Sun 7/2 @ 1-2PM
Mon 7/3 @ 7PM
Former Scene reporter James Renner has a long-time fascination with true crime, especially crimes against women. It goes back to when he was young and watched the new stories on TV about ten-year-old Amy Mihaljevic who was kidnapped from a Bay Village shopping center in 1989 and found murdered in a field in Ashland County a few months later. The case is still unsolved. In his first book in 2006, Amy: My Search for Her Killer, Renner explored potential suspects.
He’s continued his interest in that case and added others to his list, his interest leading to his founding a nonprofit called The Porchlight Project, which offers genetic genealogy for cold cases in Ohio, a true crime podcast and works of fiction.
Among the cases he’s explored is the 1990 murder of Lisa Pruitt in Shaker Heights, the topic of his new book Little, Crazy Children. Pruitt was stabbed while walking to her boyfriend’s house at night. People who knew Lisa zeroed in a suspect, an oddball type who was arrested without evidence and eventually acquitted. Renner takes a fresh look at the case, based on police and court files, interviews and new evidence, to propose a different suspect.
Renner will be hosting two talks and book signings this weekend. He’ll be at Loganberry Books on Larchmere on Sunday July 2 and at the Cuyahoga County Public Library’s Beachwood branch on Monday July 3. Both events are free and books will be available for sale and signing.
cuyahogalibrary/author-events/james-renner