Shutter

Rita Todacheene #1

by Ramona Emerson

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.

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.

Genres: Mystery, Horror, Fiction, Thriller, Paranormal, Mystery Thriller, Audiobook

312 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 2, 2022

About the author

Ramona Emerson is a Diné writer and filmmaker originally from Tohatchi, New Mexico. She has a bachelor’s in Media Arts from the University of New Mexico and an MFA in Creative Writing from the Institute of American Indian Arts. As a police department photographer in Alberquerque, New Mexico, she spent 16 years documenting crime scenes before becoming a novelist. She is an Emmy nominee, a Sundance Native Lab Fellow, a Time-Warner Storyteller Fellow, a Tribeca All-Access Grantee and a WGBH Producer Fellow.

Reviews

[Frank Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel hadn't really been on my radar but when I was at my library looking for a new author to me and a spooky-sounding read for October, I decided to give this one a shot - I'm so happy I did, this book was excellent!! What a well-written, creepy, perfect book to have read for this month!!

In Shutter, we read about a young Navajo woman named Rita, who works for the police department as a forensic photographer. The job in itself can be incredibly horrific, but add in the fact that Rita has seen spirits since she was a young girl, and continues to do so at essentially every scene she's assigned to photograph, making for one traumatic career! Aside from the inevitable social isolation issues as an adolescent, the more a spirit attempts communication with her, the more it actually takes from her lifeforce, bringing her to a weakened state and causing heavy nosebleeds. As crime in Albuquerque escalates and Rita jumps from one scene to the next, the nagging spirits terrorize her, demanding she help solve their cases, and refuse to leave her alone until she does. Running on very little sleep, Rita begins to piece together clues and a commonality in her recent cases, pointing her to a dark secret very close to home...perhaps a little too close. Will Rita tune the spirits out as she's struggled to do her whole life, or will she give in and help solve a string of murders, potentially putting her own life at risk in the process?!

At times dark and spooky, and other times a coming-of-age tale of an incredibly resilient artist, I was blown away by Shutter! I absolutely loved reading the alternating chapters of present day, back to Rita's youth as she navigated her dark gift while growing up at the reservation raised by Grandma (another strong and wonderful woman). I felt this really helped flesh Rita out as a character, and I almost immediately fell in love with this young, strong-willed and determined Navajo. At multiple points I found myself close to tears while reading the hardships Rita endured as an adolescent, and I really wanted her to find a way through the imminent danger she found herself in as she inched closer to the truth of what connected the present-day string of murders. When Rita first encountered the spirit of Erma, a stubborn and perhaps psychotic woman who insists she was murdered and will not leave Rita in peace until she aids in bringing her murderer to justice I was floored. Ever since watching the movie Ghost as a youth I've been especially interested in the afterlife and what happens with spirits immediately upon departing their earthly vessel and the encounters Rita had with spirits at her crime scenes, hospitals, etc. were superbly executed, playing out pretty much exactly as I always imagined. In this scenario Erma very much reminded me of Sam Wheat's character in Ghost and I ate it up! As the mystery unraveled I couldn't turn the pages quickly enough, and before I knew it, I'd finished this incredible debut novel by Emerson. There really wasn't a single aspect of this one that I found lacking, so I had to give this one 5 Stars! I highly recommend this novel - out of the dozens upon dozens of novels I read yearly in this genre, this one will undoubtedly stand out as one of the best reads of 2022, I can't wait to continue reading this author!

[Ali · Rating 2 out of 5]

There’s a potentially interesting book here (Navajo woman who can see ghosts works as crime scene photographer), but the writing is amateurish and repetitive and the “mystery” is as complex as an an episode of Scooby Doo.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the author’s debut novel about Rita who is not just a forensic photographer working for the Albuquerque police force. She is phenomenal at what she does, because she has a secret gift. She sees ghosts of crime victims.

When she is sent to photograph the scene of a supposed suicide – who insists she was murdered – it opens up a difficult case for Rita that puts her on a path to complicated trouble.

The author does a fairly good job of weaving past and present within the storyline to give readers a sense of Rita’s “special” abilities, her Indigenous background, the racism associated with it, and how it impacts her life.

This is also a solid procedural thriller, that mixes in gritty detective drama, cartel threats, and a very real and malevolent undercurrent of police corruption.

This is more a crime thriller than a supernatural mystery, but the ghosts are a constant presence.

Still...

Although there was much to appreciate about this story, I wanted more from our protagonist character, Rita.

Her character was somewhat flat. We know she had a difficult childhood. We know she wasn’t entirely comfortable on the Reservation or among white people, and certainly her feelings about the dead are ambiguous. But she felt rather closed, (to me) as a character.

Still having said all that, I wouldn’t mind seeing a sequel – the possibilities for more of these kinds of stories, seem interesting.

If you are looking for something different from a typical detective story, this might be the story for you. 3.5 stars

[Mallory · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: I received a free copy of this book, in exchange here is my honest review:

It’s like a more gruesome version of that TV show Medium. 🥸

[Brandon Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was solid!
It kinda reads like a Karin Slaughter story with ghosts. It features lots of grisly details with crime scenes, corpses, and injury details, solid characterizations, and lots of heart.

I didn’t love the ending, but overall I recommend!!

[Jeanette · Rating 2 out of 5]

Absolutely and entirely a first amateur level of novel writing.
Ghost viewing of their mutilation death event aftermath has been a common premise of past debut efforts, so many. From Stephen King to de Giovanni and the 4 decades in between. Many authors in numerous cultures! But this one lacks imagination of plot. And the characters? Either near perfect or bottom feeder bad. Worse than Dickens in one sided stereotypes. But at least some of his people are clever. Not here. Not at all.

And the language. Repeat, wash, repeat. Chewy and gristle. Repeat. Rita herself? Only Navajo were described with any minutia of positive attributes. And she seems retribution zombie shallow. Not even quirky weird interesting either. Not smart.

So many gave this high rating? For body part counts or for the cliche posits? You need to do pacing and plot quite beyond a much used premise.

Gratuitous swearing and generic put downs subtracted from the copy and form. Never added. Erma was the only human in the novel that acquired some depth. And she wss dead. Irony.

[Marci carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! I seen this on a friends list to read and was immediately intrigued. Navajo culture, mystery, murder, spirits. It had it all. The gory details seemed a bit much for me especially in the beginning. I thought that was over kill. Pun intended! Lol. But I persevered and was glad for it. The whole story came together and made me smile. Great read if you can get through the first gory details.

[Rachel (TheShadesofOrange) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
This was an enjoyable mystery thriller with an Indiginous ownvoice narrative. I love stories involving Native American characters so I particularly enjoyed those cultural details.

As for the story, I really liked the use of photography. I admittedly don't love supernatural thrillers so I was pleased how much I enjoyed this one despite that. "I See Dead People" is not my favourite trope but this is one of the better executions I have read.

If you enjoy supernatural thrillers with diverse angle, then I would strongly recommend trying this one.

Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

[Nikki Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A police procedural with supernatural elements is not my normal rodeo. Unless it’s within the horror genre. However, as soon as I dove in I was mesmerized by the FMC, Rita Todacheene.

Rita has been working five years as a forensic photographer with the Albuquerque Police Department. She’s a natural and loves what she does. She also holds a secret that has been with her since childhood. She can see the dead and her camera can see the light of a spirit too.

A strange murder/suicide sends her into a tailspin. The dead woman wants Rita to help her find her killer. Soon, many more souls start appearing leaving her desperate for peace.

I really enjoyed Rita’s Navajo roots and how she was raised. Her character was rich, and I just loved her Grandma. Emerson did a marvelous job setting the stage with flawed and deeply rooted characters. Even with the supernatural elements, these people felt real. Ramona Emerson knocked it out of the park with her debut, that’s for sure!

I can’t wait to read the next in the series
#Exposure out October 1st, 2024

Much gratitude to @sohopress for my #gifted copy!

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

National Book Award for Fiction Longlist 2022. Rita Todacheene works for the Albuquerque Police Department’s Crime Scene Specialist Unit as a forensic photographer. Her photographs expose clues that help investigators solve cases. However, Rita also sees dead people; which is not a good thing when photographing murder victims. One victim, Erma Singleton, decides to haunt Rita. Erma demands that Rita find her murderer and exact justice. Unfortunately, Erma also opens a portal to scores of other ghosts, creating a mental onslaught that threatens Rita’s health.

Erma’s grandmother seeks help from the Navajo medicine man to ward off the ghosts. Indeed, Erma has had ghosts come to her ever since she was a child living on the Navajo reservation and her grandmother has sought his help several times. These flashbacks into Erma’s life growing up add depth to her character and her struggles with the dead ghosts.

Enjoy Emerson's excellent writing and suspenseful storytelling.

[Todd Williams · Rating 1 out of 5]

So stupid and poorly paced. Most of the book alternates between two narratives. Half is a drawn out story about the protagonist's childhood that is completely uninteresting and goes nowhere. Basically, she sees dead people, her grandmother worries about her, she likes photography, and she gets a job as a crime scene photographer. It really added nothing that we didn't get or couldn't have gotten in the other half of the book, which is a crime story. The first half of this part involves the character just going between crime scenes with no particular goal or purpose other than performing her job and getting burnt out from keeping too many hours. This one ghost that she sees keeps annoying her, too, so much so that she has a meltdown and gets put on leave. Apparently, none of the other dead people she's photographed at these crimes scenes have been troubled by their murders before this one, so we're to understand that this ghost really gets under the protagonist's skin. There's this cop named Garcia whose kind of a jerk. Then, later, an internal affairs officer meets with the protagonist, who is a photographer, remember, and tells her that they're investigating Garcia on suspicion of corruption. The protagonist basically blows him off, but about two thirds of the way through she finally develops some goals and decides to investigate. This ends up being super easy because she just goes to Garcia's old partner and he explains everything that was going on in one chapter. Then she conveniently witnesses Garcia murdering someone at a party that she happened to be at. Why Garcia is at this party and why he chose this setting to murder someone is unclear, but luckily, the protagonist is taking photographs for the party and gets the whole thing on film. Now she's on the run from the bad guys, but stops at a club to get really drunk and high first. The bad guys eventually find her, because she's an idiot, but luckily they and some other bad guy drug dealers all go at each other guns blazing and conveniently kill each other--the end. Emerson's prose isn't horrible, but lazy plotting and too many ridiculous coincidences in this one.

[BlackSpec Circuit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Update: i decided to get a physical copy because this book made me feel things.

Shutter is a crime thriller paranormal horror about Rita, a Navajo woman who is a crime photographer in the forensics unit for the Albuquerque police department. Ever since Rita was a child she could see ghosts, death has always been part of her life one way or another, but now after a series of murders unfolded in town, the angry ghosts of the victims began to wander more often in this realm, restless, demanding that Rita uses her gifts and her job to put the pieces back together and figure out what happened to them.

I am having difficulties rating this book and I am going to tell you why. I loved this book. I loved the themes in it, the gruesome descriptions of crime scenes, I was really pulled by the different aspects of photography. Having to use your art to meet capitalistic needs while also longing to use your artistic tools in more meaningful , personal and passionate ways. The format of this novel was different, it was like flipping through a photo album and seeing pictures from two different timelines that extends over generations which tells an overall story of love and family, abandonment, loss and grief, white supremacy, disenfranchisement of a people and how it trickles down to the land, the transmission of language and culture. The scenes with the grandmother, Gloria and Rita's mother were very profound, visceral. I cried a few times because of how beautifully the author was able to capture the emotions in those scenes. The kaleidoscope of softness, rage and sadness truly stirred me up. I enjoyed the dual timeline of this, I thought it was helpful in giving Rita's character the proper development we needed to understand her choices, why she moved through the world the way she did. There were quite a lot of stunning scenes in this, scenes and moments crafted by this author that truly blew my mind.

However, here is the thing. I don't think the crime solving part was executed well. It didn't work for me. It felt like something that was thrown in there randomly, I was not invested enough in it. We were rushed into it and told that we should care about Erma, but I wasn't given enough to work with to care about this case. The whole debacle with Garcia and the cartels felt underwhelming. I don't think we were given enough time to care about this part of the novel, to feel any sort of tension or suspense. There was none of that. I also didn't like how some characters were just thrown in there and never seen again. If this is part of a series I will definitely pick up book 2, there is no doubt in my mind about that.

Content warning for: domestic violence, gruesome description of a crime scene, fatphobic language

Despite the issues in this book I still think this is a strong debut. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC for an honest review.

My overall rating is a 3.5

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Fiona Knight · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I got older, I taught myself how to look beyond the ghosts and mute their voices. I learned to listen to the world in ways no one could imagine. My ears focused on the sounds in Grandma's house: the creaking door hinges, the high-pitched scream of Grandma's tea kettle, the tick of her scarecrow clock. I integrated their voices with these sounds, with the songs of birds at my grandma's bedroom window, the constant drone of Highway 666 to our east, and the whispers of the wind coming through the valley beside the Chuska Mountains. I learned to listen for wild horses running in the wash below the house and the herds of sheep grazing in the valley. Anything to keep the sight and sound of ghosts from taking over my every waking moment.
But no matter how strong I think I am, this thing - call it a gift or a curse - is still a part of me, just like my veins, heart, and hands. it is attached.

I read this after seeing it on a list - it had completely eluded my radar somehow - and it was really enjoyable. For a debut, too, really strong; the author has a well-developed voice and put her own mark on a genre full to bursting.

Rita Todacheene, a (civilian) forensic photographer for the Albuquerque police force, also happens to see ghosts. And while it's paid off for her career, with the dead helping her to spot things others may miss, it's not a bed of roses either. She's underpaid, overworked, and definitely not appreciated for the things she picks up. Then she attracts the attention of a ghost determined to make sure her death won't be swept under the rug - and she knows Rita can see her.

Despite opening with the cataloging of a woman's remains spread across a highway, there's not an overwhelming amount of gore. The story moves pretty quickly onto a more investigative bent, and alternate chapters cover Rita's childhood, including some pretty lovely moments with her grandma on the Navajo reservation she lives in. It's a well-balanced story, well told, and I'd definitely be keen to see more from this author.

[Scott Lyons · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a solid, quick paced read. This tells the story of Rita, a Navajo woman working as a forensic photographer who can see and speak to the dead (a gift that comes with more harm than good IMO). Her latest interaction is with a woman who has passed on and Rita has photographed, but this woman wants Rita to find out what really happened to her… but when it turns out to be a little closer to home than Rita anticipated, it makes things a little bit more complicated.

[♥ Sandi ❣ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars

I liked this book right from the beginning. The first line of the book is "Souls don't scatter like the rest of the body." The protagonist of the story is a forensic photographer. Forensics being the field I had always wanted to go into, made this book that much more interesting to me.

The forensic photographer is Navajo. Born and raised on the New Mexico Navajo reservation. So throughout that book we hear many of the Navajo beliefs and customs. And they work very well within this story. The author being Navajo and having worked in forensic photography brings a good deal of real life situations to her debut novel.

This paranormal thriller is a sharp edged mystery. A powerful supernatural debut, written by an author who has worked the field and belongs to the people she writes about. Death and corruption is told unflinchingly, among survival, maintaining beliefs, along with love and respect for your elders.

I am hoping this book is the beginning of a series (hint, hint!) but regardless I will look for the next book to publish from Ramona Emerson. Probably a name to keep your eye on...

[Ellis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy of this from Netgalley and Soho Press in exchange for a review.

Meet Rita Todacheene, forensic crime photographer whose job is complicated by her ability to see ghosts. Chapters of increasing entanglement in present-day shadiness with the cops she works for and some angry spirits who were done wrong on their way out of this world are intercut with chapters from her childhood; her grandmother's attempts to temper Rita's increasingly creepy encounters with ghosts, as well as impart a love of photography. While the crime chapters don't break any new ground (crooked cops, drug cartels, etc.) (but I did like the descriptions of the technical aspect of Rita's job, and way to go Ramona Emerson with the very bold move of opening the book with Rita photographing that grisly, horrible scene), by far the best parts of this book are the chapters about Rita's childhood life with her grandmother.

[Barb Frank · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this was poorly written and I had a hard time getting through it. I do not understand all the glowing reviews.

[Nursebookie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Tandem Readalong. I was able to pick up a book from a debut author that is new to me. I have been wanting to read more books written by indigenous authors and this book was the perfect read for me.

Shutter is part crime fiction, part murder mystery, but one hundred percent amazing - the writing is beautiful, gripping and poignant. In the heart of this story is about families, about women, about dreams, and also about photography and cameras. It’s seeing a subject matter and telling the story through its lens.

Rita Todacheene is a Navajo woman who grew up in the Navajo nation with her grandmother. Rita has a secret. She can see and communicate with dead people. As a Navajo woman, this is a taboo as contact with the dead can cause sickness and even death.

Rita always had the talents of taking pictures - and she is drawn to the death and the macabre, so after graduating with a degree in photography, she lands a job as a forensic photographer. Great job but not as a Navajo woman.

The writing is brilliant that moves in different timelines, while each chapter is labeled with a type of camera that relates to the story and a certain timeframe. I really enjoyed looking up the different cameras, from a box type to the professional ones. The relationship Rita has with her grandmother was really special for me to read about and I found those parts of the story my favorite. I also enjoyed the crime fiction element even the gruesome description of the dead.

Overall, a solid five star read for me.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not really sure what to say about this book. It was enjoyable as a story, but I guess I hoped to learn something about the Navajo that I didn’t know before. Instead, there was nothing informational or instructive about the Navajo culture (nor the New Mexico culture)…it was a straight up mystery with which I had no complaints. So three stars it is.

[Obsidian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished this a week or so ago and forgot to post a review.

Short review is that I loved the idea behind this book, but execution wasn’t quite there. And I don’t know. The ending made it seem like this is a cliffhanger possibly which doesn’t thrill me. The flow was also up and down and the book moved slowly at times and it was hard to stay engaged.

Full Review:

I forgot to come back and post a full review. The idea behind Rita's "gift" was great, but the plot just got so messy after a while I just started to lose a bit of interest. Not enough for me to do more than knock it one star though. I would definitely read a book starring this character again.

"Shutter" follows Rita Todacheene who is a forensic photographer working for the Albuquerque police force. Rita is Navajo and has not seen her family in years. And all because of a secret that threatens her current job. Rita can see ghosts. And she can often see the ghosts of crime victims. When one victim refuses to "go away" and starts haunting Rita until she does what she wants, Rita starts to fear that she's losing her mind and runs back to her family who have more secrets to share.

I think that the plot with doing the "ghosts" bidding just overwhelmed the story. I loved everything else but wish that had been cut and or edited back drastically. It was part fantasy/horror and then it just went thriller mode and I got sick of it.

The flow was up and down because of that. When Emerson was showing us Rita as a child and later teen before she left home the book really came together.

And once again the cliffhanger ending was nonsense.

[Sadie Hartmann]

Definitely a mixed bag of emotions upon finishing this book. There are aspects to the storytelling that I enjoyed a lot but I also feel let down by some of it too. I will be very specific in my review—it’s something worth discussing

[Bon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pretty solid debut, a little slower than I would have liked, mystery-wise, though this is an instance where I care less about the crime and really more about what makes this book different, which is Native voices and culture.

Trigger warning for detailed descriptions of bloody crime scenes, dead animals, murders including children, gun violence.

The slow pacing is mostly owed to the fact that Rita's present day is heavily interspersed with flashbacks to growing up on the Navajo reservation and different run-ins with ghosts. These were enjoyable parts of the book but definitely took away the sense of urgency from the crime she was investigating. I enjoyed that she is helped both by the local Navajo medicine man, and also the Catholic and folk magic beliefs of her neighbor, a handshake between belief practices.

I have to hand it to Emerson for the absolutely horrifying, gritty, gruesome opening pages, wherein Rita is called to the scene of the main murder of the book. I was wincing and pausing the audiobook every few phrases. But it was effective, lending my sympathies to a character I otherwise hated, Erma, whose ghost was extremely self-centered and uncaring that her influence was physically harming Rita.

Rita makes terrible choices, drinking and taking drugs at the climax of the story when she's on the run from the cartel and corrupt cops. She neglects her own physical and mental health, and worries her remaining family. But I think all of this grounds the character, and emphasizes the fact that the ghost-seeing is hard on her, both physically and in the hard-to-explain to shrinks or cops way.

Charley Flyte's narration was very enjoyable, too.

[lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

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!

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded to 4

I was going to give this a 4, but the last 15% kind of went off the rails a little bit for me. Too much erratic behavior by the MC that seemed out of character based on the rest of the book. Overall, a great debut and a great listen. It reminded me a bit of The Sun Down Motel, but better. I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about the Navajo Nation and the MC’s family history. I really recommend this though despite the ending. I will definitely be reading the author’s next book.

**The descriptions of crime scenes might bother some because it does not shy away from some of the gory descriptions.

Thank you to Libro.fm for the gifted ALC.

Review Date: 08/31/2022
Publication Day: 08/02/2022

[Renee Godding · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 stars

Think Stephen Kings Later but with an adult Navajo woman I’m the lead instead of a preteen boy.

[Wanda Pedersen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever thought that it might be cool to be able to see ghosts? To get a peek into the afterlife? Rita Todacheene would vehemently disagree with you! She is a Navajo woman who has been able to see and hear ghosts since she was a child and it has only caused her problems. The ghosts want her to do things for them and they are not patient or understanding about it. Her grandmother and the local medicine man plead with Rita not to acknowledge these apparitions, not to let them get their hooks into her.

That's easier said than done. Rita is the latest in a line of photographers and there aren't many ways to earn a living with a camera. Rita is a forensic photographer, attending crime scenes. A dangerous place for someone with Rita's ability. At a confusing scene, an enraged ghost latches on and refuses to let go until her death is avenged. How can Rita solve the case when she is not a cop and really can't reveal her sources if she wants to be believed?

This is a fascinating look into the world of the Navajo and the profession of forensic photography (both things that Rita has in common with the author). The talking-to-ghosts aspect reminded me of The Library of the Dead by T.L. Huchu, where a Scots-Zimbabwean teenager, Ropa, has learned ghost talking from her grandmother. She relays information to the survivors for a price. Rita gets no such benefits from the spirits who follow her and hound her. She is driven into dangerous situations by the furious Erma, who refuses to accept her ghostly situation.

If you enjoy this book, you might also like Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse, an urban fantasy set in a futuristic Navajo nation. If you are interested in the Navajo worldview and the supernatural, you might consider The Paranormal Ranger: A Navajo Investigator's Search for the Unexplained by Stanley Milford.

[Jamie Canaves · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book! It’s perfect for fans of mystery books with a lead that works on cases in a job that goes to every crime scene. Rita Todacheene is an overworked crime scene photographer and her ability to see the dead sometimes helps in that she can get the info needed to know what really happened to the victim. However, as she’s been warned her entire life, seeing the dead comes with a very dangerous possibility of harm which she’s about to experience when one victim is hellbent on revenge and not letting Rita live her life in peace until she gets what she wants. I love Rita’s character and especially the back and forth of seeing her present life and watching her grow up with her grandmother on the Navajo reservation, getting to see how she got into photography (her grandmother had a box camera), and watching her grapple with learning that she sees ghosts. It has a mixed tone of being a dark-ish procedural and also a beautiful book about with her relationship with her grandmother. I would absolutely read another book following Rita and also anything else Ramona Emerson writes.

(TW okay I’m just going with everything — not so much because of dark, although it does graphically describe two crime scenes, but because so many cases and things are discussed that at some point it hits everything and this would have been a paragraph of notes.)

--from Book Riot's Unusual Suspects newsletter

[Allison Hurd · Rating 4 out of 5]

An urban fantasy centered on the diné mythology, which, in this instance, makes the fantastical elements harder.

CONTENT WARNING: discussion of abuses towards Navajo and Native Americans at large, discussion of rape, torture, excessive gore/body horror, harm to children, murder, drug use, loss of a parent, loss of a loved one, mental illness graphic depiction of a dead cat

Things to love:

-The lore. A really cool and approachable look at some of the mythologies and cultural touchpoints of Navajo or diné life.

-The love. There's a strong focus on the love of a grandparent towards a grandchild, as well as friendship, which I find beautiful.

-The centrality of art. This is a book about taking pictures, and the darkness you can see only from the remove of art.

Things I didn't quite love:

-Very grimdark. Everyone here is bad or totally fucked up by something.

-Some writing tics. It got to the point I was gritting my teeth when the narrator/MC said "it/they were X and Y, all at the same time."

-Startling incongruities. It was so gritty and real, and then it'd do something weird like a nurse giving the home address of a patient to a stranger.

-Barely ended. It comes to rest, but not in a way I found totally satisfying.

3.5 stars, rounded up because I would look for more by this author and I would recommend this for people who want a gory ghost story.