Why read We Keep the Dead Close?

Book cover of We Keep the Dead Close: A Murder at Harvard and a Half Century of Silence

Book description

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2021 CRIME WRITERS' ASSOCIATION ALCS GOLD DAGGER FOR NON-FICTION

'I'm obsessed!' REESE WITHERSPOON

'Exhilarating ... Becky Cooper masterfully uncovers the story of Harvard undergrad Jane Britton.' VOGUE
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You have to remember, he reminded me, that Harvard is older than the U.S. government. You have to remember…

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1 author picked We Keep the Dead Close as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Rebecca McKanna

Author

As a Harvard undergrad, Cooper hears a story about an anthropology professor who murdered a female graduate student with whom he was having an affair, burning her body with cigarette butts and surrounding her in red ochre.

This “macabre legend” illustrates a common critique of true crime—a victim provided no name and no identity beyond the way she was brutalized. A former New Yorker editorial staff member, Cooper performed meticulous research on the 1969 murder, debunking the affair rumor and instead exploring a more interesting story about memory, institutional power, and misogyny in academia.

She also excavates the story of…

From Rebecca's list on true crime that still honor the victims.