We Keep the Dead Close
In 1969, a Harvard archaeology graduate student named Jane Britton was killed in her off-campus apartment. Her murder remained unsolved until late 2018, when police announced a break in the case. This is the story of my ten-year pursuit for answers.
As featured in The New York Times.
Select Press and Reviews
“Mesmerizing...In addition to presenting a tense narrative, [Becky Cooper] delves into the phenomenon and morality of true crime fandom. This twist-filled whodunit is a nonfiction page-turner.”
―Publishers Weekly, starred review
“Cooper is a stylish and fearless writer, relentlessly self-interrogating."
―Boston Globe
“Cooper's suspenseful, intensely intimate work casts a critical lens on institutional misogyny. Sure to appeal to true crime readers, especially fans of Michelle McNamara's I'll Be Gone in the Dark.”
―Library Journal
“This book succeeds as both a true-crime story and a powerful portrait of a young woman's remarkable quest for justice…An intricately crafted and suspenseful book sure to please any fan of true crime-and plenty of readers beyond.”
―Kirkus Review, starred review
“An engrossing, monumental work.”
―USA Today
“In her work of excavation, Cooper seeks ideas of power and truth, and the outer limits of our human desire to be present, somehow, in the past.”
―Booklist
“Fascinating, haunting…Cooper doesn't only interrogate Harvard, though, she casts a harsh light on the way our society at-large conspires to bolster the kind of institutions that perpetuate inequality and injustice, and even interrogates her own participation in that system.”
—Refinery29
“At once a mystery, a memoir, and a look at women's experiences in hallowed halls and seems poised to become required reading in Cambridge and far beyond.”
—Town & Country