Shutter - Ramona Emerson

Shutter

By Ramona Emerson

  • Release Date: 2022-08-02
  • Genre: Fiction & Literature
Score: 4
4
From 168 Ratings

Description

Longlisted for the National Book Award

This blood-chilling debut set in New Mexico’s Navajo Nation is equal parts gripping crime thriller, supernatural horror, and poignant portrayal of coming of age on the reservation.


"A haunting thriller, written with exquisite suspense . . . This is a story that won't let you go long after you finish, and you won't want it to end even as you can't stop reading to find out how it does."
—Tommy Orange, author of There There

Rita Todacheene is a forensic photographer working for the Albuquerque police force. Her excellent photography skills have cracked many cases—she is almost supernaturally good at capturing details. In fact, Rita has been hiding a secret: she sees the ghosts of crime victims who point her toward the clues that other investigators overlook. 

As a lone portal back to the living for traumatized spirits, Rita is terrorized by nagging ghosts who won’t let her sleep and who sabotage her personal life. Her taboo and psychologically harrowing ability was what drove her away from the Navajo reservation, where she was raised by her grandmother. It has isolated her from friends and gotten her in trouble with the law.

And now it might be what gets her killed.

When Rita is sent to photograph the scene of a supposed suicide on a highway overpass, the furious, discombobulated ghost of the victim—who insists she was murdered—latches onto Rita, forcing her on a quest for revenge against her killers, and Rita finds herself in the crosshairs of one of Albuquerque’s most dangerous cartels. Written in sparkling, gruesome prose, Shutter is an explosive debut from one of crime fiction's most powerful new voices.

Reviews

  • Really well written

    5
    By Giv10
    This story had me at the first paragraph. The writing is interesting and personal. The story was intriguing and kept moving smoothly throughout. It never felt hurried and flowed easily all the way to the end. Good story I definitely would recommend this book.
  • Nice glimpse into one native woman’s life

    4
    By SoJoMa
    I loved the cultural snapshoots. I also liked the mystery. But it felt like two stories forced together
  • Not your typical ghost story

    5
    By Tennessee Book Lover
    Will keep you reading to the very end! Loved the twists and turns and how the spirit visitors tied into the story. They were not cutesy and they were not scary - they were real! You learn Rita’s story through flashbacks and it is just as interesting as the crimes she is trying to solve. The Native American culture and beliefs explained in an honorable way help in understanding the story! Hope to read more by this author!