"We Keep the Dead Close" is a riveting and thought-provoking read that offers readers a compelling blend of true crime, investigative journalism, and social commentary. Cooper's meticulous research, evocative prose, and deep empathy for her subject make this book a must-read for anyone interested in true crime, history, or the human condition. Whether you're a fan of mysteries or simply looking for a gripping story that will keep you on the edge of your seat, this book is sure to captivate and enthrall.

10/10 recommend this book to all my crime readers! It was a great book that put a whodunit twist on academia drama! Not my personal favorite but I know it’s someone else’s cup of tea!

Thanks everyone for the copy of this book for my honest review.
Well this will be short and sweet. Big raspberries! I’m a huge true crime fan, but this one was so not fulfilling at all. It seemed I read half the book before I finally got to description or well, honestly, much of anything. I didn’t even finish it. I think I got to about 65% ish. I had to stop forcing myself it was just not engrossing and often repetitive. I’ve made a vow if I have this much difficulty reading I’m not forcing myself like I have in the past. Reading is my hobby, well perhaps more like the air that I breathe. And this air was polluted.

Interesting and well researched but ultimately boring. Too much time focused on false leads and longer than it needed to be.

Ooh time goes by and if i don't write the review right away...sigh. I'm trying to be better. The best i can do right now is give a star count...

This is an engrossing but somewhat frustrating book in the true crime-ish genre. There was a clear fixation on the author's part, and it just didn't quite gel for me. It ultimately felt like several good edits were needed, and the author was uncomfortably close to the subject somehow.

Really hit my true crime sweet spot. The cold case is compelling, but so is the perspective Cooper brings in her own intersection. Who gets to tell the story of a murder, and how? I felt like so much respect was given not just to Jane, but each individual in the orbit of her story, and to the greater contexts surrounding it.

Generally true crime books have a great amount of detail: background, suspects, theories, reactions— and We Keep the Dead Close follows that norm. The author Becky Cooper kept the reader’s interest, but the detail and length may be off putting to some. For others, the in-depth examination of sexism at Harvard in the 60’s may enthrall, but not surprise.

This is a difficult review to write. I was really enjoying the first half of the book. I was super intrigued at this murder that I'd never heard about before. There was so much information about all the possible suspects and what potentially could've happened. And then in the last third quickly felt like "oh by the way none of that mattered because it was a random person". I felt that the book was too long giving too much unnecessary information about the potential suspects, and barely spent any time at all on the actual murderer.

I am a huge fan of true crime and was so excited to get approved for this one. While I enjoyed it, it felt a little drawn out to me. The details of the case hooked me but it could have been a little shorter.

I got major I’ll Be Gone in the Dark vibes from this true crime tale, but I’m not sure I mean that as a compliment. There’s an exceptional amount of information regarding the investigation within these pages, however, once I discovered that this case was actually solved in 2018 it made me wonder why the story seemed to have been written as if this wasn’t knowledge the author possessed. I’m unclear when the author started writing this story, but I felt like at the very least an addendum could have been added prior to publication.

** spoiler alert ** SPOILERS.
This was a long read for me — dedicated many hours over a winter weekend to reading this and was ultimately disappointed with the story.
Is it really okay to spend so much time analyzing and dissecting the lives and characters of three men who turn out to be innocent of the crime? (Yes they were part of an academic system that baits and suppresses women, but tell me something I don’t know about Harvard in the 60s and 70s). And do we come away from this knowing more about Jane and who she was? Or is it more about the author and her quarter life crisis as she was researching this story as a kind of hobby?
I hope I don’t sound mean or dismissive, these are my thoughts after reading this long, long, book about yet another rape/murder of a woman that turned out to be all too commonplace.

I thought I knew what I was getting into when I picked up Becky Cooper’s We Keep the Dead Close; it’s a true crime / investigative journalism / memoir account of the infamous murder of a young woman at Harvard in 1969, an account of which has been kept alive by archeology students on campus for decades. But We Keep the Dead Close is so much more than the piecing together of a long-unsolved tragedy- it is a thorough look at pervasive sexism, gatekeeping and patriarchal self-preservation in a prestigious university (and specifically, its archeology department). This is the story of how one young woman’s terrible fate was left to rumor and speculation, which hindered the pursuit of justice in her case.

We Keep the Dead Close opens on two timelines: one in which Jane Britton fails to attend an important exam in 1969 and is subsequently found dead in her apartment, and one near present-day as another Harvard student, Becky Cooper, hears a version of the unsolved mystery that’s been passed down from student to student for years. What fuels the story’s longevity and sparks Cooper’s interest is the fact that the man implicated in the story was not only never arrested but actually still working at the school. Before long, Cooper begins a deep dive into Jane’s life and death, the shoddy police investigation that followed, and Harvard’s insular archeology department.

Of course a cast of suspects, many involved with Harvard archeology, begin to appear, each as convincing a criminal as the last- at least for a chapter or two. Cooper’s skill in painting a plausible picture of guilt without dehumanizing anyone or falling into the trap of sensationalism is remarkable. Instead of attempting to capitalize on shady characters for plot twists, Cooper uses each possible culprit as a jumping-off point for a closer examination of Britton’s story and school politics; she examines not only the suspects but those who believe in the suspects’ guilt, and how each version of the narrative serves its particular audience. In this way, Cooper manages not only to assemble a mystery but to dig into its deeper cultural context and the legacy surrounding Jane's story.

Unfortunately I suspect those looking for a straightforward, juicy crime drama might find the added depth a bit cumbersome. Even though Britton’s story has all the shocking and surprising elements of a gripping mystery, it is much longer than the surprisingly simple answer to her death really requires and its pacing is slowed by supplemental Harvard history, the gritty details of archeological digs, and the effects of rampant sexism (with nods to racism and intersectionality as well) across the board. Personally I was impressed with the level of depth provided here at every turn and found each avenue of investigation suitably compelling, but it's an extensively layered story that goes so far beyond what happened on the night of Britton's tragic death; someone expecting a fast-paced whodunnit may find their expectations misaligned with what Cooper has to offer, brilliant though that may be. Where this book excels is not so much in unveiling scandalous details (though it has those) but in examining the machinations of the Britton's story itself and the men who have benefitted from the silencing of Harvard women like her. Here we discover how Britton’s fate has become a sort of mythology- taken on a life of its own as a way for Harvard students to warn each other about professors who seem to operate above the rules, the archeology department’s tendency to protect itself at any cost, and the stubborn tradition of patriarchy woven into Harvard’s very marrow. The murder mystery is only a vehicle Cooper uses (with utmost compassion, not even sparing her own research efforts from criticism) to examine greater flaws in elite academia.

Photographs and visuals (nothing gory) keep the tale firmly grounded in reality and help the reader keep track of the main players, while statistics and anecdotes drive the book’s feminist points home. Archeological digs lend the book an air of adventure, and Cooper’s style of unearthing facts and using them to build a story about the past feels particularly apt in relation to Britton’s area of study. While I can see some readers potentially finding the many layers to this mystery a bit superfluous to what they were looking for, the breadth of information and exploration really worked to tip We Keep the Dead Close toward top-tier reading for me. I wouldn’t change a thing, and recommend this book highly.

(Because the ARC archived before I finished reading I also picked up a final copy from my library to complete the read, so my review comes from a mix of both the early and published editions.)

** spoiler alert ** I have mixed-feelings about this book: Mostly because it is a behemoth which could have been edited down a bit, but ultimately because it turns out to be much ado about nothing. (I'm not going to expound on the latter point because that would be a huge spoiler, but once the real killer is discovered it was anticlimactic in more ways than one.)

What I enjoyed about the book is that Harvard seems to be another protagonist: A sinister presence that loomed over Cooper's time at Harvard both as a student when she first learned about Britton's murder and when the author returns to continue her investigation. Harvard is also a witness to what had happened on that fateful evening in 1969.

I also enjoyed how upfront Cooper was about her obsession. I appreciated how she seemed to keep herself in check when delving into online forums where people exchanged information about unsolved murders.

However, I was not invested in finding out who the killer was. I didn't really care if Cooper cracked the case or not. My interest was only in Harvard as an institution, its policies, and how it is self-policing. I waited until my Harvard-educated wife read the book to compare her perception of Harvard with Cooper. It was an interesting juxtaposition.

I was really enjoying this for about 90% of the book. Cooper’s writing was great, and the narrative nonfiction style served the history well. However, I felt the resolution/discovery of who actually did it just fell off and made the ending a bit of a boring disappointment. It just didn’t come together well for me.

“Breathing life into someone on the page was an act of both resurrection and transubstantiation: I wrote them by learning about them, then by holding them inside me, then by feeling them. By the end I became their host, so of course I would forget where they ended, and I started”. -Becky Cooper.

In 1969 a young Harvard graduate student was found brutally murdered in her university owned off campus apartment. The case yielded a few suspects, but nothing substantial, and like many murder investigations got shelved and was relegated to a cold case file.

Forty years later Becky Cooper, an undergrad at the University got wind of the story, and it became the thing that obsessed her for the next ten years of her life as she sought out who could have done this to Jane Britton.
There are some obvious comparisons that could be made to the late journalist Michelle McNamara’s, “I’ll Be Gone in The Dark”, especially when seeing how the cases consumed both women, but Cooper’s story becomes a larger examination of the power dynamics of University politics shedding a spotlight on the treatment, or frankly mistreatment, of both female professors as well as grad students, here in the fields of anthropology and archeology.

Cooper illuminates the length Harvard went to cover repeated instances of unwanted sexual advances in an effort to protect the male dominated culture rooted deep in the hallowed halls while revealing a nuanced character study of the promising, complicated woman who Jane was. What started as a slow burn quickly accelerated for me as Cooper like a seasoned archeologist sifts through the soil of evidence narrowing down suspects making you eager to find out what she ultimately discovers. It’s a true crime story, a #metoo examination of academia before the hashtag, and a fascinating portrait of a group of people drawn together around an unfortunate tragedy. A worthwhile read.

Becky Cooper's We Keep the Dead Close started off very promising, but lost my interest about halfway through. Just wasn't for me.

A mysterious and unsolved murder of an archaeology student at Harvard in the late 1960s captures the mind of a current Harvard student. Unable to let it go, Becky Cooper's life begins to intertwine with that of Jane Britton as the former tries to solve the latter's murder. I mean, how could I pass on this? It has everything one could ask for from the hallowed halls of Harvard to the dusty dig sites of Iran, from elitist departments to sexist professors, from suspicions of a cover-up to alleged affairs. But at its core, We Keep the Dead Close is a deeply tragic story about potential wasted and death leaving a gaping wound. Thanks to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I would like to say I have always been interested in true crime, but really I spent most of my early teenage years with my head still solidly stuck inside fantasy books. It was only during my early twenties, I would say, that my True Crime interest became a thing. Upon entering the real world I found that it wasn't quite as magical or wholesome or even beneficial, as I had originally hoped. True Crime was a way of engaging with the darkness at the core of our human world, a way of looking those things in the eye and not denying them. By acknowledging it, I am also able to acknowledge the truly beautiful things, and together it makes up a balance I can live with. But there are certain True Crime stories that capture you and are harder to look in the eye, and Jane Britton's story in We Keep the Dead Close did so. The reason for that may be that I, like Becky Cooper, found myself relating to Jane.

In We Keep the Dead Close Becky Cooper takes us on a journey. While a student at Harvard, she is told the story of a young graduate student, murdered by the professor she was having an affair with. While the student is nameless, the professor is very much named. Rumours swirl around him, but Becky is focused on the female student. Once she finds her name, Becky is on a mission to find out everything she can about Jane Britton and, if possible, solve her murder. The book moved back and forth in time, with our focus point being the days shortly before and after Jane's murder being solved. We get to dig deep into Jane's past, the Archaeology department at Harvard, the people she knew and the wider circles of people who may or may not be linked to her death. Through this wide range Cooper shows how many lives a single human touches, but she also demonstrates how a tale like this can echo down the generations. While We Keep the Dead Close is a deeply insightful book about the lives of two women, it is also a book about stories. How does a story like Jane's evolve? Who benefits from the different versions? Can the villain of one story be the suffering hero of another?

Although every True Crime reader is, at least ever so slightly, in it for the thrills and chills, many of us also look for a sympathetic portrait of human fears and joys. We don't need to be told murder is wrong, we know that. We want to be told who this person was, what was lost. Perhaps there is something life-affirming in this, knowing that if we were to die we would also be missed. But these concentric circles, like a pebble dropped into a pond, of a life taken, that is what is fascinating. Cooper herself becomes one of these concentric circles in We Keep the Dead Close, drawn tightly into Jane's group of friends and acquaintances. With other authors I may have found this strong authorial presence a distraction, but I found myself equally fascinated with her story and her perceptions. She grows immeasurably during the years she follows Jane's story and it is only by seeing the effect it has upon Cooper that you understand how profoundly powerful these stories can be.

I found We Keep the Dead Close utterly engrossing. I had an essay due and yet I couldn't help but go back to Cooper every few hours for another chapter of three. Her writing is honest and direct, with the occasional flights of fancy we are all due to have when we find ourselves in the middle of something interesting and exciting. With this book she has written a True Crime whodunnit, a coming-of-age story, an investigation of sexism and misogyny at universities, an ode to the joys and disappointments of archaeology, and a touching portrait of two women, different yet alike. How Cooper managed to do all of this without losing her reader, I have no idea. Cooper's writing also takes you places. Whether she is describing a dig in Iran, a trek through Canada, or accommodation at Harvard, you can picture it. We Keep the Dead Close will transport you and make you question yourself on the stories you keep close and why.


We Keep the Dead Close held me captive for days. Wide-reaching and well-researched, written with a lot of pathos, it is a fascinating read that far extends its 'True Crime' label. Whether you have an interest in archaeology, women's rights or true crime, I would heartily recommend Cooper's book to everyone.

With everything going on this year, I just haven’t been drawn to nonfiction, so was happy to see so many good reviews of We Keep the Dead Close. In the beginning I really liked it. Cooper laid out how she came to learn about the still unsolved murder of a Harvard coed back in 1969. She laid out the facts of the case, what was known and what was not, and how she became increasingly interested in uncovering more facts around the case. I really liked it for the first 200 pages, but then it just went on and on. A lot of it became very repetitive for my taste with very little new information being added for long periods of time. I think I’d have liked the book better had it been about 150 pages shorter!

Cooper is to be commended for the painstaking research she undertook to reveal the details of the murder of Harvard college student in 1969. Her depiction of the life of Jane Britton was so vivid that you really felt invested in learning what really happened. Jane appeared to be a fascinating person, with all the positive and negative traits discussed.
The exposure of the academic inequality at Harvard was no surprise. Cooper made a point of interjecting this throughout its pages, addressing a national issue..
I regretted that the author inserted so much of herself in the telling of the murder. The story of Jane Britton was enough in its own right.