When Secrets Come Calling: A Cold Case Murder Mystery in Gulf Shores

Past secrets. A second chance. But can the truth really set them free?

Now the 2025 Silver Medalist for General Fiction in the Illumination Book Awards

When former University of Alabama and Titans wide receiver Dax Carpenter learns his father is accused of a forty-year-old robbery and murder, he turns to the only person he trusts to discover the his ex-girlfriend, Caitlin Fitzhugh.

Caitlin, a cold-case specialist with the Alabama State Division of Investigations, wants nothing to do with the case nor Dax. Not only is the evidence against Dax’s father already condemning, she can’t risk having her heart broken—again.

Caitlin’s boss, however, ignores her arguments, and she begrudgingly takes the consult, convincing herself she can keep the case and her past with Dax separate. But unlike her, longings and memories don’t follow orders. While she lends her skills to the Gulf Shores Police Department in the search for the truth, Dax fends off a possibly career-ending social media hit—leading him to question everything he knows about his father and himself.

As the secrets of both their pasts unfold, they discover whether Dax’s father truly robbed and murdered a man forty years ago but also why Caitlin ended their relationship. Secrets that could drive a wedge between them, forever.