Our first book of 2021 was this phenomenal exploration of the unsolved murder of Harvard archaeology graduate, Jane Britton in 1969 – We Keep The Dead Close. Written by Becky Cooper, the book narrates Cooper’s process of attempting to solve the murder, winding through various theories to the ultimate resolution, by so doing, almost revealing more about our own psychological predispositions and tendency to solve crime through our own biases and judgement.
Becky Cooper first heard the story of Jane Britton’s 1969 murder and the rumours that surrounded her death during her time at Harvard as an undergraduate. Since then, she was consumed by the story, sparking a ten-year long investigation into Britton’s death that took her from the halls of Harvard to an archaeological dig in Bulgaria. Cooper embeds the narrative of Britton’s murder and the unsettling details of the crime scene itself within her own story and investigation into the murder, as Catch and Kill did, laying out and describing her own process. By so doing, Cooper allows us to see inside her own psychological predisposition, moving from one suspect to the next, holding up a mirror to our own biases and tendencies to force narratives to fit into one neat mould. Through this, Cooper does not fall into the trappings of many true crime works that sensationalise the murder, letting the act itself become so dramatic that the victim themselves are forgotten. Jane Britton, as an entire character, is placed firmly at the centre of her narrative – an honest character description from those who knew and loved her best. The suspects themselves are treated with the same care, they are not caricatured but portrayed as whole character, flaws and all, allowing the reader to fall down the trappings of judgement before reprimanding themselves for carelessly doing so. Cooper has created a sensational, acerbic prose that is one of the most honest works of true crime to be found.
We Keep The Dead Close is available for purchase online here.
