Little, Crazy Children

May 1, 2023
Cleveland suburb Shaker Heights, a tight-knit community bursting with hometown pride, suffered a brutal tragedy one fatal night in 1990. Lisa Pruett was just 16 years old when she was ruthlessly stabbed to death only 30 feet from her boyfriend's home. The town erupted in a cloud of rumors and suspicion. Could one of their own be capable of such a heinous act of violence? Their picture-perfect, upper-class facade was shattered to reveal a dark underbelly of secrets. Investigative journalist Renner lays out Lisa's case like a prime time police procedural, re-creating conversations and courtroom scenes through careful research. Despite a highly publicized trial, Lisa's murder remains unsolved. Renner presents it as a cautionary tale of how police tunnel vision and media interference can hinder the path to justice. He introduces readers to other suspects who didn't reach the limelight and offers hope that new advances in genealogical DNA research could help catch Lisa's killer. This title is extremely engrossing and well crafted. Recommended for true-crime fans of Little Fires Everywhere.

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May 1, 2023

In the early morning of September 14, 1990, in Shaker Heights, OH, 16-year-old Lisa Pruett snuck out of her house for a midnight rendezvous with her boyfriend. Just 100 feet from her boyfriend's home, Pruett was taken from her bicycle and stabbed 21 times. Investigative journalist/podcaster Renner (True Crime Addict) shows how the community focused on one suspect in the murder, classmate Kevin Young, who was believed to have feelings for Pruett. Although Young was found not guilty, many in the community still viewed him as the one who got away, although there was no evidence to support their theory. The author believes that Young was indeed innocent and presents another candidate as the possible murderer. Young ultimately died in 2017 at the age of 44; no foul play was suspected in his death. The book would have benefitted from a more engaging approach, instead of the casual and conversational tone employed in the narrative. VERDICT This book about an unsolved murder that continues to haunt an affluent suburb of Cleveland is an optional purchase for libraries in the region.--Michael Sawyer

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Starred review from May 8, 2023
Who killed Ohio teen Lisa Pruett in 1990? Philosophy of Crime podcaster Renner (True Crime Addict) casts convincing doubt on the case’s official theories in this superior real-life page-turner. After midnight on September 13, the Shaker Heights police received a 911 call from teenager Dan Dreifort, who reported that his girlfriend, Pruett, hadn’t shown up at his home. Soon after officers responded, Pruett’s body was found in a nearby yard. Dreifort, who had recently returned home after his father had him committed to a psychiatric ward, was initially a suspect: berries found on his front steps matched those on a bush near Pruett’s body, and a potential murder weapon was found in his bedroom. Ultimately, though, Dreifort faced no charges. Instead, police focused on Kevin Young, a local teenager with a history of antisocial behavior (he’d called in a school bomb threat once, and he was often unkempt in public). In 1991, Young was indicted for Pruett’s murder; he was acquitted at trial the following year. Renner does a meticulous job casting doubt on the prosecution’s case against Young and using the authorities’ dismissal of Dreifort to help identify a more likely murderer, spinning original interviews and reviews of official records into a vivid and disturbing account of a rush to judgment that left Pruett’s brutal murder unsolved. True crime aficionados of all stripes will devour this. Agent: Yishai Seidman, Dunow, Carlson & Lerner.