Cannonball Read 13

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Search This Site

| Log in
  1. Follow us on Facebook
  2. Follow us on Twitter
  3. Follow us on Instagram
  4. Follow us on Goodreads
  5. RSS Feeds

  • Home
  • About
    • About CBR
    • Getting Started
    • Cannon Book Club
    • Diversions
    • Event Calendar
    • Fan Mail
    • Holiday Book Exchange
    • Book Bingo Reading Challenge
    • Participation Badges
    • AlabamaPink
  • Our Team
    • Leaderboard
    • The CBR Team
    • Recent Comments
    • CBR Interviews
    • Our Volunteers
    • Meet MsWas
  • Categories
    • Review Genres
    • Tags
  • Fight Cancer
    • How We Fight Cancer
    • How You Can Donate
    • Book Sale
    • CBR Merchandise
    • Supporters and Friends of CBR
  • FAQ
  • Contact
    • Contact Form
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Newsletter Archive
    • Follow Us
> FAQ Home
> Genre: Non-Fiction > The Secret History

The Secret History

We Keep The Dead Close: A Murder at Harvard and a Half Century of Silence by Becky Cooper

January 20, 2021 by Jake 1 Comment

We Keep the Dead Close is not a great example of true crime fiction and in lesser hands, it would not be a good book period. Becky Cooper leaves no stone unturned, no archaeological dig unexcavated in getting to the bottom of Jane Britton’s murder. That part is familiar. But she is also taking a deeper look at the narratives we tell ourselves to get through the day and understand the world. Which is a broader point to make, though she makes it well.

I can’t emphasize enough: if you want to write true crime, please don’t write it like this. Cooper is able to make mundane details and interviews sound interesting because she’s a talented and, I’m assuming from what I read of her endeavors in the book,  hardworking writer. But too much of this tale is comprised of pages that could have been paragraphs, paragraphs that could have been sentences. She tries to make every lead sound interesting, while some of them just aren’t.

But again, this works because she writes well and because the book is more about the granular detail of pursuing the past, especially when powerful elements don’t want to be pursued, and trying to understand the truth even when it doesn’t satisfy.

Lastly, I was hoping this would be more of an indictment on Harvard’s culture and while there is some of that, particularly with a focus on the male-dominant world of anthropology and archaeology respectively, it’s really adjacent to the story more than a focal point. Hate to spoil but Harvard did not cover up Jane’s murder. The truth of it, which you can discover on your own, is horrifying in its manner and also almost irrelevant when compared to how Cooper tells the story.

Filed Under: Non-Fiction Tagged With: Becky Cooper, Harvard, Jane Britton, true crime, We Keep The Dead Close

Jake's CBR13 Review No:7 · Genres: Non-Fiction · Tags: Becky Cooper, Harvard, Jane Britton, true crime, We Keep The Dead Close ·
Rating:
· 1 Comment

About Jake

CBR13 participantCBR12 participantCBR11 participantCBR10 participant

I love reading! View Jake's reviews»

Comments

  1. narfna says

    January 20, 2021 at 6:36 pm

    Immediately adding to TBR and putting on hold at the library! And the list is 78 people long so it must be good. I’d seen this book around a little, but I didn’t really catch on that it was true crime. Your review makes it sound super interesting.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.



Recent Comments

  • Dense on Holy MolyThank you all for your kindness ☺️
  • BlackRaven on Holy MolyGreat review! And I am so going to steal the "Who/What/Why/When/Why/How" format for a review!
  • andtheIToldYouSos on Holy Molycame here to say the exact same things! hooray!
  • andtheIToldYouSos on “Those Words You Want to Say Right Now? Don’t Say Them.”there are scenes from this book that have stuck with me for YEARS. the cabin, the ending, hooo boy!
  • BlackRaven on Do your favourites hold up on re-reads?I've never read the books, but did see the Swedish movies (the first with subtitles... my head still hurts....) Sounds like I should try the...
See More Recent Comments »

Want to Help Out?

CBR has a great crew of volunteers, and we're always looking for more people to help out. If you have a specialty or are willing to learn, drop MsWas a line.

  • How You Can Donate
  • FAQ
  • Shop
  • Volunteers
  • Leaderboard
  • AlabamaPink
  • Contact

Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo
  3. Google Pay
© 2021 Cannonball Read | Log in