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1.06k reviews for:
We Keep the Dead Close: A Murder at Harvard and a Half Century of Silence
Becky Cooper
3.8 AVERAGE
1.06k reviews for:
We Keep the Dead Close: A Murder at Harvard and a Half Century of Silence
Becky Cooper
3.8 AVERAGE
I was absorbed by this until my Kindle said I was about 40% complete and then it started to seem like I kept reading not making much progress. This started out as one book and ended up as another one that, to me, was a bit of a mess. The author was clearly passionate about the story, and it is exhaustively researched, but I think the real story threw her a curveball that the the story she wanted to write never really recovered from.
Agree with the many others on here that many of the personal stories did not add to the murder story (and in fact detracted from the overall book). This could have done with a more more thorough editing of extra information that detracted from the overall story.
As a lover of true crime, this started off strong for me. But ultimately, it ended on a whimper. They do solve the murder case, but I felt like the resolution left me feeling unsatisfied. Saying more would be spoiler territory so I'll leave it at that. But I will say that once the resolution was announced, the story started to drag for me, that unsatisfied feeling trailing in its wake. I don't think this is the fault of the author but rather the story that she was chasing. Where it led, she had no control over.
My only other criticism is that I felt like I got a little bit lost at times with all the timeline jumps and the many people who were involved over the recounting of this case. This could have been due to the fact that I was listening on audiobook. *shrug* But there is a lot that happens here. A lot that she finds at Harvard and beyond. Jane's death was a catalyst for a lot of revelations.
My only other criticism is that I felt like I got a little bit lost at times with all the timeline jumps and the many people who were involved over the recounting of this case. This could have been due to the fact that I was listening on audiobook. *shrug* But there is a lot that happens here. A lot that she finds at Harvard and beyond. Jane's death was a catalyst for a lot of revelations.
An interesting story ruined by an author unwilling to get out of the way.
informative
slow-paced
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Layered, introspective blend of true crime research, memoir and anthropology of acadmic culture. Cooper provides a glimpse into Harvard's history of protecting perpetrators of sexual harassment and discrimination, provides a glimpse into the politics of the late 1960's archaeology department there and how these combined to shape the storymaking around the 1969 murder of Jane Britton.
The good parts were truly stellar, but there was so much that fell flat as the story progressed. I wonder- was continuing to tell this story in this arc the best way to deal with the source material when all was said and done? But if not, would I have picked this book up for being the things I want it to be more? I’ve got a lot to say about this one and am looking forward very much to discussing it, but I feel like there is a large intangible SOMETHING that I didn’t get, and I don’t mean the resolution to Jane’s case.
Interesting true crime book about a murder of a Harvard student many years ago. The author starts with a rumor that the victim's professor killed the student and then investigates the unsolved case. And investigates. And investigates. Lots of deadends and some of them were just not that relevant and did not add that much to the book. I also did not think the author needed to insert herself into the story. But if you like true crime, you might like this book.