The last book, The Shockwave Manifesto, was so good, I could not wait to start this next one. The Murder at Gull Point Beach is book 11 of the Sadie Gray FBI Mystery Series.
Set in a coastal California beach town known for its summer crowds, bonfires, and tourist-filled nights, the story opens with the discovery of a young woman’s body in the dunes just beyond the shoreline. What first appears to be an isolated murder quickly becomes something much darker when investigators realize the killing matches a pattern tied to several unsolved deaths from previous summers.
For years, the earlier cases were pushed aside due to staffing shortages, political pressure, and the town’s desperate need to protect its tourism industry. But with another victim now found and the similarities impossible to ignore, local law enforcement finally calls in FBI Special Agents Sadie Gray and Brad Tulle to investigate.
As Sadie and Brad begin digging into the cold cases, they uncover a community filled with secrets, resistance, and people willing to do almost anything to keep the truth buried. Evidence vanishes, witnesses become unreliable, and the media frenzy surrounding the murders only adds more pressure as the killer’s actions grow increasingly bold and public.
With another storm approaching the coast and tensions rising across Gull Point Beach, Sadie and Brad must determine whether they are hunting a returning serial killer or someone new using the town’s violent history to create even more fear.
But wow, this case was SO good. Honestly, this might be one of my favorite investigations in the entire series so far. The atmosphere of this beach town was incredibly creepy in the best way — the fog, the dunes, the bonfires, the crashing waves, the tourists everywhere, while a killer moved through the town unnoticed. It all felt so tense and unsettling the entire time.
And the case itself stayed fascinating from beginning to end. Every time Sadie and Brad uncovered something new, it only made the mystery bigger. Between the buried secrets, the town officials trying to protect tourism, the media circus, and the growing fear spreading through Gull Point Beach, the whole story felt layered and intense without ever slowing down.
I also continue to absolutely love Sadie and Brad together.
One thing I really enjoyed in this book was how much Sadie still admires Brad — not just romantically, but professionally too. She’s constantly amazed by how well he handles people, especially the press and all the political pressure surrounding the investigation. Even after everything they’ve been through together, she still watches him and realizes there’s so much more to learn from him. I love that their relationship isn’t just attraction anymore. There’s genuine respect there, too.
And FINALLY… Brad gave in.
After Catalina practically threw herself at him, Brad went back to the Airbnb and chose to sleep in the car instead. That scene honestly said everything about where his heart already was, even if he was still trying to deny it. Then when Sadie came out to find him late at night, the walls finally came down. They stopped fighting what was already there and completely fell into each other.
I was SO happy reading those scenes.
These two have been through so much trauma, danger, and emotional exhaustion together that seeing them finally choose each other felt incredibly earned. They deserve happiness.
But of course, this series never lets anything stay simple for long.
Brad’s possible promotion to the BAU in Virginia is still hanging over everything, and now Sadie’s next assignment could send her undercover again with Luke Calloway. The thought of her going deep undercover while Brad moves across the country already has me stressed out. I want their relationship to survive so badly. I want to see Brad continue growing as a profiler, and I really want to watch Sadie step fully into a lead case agent role because she’s more than capable of it.
And now I have to WAIT.
The next book doesn’t come out until June 8th, which is somehow only two weeks away and also feels impossibly far away at the same time. I genuinely don’t know what I’m supposed to do with myself until then.
Thankfully, while spiraling over this cliffhanger, I realized there are still more Jade Monroe books I haven’t read yet, so I’m going to switch back over to that series while I wait for the next Sadie Gray book to release.