About the book: Joseph and Summer McStay, and their two young sons, Joey Jr and Gianni, went mysteriously missing from their house in Fallbrook, California, on 15 February 2010.
The San Diego County Sheriff's Department (SDSD) investigated their disappearance as a missing persons' case for months, after finding no blood or any physical evidence of foul play in the house.
However, the circumstances were certainly suspicious: eggs were left out on the counter, a half-eaten apple on the stairs and two bowls of popcorn on the futon, indicating they left in a hurry, yet their family had no idea where they were.
The SDSD let the case go cold, deciding the McStays had left voluntarily to Mexico, even though there was no activity on their phones or credit cards.
Nearly four years later, their skeletal remains were discovered in the High Desert of San Bernardino County - with holes in their skulls, along with a sledgehammer consistent with the injuries, and Summer's bra sliced in half and her pants pulled off.
A year after that, Joseph's business partner, Charles "Chase" Merritt, was arrested for their murders.
After many twists and turns in the case, a revolving door of different defense attorneys, and a protracted trial, Merritt was found guilty and, after more delays, sentenced to death row.
Nonetheless, some observers believe Merritt was wrongly convicted, or if he was involved, did not act alone.
In this twisting, deeply researched true-crime mystery, Down To The Bone: A Missing Family's Murder and the Elusive Quest for Justice (2025), New York Times bestselling investigative journalist, Caitlin Rother, hunts for answers to reveal the truth behind a heinous crime that became a nation’s obsession, with a controversial trial in its wake, and lingering questions of justice.
About the author: New York Times bestselling author Caitlin Rother has written or co-authored 16 books, the latest (crime fiction) of which will be released in January 2026. She worked as an investigative reporter at daily newspapers for 19 years before deciding to write books full-time. Her work has been published in Cosmopolitan, the Los Angeles Times, the San Diego Union-Tribune, the Chicago Tribune, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, and the Daily Beast. As a TV and radio crime commentator, she has appeared on more than 250 shows, many of which air internationally, including 20/20, People Magazine Investigates, Crime Watch Daily, Australia's World News, Nancy Grace, and Snapped, as well as on Netflix, Investigation Discovery, Lifetime, HLN, Reelz, Oxygen, E!, and A&E. Rother also works as a writing-research coach and consultant, enjoys ocean swimming, and plays keyboards and sings in a band. Please visit her website at caitlinrother.com
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