In his most explosive book to date, SCOUT CAMP: Sex, Death, and Secret Societies inside the Boy Scouts of America (Citadel, February 2025), acclaimed journalist, author, creator of the True Crime This Week podcast, and former Boy Scout James Renner, explores the dark side of an American institution, its pervasive culture of sexual abuse, and the traumatic—even deadly—repercussions of its long-buried secrets.
In the summer of 1995, at the largest Boy Scout camp in Ohio, a night of sexual violence ended with one counselor dead and another hospitalized. The death was ruled “accidental.” It wouldn’t be the last death associated with Seven Ranges Reservation.
James Renner, too, was a counselor at Seven Ranges that year. He was always sure there must be more to the story of Mike Klingler’s death, because Renner also
knew firsthand that the 900-acre camp was not the safe getaway it was portrayed to be. On Friday nights the boys were ushered into the woods for a frightening ceremony in which they learned the rules for becoming good young men—and, above all, that keeping secrets was a scout’s duty. No matter how dark the secrets were.
Determined to face his demons, Renner embarks on a journey back to that tumultuous summer and exposes a clandestine society that left indelible scars on the scouts and the staff who were there. For Renner himself, it meant opening up about his twisted upbringing, his issues with trust and sexuality, and a lifetime of self-medication. The result is a deeply personal, no-holds-barred, and vitally important true crime memoir.
“Perhaps we use the word ‘trauma’ too much these days; for Scout Camp, we cannot use it enough. Inescapable, requisite reading.” —Brad Ricca, author of the Edgar nominee Mrs. Sherlock Holmes on Scout Camp
“A story that transcends true crime. . . enormously personal and extremely important.” —Lance Reensteirna, host of Crawlspace podcast on Scout Camp
“A searing, timely account of abuse and its corrosive powers. Part-mystery and part-memoir, this a brave and necessary look at how predation can become part of the culture of the most esteemed institutions. A must-read.” —Áine Cain and Kevin Greenlee, hosts of The Murder Sheet podcast on Scout Camp
“Little, Crazy Children leads us slowly into the underside of an ordinary suburb, where trust is eroded by a terrible crime, neighbor turns on neighbor, and everyone casts stones at the scapegoat. Renner has unearthed a dreadful moment in time and followed its lasting repercussions. An engrossing, chilling read.” —Mikita Brottman, author of Couple Found Slain on Little, Crazy Children
“[Renner] is just plain fun to read.” —The New York Times Book Review on True Crime Addict
“You have not read a book like this before and, I’d wager, you’ll not engage with its like again. . . Renner is a tantalizing and almost gleeful tour guide to and through the impulses of the armchair detective.” —Minneapolis Star Tribune on True Crime Addict
“As the title suggests, [True Crime Addict] is an addictive read.” —Bustle