Shutter
Aug 2022 · A Rita Todacheene Novel Book 1 · Soho Press
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About this ebook
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.
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.
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 stor...
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Ratings and reviews
16 reviews
Ted Froats
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August 16, 2023
Well written. Interesting storyline. Great character development. This book is a good read so I suggest you give it a go.
Brent White
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December 22, 2022
A really beautiful book.
Marie Rowe
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April 16, 2024
interesting
About the author
Ramona Emerson is a Diné writer and filmmaker originally from Tohatchi, New Mexico. She received her degree in Media Arts from the University of New Mexico and her MFA in Creative Writing (Fiction) from the Institute of American Indian Arts. She has worked as a professional cinematographer, writer, and editor for over thirty years and is currently working on her eighth and ninth film projects, Crossing the Line and Through Her Lens. 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. Ramona's debut novel, Shutter, was longlisted for the National Book Award, a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway and Open Book Awards, and nominated for the Edgar and Bram Stoker Awards, among others. Its follow-up, Exposure, was an Anthony Award nominee. She currently resides in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she and her husband/producer, Kelly Byars run their production company Reel Indian Pictures. Ramona is also an Assistant Professor at the University of New Mexico in the department of Film and Digital Arts.
Ramona Emerson is a Diné writer and filmmaker originally from Tohatchi, New Mexico. She received her degree in Media Arts from the University of New Mexico and her MFA in Creative Writing (Fiction) from the Institute of American Indian Arts. She has worked as a professional cinematographer, write...
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