I loved this! Excellent mystery/thriller mixed with the paranormal and Navajo traditions and superstitions. Rita is one of the most interesting characters I've come across in a while. I hope there is another book someday.

Rita Todacheene is a young Navajo woman raised mainly by her grandmother on a reservation close to Albuquerque, sent off to school and finally hired as a forensic photographer for the Albuquerque Police. While she is a talented photographer, she is hiding the fact that from a young age she's been able to see the spirits of people who have passed on. When she gets pulled into several active murder scenes by the ghosts of the victims her own life is at stake as the murderer closes in on the fact that she can see the truth. I loved this book for its portrayal of life on and off the reservation and how the lives of so many indigenous people become marginalized by the people meant to protect them.

Shutter
by Ramona Emerson
Pub Date: August 2, 2022
SoHo Crime
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.
I love the setting (New Mexico) and I enjoyed the characters. An indigenous police forensic photographer who can communicate with the dead. Crime and the supernatural all combined in a good mystery sprinkled with the rituals and spirituality of the Navajo Nation. What could be better?
I recommend this book.
4 stars

Rita is a photographer in the Crime Investigation Unit in New Mexico. She is also a Navajo who spent most of her childhood with her grandma living on the reservation. All her life she’s been able to see and speak to dead people. This makes the Navajo people very nervous, and so Rita tries to keep it a secret. One dead woman is not going to leave her alone though. She is demanding that Rita help solve the mystery of her death.

There are some graphic descriptions of violence in the book. I found it to be a page turner and I hope this character shows up again.

Rita is a crime scene photographer. She takes pictures of dead bodies for a living. However, she can also see and talk to the ghosts of the dead person she's photographing. Some of these ghosts are angry and they'll do whatever it takes to make Rita listen to their demands.

I enjoyed this story. My favorite parts of the novel were the "past" chapters where Rita was with her grandma and everything that happened when they were together. The author also did an exquisite job describing the crime scenes. I didn't really like the plot of this story though. I would have enjoyed more of a horror story than one about crime. All in all, I would pick up another novel by this author. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Thank you to Netgalley and Soho Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Forensic photographer Rita Todacheene was raised by her grandmother in a Navajo reservation. Rita had a secret- she can see and talk with ghosts.

Now she works for the Albuquerque PD taking photos of crime scenes and sometimes the ghosts lead her to clues that others overlook. Rita is sent out to photograph the scene of a supposed suicide and the ghost of the victim will not rest until Rita helps her find justice. What Rita discovers could put her in real danger.

This is my first book by this author. The descriptions of Rita’s past was well written. I was pretty grossed out by the graphic descriptions of the crime scenes though. I would still recommend the book.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book is an intense, gripping read from that shockingly effective opening to its final pages. The main character is so well-developed and sympathetic, and the secondary characters are all fascinating in their own rights too.

This book has one of the most memorable opening scenes I've ever read.
I love supernatural horror and thrillers and the two of them coming together really works. Its blood-chilling, suspenseful and beautiful.

The only reason I read this book is because it's written by a Dine author, and it takes place in Albuquerque. Other than that I wouldn't have been interested in a story about a woman who sees dead people, and uses this unusual gift while doing her job as a crime scene photographer for the Albuquerque Police Department. I was very creeped out by this book for many reasons. First, I have had many Navajo friends over the years, and the number one thing about Navajos I have learned is that they go completely nuts about any mention of death, ghosts, corpses, blood, spirits, bones, or any other thing that has to do with any concept of a body not being alive. Saying they are terrified of death is a big oversimplification, but even this book doesn't want to crack open the whys and whens of Navajo culture. I'm going to take a cue from the author and simply say: Navajos are terrified of death. So to read a book written by a Navajo, about a Navajo who sees ghosts everywhere was very unsettling. I would also say that while Pueblo people don't get as freaked out by the above mentioned things as Navajos do, we do give proper respect and wariness to them. So reading about Native ghosts, as well as graphic descriptions of dead bodies, etc. wasn't fun, and was the reason it took me so long to get through this book. The second reason I was creeped out was because the vast majority of this book is about the Albuquerque Police Department, which is a terrifying cesspool of anger, cruelty, and brutality that unfortunately rule our city. The APD exists only to arrest poor people for stealing a pair of socks, and shoot anyone experiencing a mental illness. They are currently under the supervision of the Department of Justice after seventy years of terrorizing non-police civilians, but they show a complete unwillingness to change their ways. So reading about the happy little cops skipping around town was annoying.

However, I was determined to see what happened, so I kept reading, and by the end I have a grudging respect for this book. It makes the "good" cops a little too good for my taste, but it excellently portrays what the majority of law enforcement of Albuquerque is, and there are even mentions of the systematic racism within the APD that have been there going back generations. It was interesting read a blurred version of Albuquerque (clearly the book takes place at least ten years ago), from the Gold Street Cafe to the Hotel Parq Central, especially because most of it took place very close to the neighborhood I have lived for the past seven years. The chapters alternate between the past and the present, so you see the main character, Rita, grow up with her grandmother on the Navajo reservation, as well as the life she has made in Albuquerque. In her childhood she struggles with the ghosts she can't stop seeing, even as her grandmother, and the medicine man, Mr. Bitsilly, warn her of the consequences over and over, and even as other traumatic events build up her in life, including the death of her beloved cousin. When Rita's job with APD uncovers a particularly angry and vengeful ghost she has no choice but to track down the killer, and uncover corruption and murder at the police department.

I did think there was too much going on, and a lot of things that didn't feel necessary. The deep, dark details of every crime scene that Rita photographs for example. I don't have a weak stomach, but I had to keep putting the book aside every few pages. It was a lot to read about. Also, I didn't know what to think about Gloria's character. She was the older cousin of Rita, and sometimes I could see where she fit in the story, and sometimes I thought she was a waste of time. The ghosts are not very well explained either, although I am happy to be left in the dark about it. I couldn't tell if Rita just saw all the ghosts, or just the ones who haven't passed, or what. And the fact that the vengeful ghost, Erma, could cause effects that other ghosts couldn't was very well explained either.

The ghosts and police genre isn't my cup of tea, so I didn't love this book. However, it really wasn't bad, and although I am a little leery of some of the things mentioned in this book that have to do with Dine culture, I will leave it to people who are of that culture to critique it. I would recommend this to fans of Winter Counts, and I hope there will be more books from Ramona Emerson. Also, if you can, check out her films!

Interesting premise. The story is difficult to read but it is worth the read. Being able to see the dead and using that to try and provide closure as a crime photographer as convincing.

Seeing that I live in ABQ this was a fun read because I knew the nitty gritty details and it is fun to see your city come alive through someone else's eyes. This was a fantastic series starter, I thought the back and forth between the timelines would not work but the author ended up writing it flawlessly so you never got lost. Looking forward to seeing more of this character and series.

Rita Todacheene works for the Albuquerque police, the only job she could find where she could could use her talent for photography. She takes pictures of crime and accident scenes, which is complicated for a Navajo woman. Traditionally, if you're Dine, you don't want to spend time around dead people. But even before she began work as a forensic photographer, Rita spent time with the dead. Despite the best efforts of a traditional healer, she sees them, she talks to them, she tries to avoid those who wish her harm.

Erma has other plans. She wants to know what happened to her, and won't let Rita rest until she knows who tossed her off that highway overpass to her death. Given her rage and persistence, and learning that she had a connection to a drug cartel, Rita concludes this is one of the bad ghosts, but the only way to stop her is to find enough evidence to persuade the police that it wasn't a suicide, that something bad is going on and it involves the police.

This quest is interleaved with Rita's childhood and youth on the rez, her relationship with her grandmother and often-absent mother, and the cameras that formed her view of the world since she was five years old.

Don't let the paranormal aspects of the plot put you off. This is a beautifully told mystery that moves smartly and yet doesn't sacrifice character, setting, or narrative art for plot. Nor is the ghostly theme culturally appropriative. The author is a Dine filmmaker and she anchors everything in Navajo culture while briskly telling a dramatic tale. She also anchors it in what seems like deep knowledge of the Albuquerque scene and police practice - as well as photography.

My one criticism is the gruesomeness of the opening chapter, where we see the remains of Erma's body scattered across a highway through the lens of Rita's camera as she takes hundreds of forensic photos. I nearly put it down after a few pages because it was so gory, and that would have been a mistake. It wouldn't hurt to skip past it.

This is a gripping story from page one. The author is great at writing details that really make you feel like part of the story. The setting is fantastic. It so much more than just a mystery. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to more by Ramona Emerson.

I was going to give this book just 3 stars, but once I reached over halfway through, that changed. I love the setting (New Mexico) and I enjoyed the characters. An indigenous police forensic photographer who can communicate with the dead. Crime and the supernatural all combined in a good mystery sprinkled with the rituals and spirituality of the Navajo nation. What could be better?

This book is due to be published in August, 2022. Please add it to your list.