I just finished
We Keep the Dead Close.
In 2009 (I think), Becky Cooper was a student at Harvard when a friend told her a story about a Harvard student who was having an affair with a professor; the professor murdered the student in a weirdly ritualistic way. Cooper thought it was an urban legend, but found out that it was true, or that many people believed it was true, and that the professor was still teaching at Harvard. She gradually became obsessed with the story and spent 10 years investigating the murder.
It's a true story. It's also a very complex book (running more than 800 pages if you count all the end notes); the mystery is detailed and complicated, with multiple suspects, red herrings, connections to other mysteries, and clues that lead somewhere and nowhere. But there is a lot more to the book--Cooper's life is woven into the story, as are discussions of sexism, academic politics, archeology and anthropology theories, racism, the stories we tell ourselves and why that storytelling is both necessary and dangerous, the power of institutions, and probably a lot of other things I've forgotten.
It's all right up my alley and I found it fascinating, but it's definitely not a book for everyone. Cooper has received a lot of critical acclaim, but I've noticed that reader reviews are not as glowing; a lot of readers don't like the blending of genres or find it hard to follow. The book does jump around in time a lot (in chapters that are
Da Vinci Code short and punchy) but I didn't get lost at all. I also think a lot of people are probably disappointed when the mystery is solved, as the solution isn't anything one would expect after reading everything leading up to it. But that is one of Cooper's many points, I think.
Anyway, I liked it a lot. Best book I have read so far this year.