The Carpool Detectives

The Carpool Detectives

A True Story of Four Moms, Two Bodies, and One Mysterious Cold Case

About the Book

The incredible true story of a group of moms who, united by a search for new purpose, attempt to solve a fifteen-year-old double murder.

A lot of us like to think we could solve a mystery. Can these four moms actually do it?

In 2020, Marissa, Jeannie, Samira, and Nicole find themselves at a familiar crossroads: when motherhood takes charge of their lives, they begin grappling with their own identities. Their thriving careers seem like a lifetime ago, and as their children become more independent, they struggle to find purpose. But when they meet at a bowling night fundraiser for their kids’ school, they discover a shared interest in true crime that crystalizes around a mysterious double homicide that took place in their hometown a decade earlier: A couple in their 60s vanished overnight from their home and mysteriously shuttered their family business, leaving millions of dollars unaccounted for. Initially believed to have absconded with the money, they went from suspects to victims when their bodies were discovered in their car at the bottom of a steep ravine. And then the case turned cold.

But what if the moms could solve it? What if they could bring a killer to justice and give closure to a grieving family?

The four women have no connection to the case and no law-enforcement background, but the determined group find themselves in incredible and often dangerous situations–digging for evidence in prohibited ravines, scouring potential crime scenes for blood splatter, and sifting through pages and pages of dense police files.  As they get more and more entangled in this complex investigation, they also find themselves in real danger—and with information that could blow the case wide open.

An emotional and often terrifying odyssey through a DIY criminal investigation, The Carpool Detectives is the ultimate wish fulfillment for any true crime fanatic, an absolutely thrilling read for armchair sleuths and mystery fans alike.
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Praise for The Carpool Detectives

“A gripping read . . . Chuck Hogan concocts a wacky but intriguing tale about a group of intelligent and resourceful moms who band together to tackle a cold case. Chaos ensues and tension builds as their surprising discoveries about an unsolved double murder quite literally put them on dangerous paths.”—Lise Olsen, author of The Scientist and the Serial Killer

“In his acclaimed bestsellers, Chuck Hogan has demonstrated the skill of a master crime novelist. Now, in The Carpool Detectives, Hogan shows readers how much stranger fact can be than fiction. This page-turner tells the true story of four suburban California moms who become amateur sleuths, driven to solve a high-profile double homicide during the pandemic. Often at personal risk, they doggedly chase down the forensics of the fifteen-year-old cold case. The book is riveting, full of jaw-dropping twists, meticulously researched, and rendered in spare yet eloquent prose. Hogan reminds me of a confident prizefighter with his tricky slips and feints—and, yes, he scores a knockout. The Carpool Detectives is an instant true-crime classic.”—Douglas Century, author of The Last Boss of Brighton

“I’ll never look at the carpool lane the same way again. Hogan ingeniously unravels the lives of four women who transformed themselves into a crack team of amateur sleuths in a tale of true crime that’s as unbelievable as it is relatable.”—Graham Moore, author of The Wealth of Shadows

“Impossible to put down—this unbelievable true story is as riveting as any thriller. Each twist in the investigation pulled me in deeper, but it was the unbreakable bond between these four women, united by their relentless quest for the truth, that stayed with me long after the final page.”—Gregg Olsen, author of If You Tell
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About the Author

Chuck Hogan
Chuck Hogan is the author of several acclaimed New York Times bestsellers, including Prince of Thieves, which was awarded the Hammett Prize and adapted into the hit feature film The Town starring Ben Affleck. His most recent novel, Gangland, was selected as one of The New York Times's Ten Best Crime Novels of the year and nominated for an Edgar Award. The Carpool Detectives is his first work of nonfiction. More by Chuck Hogan
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