career. In this novel we still have not meet some of the familiar characters that most are familiar with the rest of the series—particularly Miranda Lovelady. The FBI now wants him to identify the charred remains of a maverick millionaire, killed in a fiery plane crash. But a storm is about to hit Brockton with massive force. First, his identification of the crash victim is called into question. Then he receives a threatening message from the serial killer who attempted to murder the scientist and his family a decade ago (I could have done without this plot line). And worst of all, Brockton’s beloved wife Kathleen receives devastating news. At times it was hard to figure out how all of this would blend together, but it does, particularly with a wonderful twist at the end. Another great read—but I would like to read another Body Farm soon that is from the present (I really miss the Miranda character). 3 out of 5 stars.
    • 4/5
      Oh, so much happens in this book. Dr Brockton is attacked on all sides -- professional and personal. He loses his Katherine, but he manages to save his career and solve the mystery.
    • 4/5
      This is a book that affected me because I am a teenager going through similar things Paul Richmond went through, though on a much smaller scale. After reading the novel, I was able to learn that one's actions may cause much larger reactions than one may have anticipated. Flinn proposes an interesting inquiry whether or not one is able to control one's reactions or if others provoking one instigate one’s reactions. An unpredictable story, Breaking Point is definitely a book I would advise any teenager to read. I do not think this book will catch the attention of adults unless they are in an environment with teenagers.
    • 4/5
      Early days at the Body Farm and first fame; then, notoriety as his analysis of a complex air crash is invalidated. A return to the crash site brings new insights into how the death occurred but raises questions about why and who. Tragedies at home and in prison add nuances and complexity to a quite good story line.
    • 3/5
      The latest in a series of forensic mysteries co-written by Bill Bass, the director of the real-life Body Farm at the University of Tennessee. This one is set in the past, before the Bass-based Dr. Brockton's wife dies, and that's a good thing, because the latter books in this series seemed to make Dr. Brockton a more and more ridiculous character. There are still unpleasant elements of overwrought plotting and paranoid and borderline stupid behavior but the core mystery is good and the technical aspects as well-described as usual.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoy Jefferson Bass's Body Farm books. They are always entertaining and well-written, with good plot development, even better character development, a great mystery, and satisfying conclusion. The reason I did not give this book 5 stars is that I was really confused at first. Even though I read the plot summary on the back of the book, nowhere did it say that this book was actually going back in time, taking place well before some of the previous books in this series took place. (Disclaimer: I was given an uncorrected proof to review, so it's quite possible that the final published version explains this in the cover summary. It just wasn't explained on my copy.)Setting aside my confusion, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Dr. Bill Brockton is called in to help identify the remains of someone killed in a plane crash. The mystery of the crash and the identity of the pilot prove more and more confounding to authorities and to Brockton himself, the more they investigate.The writing team of Jon Jefferson and Dr. Bill Bass (the real-life creator of the Body Farm) do a wonderful job of fleshing out the characters of Brockton and his wife. As the reader, I truly cared about them, their personal lives, and their professional lives. That's what I really love about the Body Farm series. The books make me care. "The Breaking Point" is not just a procedural but a fully developed, excellently written novel. I look forward to the next in the series.
    • 4/5
      hardcover Early on, the novel has elements of a peaceful setting. Soon, disaster after disaster afflict Dr Bill Brockton, in both his personal and professional life. At the risk of interjecting spoilers, I'll let calamity evolve at your reading pace. The question: "Will Brockton be able to weather this deluge . . . or has he finally reached the breaking point?" Dr. Bill Brockton, founder of the University of Tennessee's Body Farm "(and a fictional version of Dr. Bill Bass, one of two coauthors, with Jon Jefferson, behind the Jefferson Bass pseudonym)" is presented a challenging case. "A man has died in a plane crash; the body is burned almost beyond recognition, and the FBI asks Brockton to see if he can determine whether the dead man is indeed a world-famous humanitarian, and whether he might have been murdered. Soon Brockton finds his professional expertise called into question and his life and the lives of his loved ones threatened by an old adversary." ( from description) I crumbled with Brockton and then followed closely his life coping strategies. A compelling and emotionally gripping story. Tennessee - South (U.S.)...2000s -- 21st century...forensic anthropology...serial killers...mystery-suspense fiction.
    • 4/5
      This was one of the more intense books in this series. There was a lot going on. When one thing goes wrong in your life then it seems that many things can go wrong. This one is a bit of a tear jerker. I look forward to another book in this series.
    • 3/5
      The second in the"prequel" a bit better than the last book, but it's still a far cry from the first books in the series.
    • 5/5
      I really enjoyed this book. The science bits were well explained and well integrated within the story, and the story made sense, two seemingly mundane items for any crime novel, except that so many novels in this genre don't do so well at these tasks. I was a bit annoyed that none of the active characters in the investigation were female, except a couple secretaries, the victim's grieving widow and the hero's dying wife. Having watched far too much Bones lately for my own good, I found myself pondering what Dr. Sweets would say about this near absence of women in the story. I have not read any other books in this series (I won my copy of this novel through a Goodreads First Reads giveaway) so perhaps had I read more I would have better context and more female characters within the series to make up for the notable lack of them in this story. The murder was clever, though, and I appreciated that despite a few mushy scenes, there was very little sappy soap-operatic drama to take away from the forensic science and investigative thriller core of this novel. I might have to check out a few more books in this series once my TBR stacks get a bit smaller.
    • 3/5
      This was a good book and a quick read, but there's just nothing special about it. Charlie and Paul come off as believable characters, it's just hard to believe the events that happen to Paul and he never goes and tells anyone. His relationship with his father also stretches the bonds of believability.