This was an interesting audiobook. I didn’t love the narrator, but I did feel that she embodied the voice of the main character. I thought the story was rather slow until about three quarters of the way through the book. I loved the chapters that took place in Rita’s childhood but a lot of the others really irked me. I was super annoyed with Irma’s ghost who pushed for more even when Rita was helping. My frustration detracted from the story for me a little. Rita is a Navajo person with an odd affliction for her people - she can see dead people. She’s always been drawn to photography and in an effort to make that passion into a paid career she becomes a crime scene photographer. The opening scene to this book is pretty graphic and grisly, a women who jumped or was thrown from an overpass in so many pieces and I thought this was a bold way to start the book. Rita’s description of Irma’s body was long and very, very detailed. It was an interesting way to start for sure. I think I liked the childhood chapters the best because they contained so much more culture as Rita grew up on the reservation and they brought Rita’s character alive more than her present day chapters did. This was a solid debut and I definitely would like to see this author write more.. I gave it 3.5 stars rounded up for the details on cameras and photography which I felt like was a unique aspect to a book with a lot of tired tropes.

I was immediately interested by the setting on this book (the Navajo Nation in New Mexico) and the main character (a forensic photographer who sees the ghosts of the crime victims). Rita has seen ghosts since childhood, and now one of the victims she’s photographing won’t leave her alone until Rita helps track down and uncovers her killer.

I’m not normally one for a straight up murder mystery, but I was thoroughly enthralled with this one. It’s deep character study but also, ghosts! The real way you draw me into almost any book. I’m always down for a good ghost story and this one left me wishing for cooler temps, falling leaves, and more creepy stories.

This one is available in print and audio wherever you get your books.

First class narration brought this intriguing ghost story to life. I started this listen hoping for a good mystery and ended up thoroughly enjoying a beautifully written coming of age story….with a fair share of gruesome murders and criminal mayhem. Set in New Mexico and the Navajo Nation, Emerson steeped her story in the aura, mysticism and in ways of the Diné.

Form the first sentence I loved this book. Her descriptions were great. The entire crime scene and how huge it could be and how long to find all the evidence as mindblowing. The paranormal part of the story just added so much to the character that I loved her all the more.
I hope this series stays around a long time and has many books in it!

Read is used to seeing things others don’t see and she’s also used to victims helping her take pictures that solve casesbut when she is called to take pictures of a girls Bobby parts that are spread all over the highway they say it’s a suicide but the ghost says different. Her spirit is relentless and wanting justice and Rita will either have to help her or live with it. I don’t really have a lot to say about this book because I really didn’t like her either she seemed very angry and not nice I notice a lot of main characters in books these days are not that likable and it makes me wonder who likes these books because I certainly don’t. I feel like people wrote for those they understand and I totally didn’t get Rita at all. And the whole description about her being a baby and never sleeping I don’t know that just creeped me out. I wish I could say I loved this book but I really didn’t as a matter of a fact I still had two chapters left and didn’t finish it. Maybe you will like it it is a boat a Native American with supernatural abilities and she is the photographer for the local police station and she hast to solve the crime or the ghost will not let her go . I feel bad I didn’t like the book but don’t want to lie I really didn’t. Please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review I was given this book from NetGalleyShelf and a publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Personally I really enjoyed this book. I loved learning about the Navajo language, culture and traditions.

I felt like I connected with the protagonist in some ways. I don’t speak to ghosts but in other ways I could relate.

I felt like we were learning about her as a person along with figuring out the crime/murder aspect. Although we knew who the bad guy was, it was getting justice for me that kept me going.

The best part for me was when she had the $1500 job to take pictures of alive people and she stumbled upon the bad guy murdering someone. That was a great scene! I felt like I was right there with her.

I will be reading more from this author and the narrator was absolutely brilliant and spot on for me. My only issue is the reverb/echoing from the server. Other than that, this was perfect. Nothing wrong with the book.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

Where do I even begin? There are so many things that I love about this book. I love that the protagonist is an indigenous woman named Rita. I love even more that she is smart and is comfortable in her own skin even when those around her want her to be different. Rita is a forensic photographer that can see and communicate with the dead. Which is kind of an anomaly as she is Navajo. I really, really liked learning about this aspect of the Navajo culture. I love that she embraces who she is and where she comes from. I loved watching Rita grow throughout the story and it was so fun to get to know her and her grandmother as well as the culture of the Navajo people. And then the ending! What!!! Totally awesome! I loved the slow build-up of the story to get to that ending! Totally worth it for me! I very much got sucked in and may have stayed up way too late to listen to the end, and it was totally worth it! I really feel like Ramona Emerson wrote about what she knows and what she loves with this book. Well worth reading!

<i>Thank you Netgalley for this review copy in exchange for an honest review.</i>
A strong debut from this author! While not described as autobiographical, it's clear that the author drew upon her photography background and Native American heritage for this story. This is "slow burn" mystery, similar to [book:The Dry|27824826], or works by [author:Karin Slaughter|12504] and [author:Ruth Ware|9013543], so fans of the more procedural mysteries (not the psychological twisty type) would probably really enjoy this. Audiobook was good but I didn't really feel like it added anything.

This book is amazing. I listened to it as an audiobook. I recommend this book to anyone. Its crime and spooky.

An indigenous woman, Rita Todacheene, loves photography and studies the art while in school. She grapples with what to do as a career in photography. She decides to become a forensic photographer working with the Albuquerque police department.
I really enjoyed that the story is set in New Mexico and appreciated the descriptions of the city and the challenges with drug cartels.
I also found it fascinating to read about Rita's encounters with the dead, something considered taboo in Navajo culture, and how her grandmother responds to her line of work.
Overall an interesting novel that has some slower pacing midway through the book but picks up and has a bit of suspense towards the end of the novel.
I would recommend to those that enjoy stories about culture and thrillers

Rita, a young Navajo woman works as a Forensic Photographer for Albuquerque Police. She sees ghosts, is stalked and tormented by the recently dead who realize that Rita can see them and they want her to help them.

This mystery opens with one of the most graphic descriptions of a traffic accident, and it gives such an eye-opening reveal of Rita, the horrors she sees everyday, her professionalism, her skill in her job and her treatment as an indigenous woman in a field full of men.

The tone of Emerson’s writing and the no-nonsense, authentic narration by Charley Flyte @seecharleyread gives the impression of a hard-nosed police procedural. So when Rita struggles with her interactions with dead, it is so believably a part of her difficult job chronicling violence.

Every other chapter is her childhood, learning to survive surrounded by visions of ghosts. She is raised within an overlap of Navajo mysticism and intolerant Catholicism, first in the New Mexico desert with her grandmother and then in the city with her negligent and begrudging young mother. Rita has emotional baggage even without the stresses of maintaining personal boundaries with the desperate and grasping dead who want to be seen.

The unfolding mystery of an angry ghost of a recently murdered woman, Irma, who demands that Rita help her find justice is exciting and well paced. Irma knows her murderer, can Rita help her bring down a cartel?

An exciting and well told tale that could maybe be the beginning of a series? I would follow Rita wherever she leads.

Shutter is a gritty and poetically written novel about a forensic photographer who is haunted by a victim she took pictures of. Immediately we're propelled into a gruesome crime scene and we're left wondering what exactly happened. I really enjoyed the unique voice and story told. I listened to the audiobook, which was well read by Charley Flyte. I recommend this if you're looking for something dark off the beaten path.

Thank you Soho Press / RB Media and NetGalley for providing this ebook/audiobook ARC. All thoughts are my own.

Book: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Narration: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[blurb]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.

[Content Warnings] This is a horror/Thriller book. There are several graphic scenes. Some depict young children. I (personally) don't think any are done malevolently, all are done in a way that fit the story.

[Review] STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND READ THIS BOOK RIGHT NOW!
Okay, wait. If you like true crime; if you like horror movies; if you like things that waiver on the paranormal side of things; if you aren't afraid of the nitty-gritty details that come along with things of that nature, then RUN to go get this book.

This book is phenomenal!

I honestly am in awe of the story telling of this book. A lot of books waiver on the one side or the other, either there's too much of the world building and not enough character building, or too much the other way. It's even more present in debut novels. That doesn't exist at all in this book. The characters and the world are all so beautifully woven together. Its impeccable! I'm truly obsessed with this book. The way the author weaves the paranormal and 'true crime' together so effortlessly, is just *chef's kiss* perfection!

I can not recommend this book enough (if this book sounds like your cup of tea)

Thank you, Netgalley & RB Media for the ARC audiobook
Thank you, Ramona Emerson for this unique and extraordinary book!
Thank you, Charley Flyte for lending your unique and special voice to bring these characters to life. I know this book is special, but it required a special voice to bring it to life the way you did! Thank you so much!!!

Rita is a forensic photographer and she sees ghosts! This book is a refreshing twist on the traditional police mystery. Since Rita is the photographer it is not up to her to find out the truth, however when an angry ghost insists she would never commit suicide it is then up to Rita to pursue the truth. I kept wanting to shout at my audiobook 'just tell people what you know!' But how do you explain to people that a ghost told you and therefore it must be true? You don't. And this is where Rita has to get creative to find the answers so others will listen and understand.

The story is told in an alternating past and present timeline. I loved the visual details of New Mexico that Ramona Emerson painted for the reader. I felt I was there, and I could vividly see the landscapes in my mind. Having a love for photography I thoroughly enjoyed the emotions that were described in connection with the pictures and cameras described, and the high at catching the perfect shot.

Warning, the crime scenes Rita visits are described in vivid detail as she shoots the scene. This did not bother me, but I can see where this might be a deterrent to some readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media, Recorded Books for the audiobook in exchange for my honest review. Charley Flyte did a fantastic job bringing all of the characters to life.

Photography, forensics, an Indigenous main character and supernatural elements? *chef's kiss*

I don't have a particularly strong stomach for in-person injury or gore, but find myself fascinated by fictional stories that explore both through the lens of forensics. Add in a deep love for old cameras and center the experience of a modern Navajo woman, and this book was destined to be fantastic!

Family ties and adult friendships, life on a reservation, dirty cops and angry ghosts... Shutter is a rich book packed full of detail. I was hooked from the beginning and finished the whole thing in a day. Author Ramona Emerson is an Indigenous filmmaker living in New Mexico who previously worked in forensic videography, and excellent audiobook narrator Charley Flyte is also Native. How awesome to find a book like this!

This was such a fast paced book that I could not believe how quickly it felt like it ended! I’m not saying it’s rushed, it isn’t, but it’s a very quick read.

The idea of a photographer that sees ghosts is a fantastic one. Then that photographer works as a forensic photographer with the police - and is Navajo as well?! Wow. Just wow.

Now I’m incredibly white so I can’t speak to the authenticity of any of the Navajo mentions, but I enjoyed the listen. I received the audiobook version from NetGalley and finished it in one sitting! I loved the narrator and how the story unfolds. It’s very interesting.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I requested this one because it might be an upcoming title I would like to review on my Youtube Channel. However, after reading the first several chapters I have determined that this book does not suit my tastes. So I decided to DNF this one.

Book: Shutter
Author: Ramona Emerson
Audiobook Narrator: Charley Flyte
Publisher: RB Media ~ Recorded Books
Genre: Navajo Culture /Mystery
Pub Date: August 2, 2022
Rating: 4 Stars

Rita Todacheene is a forensic crime scene photographer for the Albuquerque police department. She can also see dead people- which was something that drove her away from the Navajo reservation where she was raised by her grandmother.
When Rita is sent to photograph the scene of a suicide, the ghost of the dead woman won’t leave Rita alone until she helps find out what really happened.

Chapters alternate between Rita’s past on the reservation to her present day where she is being threatened by Erma Singleton’s ghost.
The ‘Past Chapters’ also include camera information hence the book’s title.

My husband had a hobby as an amateur photographer for many years back in the mid 70’s and built his own dark room. He not only loved to take pictures but enjoyed developing them even more.
I could totally understand Rita’s love for photography (although I take terrible pictures); when her grandmother put her on a budget of one roll of film per week. I actually said out loud ~ Oh No! As I know it takes more than one shot to get the picture you want!

I just loved Rita and this story
Audiobook narrator, Charley Flyte does a beautiful job in performing the characters. Her voice is so pleasant it made the story even more enjoyable.
This is a great debut by author, Ramona Emerson!

Want to thank NetGalley and RB Media ~ Recorded Books for this Audio eGalley.
Publishing Date scheduled for August 2, 2022

On the surface, Rita is a very talented forensic photographer with the Albuquerque police department, but she has a hidden talent. she can see dead people, specifically, those who have been murdered. They help her find their killers, in fact they are very insistent about it. Her “gift” has kept Rita away from the Navajo reservation where she grew up and caused havoc in her personal life. At the site of a recent “suicide’, Rita finds herself under attack from the ghost of the victim, who insists she was murdered and that Rita be the one to avenge her. A unique and enjoyable thriller

4.5 stars for this thrilling debut crime novel! Rita Todacheene is a crime scene photographer. She is also Navajo and her People (especially her grandmother), detest this “preoccupation with the dead.” The real,problem is that,Rita can see ghosts. This makes her job a bit more difficult. Especially when a woman is found in pieces in the highway,and will not leave Rita alone, insisting that she do not commit susicide. Rita is tasked with finding out what truly happens and it puts her in more danger than ever before.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audio verision of this novel.*