We Keep the Dead Close is a victim-first true crime with memoir-style storytelling that not only investigates the murder of Harvard graduate student Jane Britton, but how all women in academia find themselves at risk.

Jane Britton, a 23-year-old with a promising future, a sharp wit, and a bright personality, was murdered in 1969. Becky Cooper hears whispers of Jane's story forty years later, as an undergrad at Harvard. And those whispers lead her on a years long investigation into Jane's murder, the most promising suspects, and the ritual elements surrounding her death.

"If…Jane's story functioned as a kind of cautionary tale, then perhaps it was less about the literal truth of what happened to Jane than it was an allegory about the dangers that faced women in academia."

Cooper doesn't focus on the gory details, however. Instead, she focuses on Jane's life, the potential lost, the history of the girl before she became a ghost story to keep undergrads from spending too much time alone with an anthropology professor that bore a striking resemblance to Vladimir Tepes. Cooper investigates not only the murder, but the institutional failings that kept investigators from information, protected suspected tenured professors, and lent the whole case an air of mystery and prestige simply because it was a Harvard murder.

"Back then, I was blind to the idea that an institution could still be destructive even if its members were good people."

With a style that is more memoirist than true crime journalist, Cooper also investigates herself. What it means to be turning 30, what it means to find yourself in the world of Harvard alumnae (and the world at large), all while seeing herself through the lens of Jane's life.

We Keep the Dead Close is a true crime tale that succeeds in bringing light to the Jane's (now solved) case. But it is also more than the simple account of a murder-now-solved, and shows the reader that sometimes, even when we get answers, we don't have closure.

There is a lot here. A lot of well-developed suspects arise, along with many other key players - witnesses, friends, lovers, investigators, family members - who are possibly over-developed for the purposes of trying to tell a cogent story. The author’s commitment to her research is obvious, but doesn’t always reflect the probably less-committed reader’s interest in the deeply-woven details. It’s really a lot.

I’m glad to know about this murder - it happened in a time and place that is of interest to me. The writing was really good, and held my interest, for the most part. I just can’t recommend this widely because of the volume of information; it really overwhems the reader. A bit more culling would have improved the whole reading experience. Less is more, and all that. I read an advance copy, so perhaps the final publication will be edited down a bit.

(Special note to my spfld people - there’s a connection here to a still-living spfld resident, so that’s kind of exciting.)

I found this riveting and very difficult to read in these times. I think true crime fans will be sure to enjoy it, although it's hard to recommend dark books like this right now. Very highly recommend to the right readers, though.

"We Keep The Dead Close: A Murder and a Half Century Of Silence" (2020) investigative journalist Becky Cooper explores the shocking and tragic murder of Jane Britton (1945-1969). The beautiful 23 year old Harvard University Anthropology student suffered blunt force trauma to the head and rape, her body was found in her 4th floor Cambridge apartment.
Investigators followed up on all tips and leads. Britton was well respected and liked by everyone who knew her, she had no enemies. Her boyfriend was cleared, though a man was seen by a witness running from the building about 1:30 am, (likely after the attack) but was never identified. Eventually the case went cold and unsolved until a DNA match through CODIS (Combined DNA Index System) identified the killer in 2018.
I love this cover, and this book sounds like it will be a good read. I was unable to download the publisher promotional copy for review. The book will be available for sale November 10, 2020.

Being a huge consumer of true crime, WE KEEP THE DEAD CLOSE went beyond my expectations of providing a unique insight into a terrible murder that puts a lens to sexism and inequality experienced at Harvard. What was especially enlightening was the introspection into the "world" of archaeology and how it strangely correlates to our need to make sense of the world through stories as experienced also in the unraveling of the truth behind this crime. The author did a great job too connecting it to her personal life in a super relatable and emotional way that otherwise seems missing from the true crime genre. This was such a great page turner with many layers beyond the "whodunit" mystery. Highly recommend.

We Keep the Dead Close is a book of many well-developed characters and this can be confusing at times. With my notebook at hand and notes to keep them straight, I made my way to the end. Overall, this was a good read. Not what I expected, though I am not sure what that was, but I did enjoy it!

A very meta true crime/memoir—the crime being the 50-year-old murder of a young Harvard archeology student, and the meta part the author's nuanced interrogation of her own motives, assumptions, and context for pursuing the case. As Cooper digs deeper into the murdered girl's story she turns up any number of loose ends, dead ends, and a large cast of tangential characters whose stories become intertwined with hers. I'm dancing around the story itself because it is, at bottom, a crime story that has a resolution... or does it? And I wouldn't want to spoil that for anyone. But it's the many ripples and reverberations set off by the murder that make up the substance of Cooper's story, and keep it weird and slightly off-kilter. This is a bit of an unclassifiable book, which is something I liked very much.