Perhaps every true crime fan who is inspired by books and documentaries has thought, I am sure I could solve that case! And citizen sleuths have indeed helped law enforcement catch the bad guys from time to time, bringing them to justice.

Novelist Chuck Hogan’s first foray into nonfiction shares just such an occurrence as it recounts the amateur investigation of four women who came together during the COVID lockdown to try to solve a cold case. THE CARPOOL DETECTIVES is the compelling tale of their search for answers, evidence and resolution in the double homicide of a California couple. They never met the victims, but they were obsessed with their deaths.

"THE CARPOOL DETECTIVES is a unique and engaging record of true crime fans turned true crime researchers.... Hogan honors their efforts --- and successes --- in this recommended addition to the true crime genre."

In early 2020, while in a journalism course she is taking, Marissa (Hogan changed all the names in the book to protect everyone's privacy and for safety reasons) sees a video of a car being pulled from a canyon. It’s a place she recognizes, near Santa Monica and close to where she used to play and hike as a kid. So the clip, filmed in 2006, catches her attention. She becomes curious about the original accident and the later discovery of the car and what it means regarding the deaths of Angela and Joel Watkins, whose bodies were found outside of the vehicle. She reads all she can find about the case, which occurred about 15 years earlier, and can’t stop thinking about it.

When a friend introduces Marissa to Jeannie, the two bond over a shared interest in investigative journalism, and they begin to discuss the Watkins case. They decide to do a bit of investigating themselves. Before long, Marissa brings in two more friends to their project, Samira and Nicole. Each woman has particular strengths and training that they bring to the team, coupled with a drive to discover the truth. Hogan calls them Carpool Detectives (and, in the subtitle, “moms”), but their work is more rigorous and skilled than that implies.

With the encouragement and occasional help of current and retired law enforcement, and tirelessly combing through financial records and old evidence, the quartet begins to reveal a family in financial distress and dire circumstances. With the blessing of Carrie, one of Angela and Joel’s adult children, the Carpool Detectives --- even as they look closely at the potential culpability of two others --- zoom in (literally and figuratively) on the murderers and their motives. 

What started as a COVID diversion becomes a consuming search for the facts that finally will answer questions about how the couple died and why. Hogan mostly reviews and records the work of the four women, but this still makes for an interesting read. It captures the details of what they unearth, including various red herrings and false trails, and their own emotional and intellectual reactions and responses to what they learn about the Watkins family. Most poignant is their relationship with Carrie and the decisions they collectively reach once they arrive at certain conclusions.

THE CARPOOL DETECTIVES is a unique and engaging record of true crime fans turned true crime researchers. Marissa, Jeannie, Samira and Nicole bring passion, insight, dogged pursuit and just a touch of gallows humor to the Watkins case. Hogan honors their efforts --- and successes --- in this recommended addition to the true crime genre.