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leweylibrary's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
It only gets points for the kind of fun setting and indigenous rep, sorry 🤷‍♀️ otherwise I kinda hated it lol.
I did not enjoy reading it, I had to force myself to finish it for a book club, and I had sooo many issues with it that completely took me out of the story. Like her awful friends wtf??? They were horrible and I really hope they weren't inspired by the author's real friends lol. What kind of friends automatically ask if you've murdered someone or destroyed your own apartment?? I wanted to like the supernatural element, and it was one of the few things keeping me interested, but there could've been so much more done with it. I felt like a lot of the conversations, situations, and relationships just made no sense. I truly don't know how this was long listed for the National Book Prize. Like how.
I did not enjoy reading it, I had to force myself to finish it for a book club, and I had sooo many issues with it that completely took me out of the story. Like her awful friends wtf??? They were horrible and I really hope they weren't inspired by the author's real friends lol. What kind of friends automatically ask if you've murdered someone or destroyed your own apartment?? I wanted to like the supernatural element, and it was one of the few things keeping me interested, but there could've been so much more done with it. I felt like a lot of the conversations, situations, and relationships just made no sense. I truly don't know how this was long listed for the National Book Prize. Like how.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Gore, Gaslighting, Death, Grief, Blood, Murder, Car accident, and Death of parent
Moderate: Drug use, Colonisation, and Racism
Minor: Pedophilia, Medical content, and Sexual harassment
lizzyfc's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Car accident, Death, Death of parent, and Child death
cmmcgrath86's review against another edition
Too vivid of descriptions for right now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Death, and Gore
eicart_reads's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Child death, Car accident, Racism, Colonisation, and Grief
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Drug use, Animal death, Terminal illness, and Bullying
bluegrassreader's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Picked this up on a whim and it became one of my favorite books ever. As a photographer I love how much that was an aspect of the story and of the central character. I really enjoyed Emerson’s writing style, and found that the book had some very poignant things to say about life, loss, grief and death.
I found the relationship between Rita and her Grandmother to be very touching and relatable. I also enjoyed the way the book explored Native American culture and some of the good and bad things about life on a reservation in today’s time. A very good book. Excited to see the author’s future work.
I found the relationship between Rita and her Grandmother to be very touching and relatable. I also enjoyed the way the book explored Native American culture and some of the good and bad things about life on a reservation in today’s time. A very good book. Excited to see the author’s future work.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Car accident
awebofstories's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Car accident, Gun violence, Drug use, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Police brutality
lisaarnsdorf's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Having heard several interviews with the author, I was expecting a pretty gruesome book; she sure delivered. The opening was almost shocking in its explicit descriptions of a murder scene.
Overall, I really liked this book. My main complaints are: 1) the author uses an alternating timeline, with every other chapter being in the past and the present. As the two timelines converged, I started to get really confused about where we were in time. And the past timeline dragged on a little too long. 2) The ending was morally ambiguous and too convenient. It felt like a cop-out in some regards.
I hope this becomes a series because it's a really interesting premise!
Overall, I really liked this book. My main complaints are: 1) the author uses an alternating timeline, with every other chapter being in the past and the present. As the two timelines converged, I started to get really confused about where we were in time. And the past timeline dragged on a little too long. 2) The ending was morally ambiguous and too convenient. It felt like a cop-out in some regards.
I hope this becomes a series because it's a really interesting premise!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Murder, Car accident, Death, Child death, and Gore
j_squaredd's review
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I think they did a disservice by marketing this book as a thriller. It only gets fast paced and thriller-y in the last quarter. The first three quarters is quite slow with not a lot of plot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Child death, Death, Murder, Gore, Gun violence, and Blood
Moderate: Alcohol, Racism, Car accident, Kidnapping, and Drug use
reading_and_roaming20's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
“I see dead people” but for a forensic photographer so sometimes the dead people want their murders solved. That’s Rita’s life plus outrageously long work hours and grizzly crime scenes.
I had such a good time reading SHUTTER. The story flips back and forth between Rita’s past and present to give the reader a full picture of her life from childhood on a Navajo reservation to her adult life in Albuquerque.
I enjoyed that Navajo beliefs and customs were seamlessly woven into a ghost story / mystery. I also really loved Rita’s journey with photography that led to her current predicament of a real unhappy ghost who vows to ruin her life if she doesn’t figure out whodunit.
The crime scenes held nothing back (dude…that first one for real) and there were a few extra fun ghost-related moments. We also get to see a beautiful bond between Rita and her grandmother that is a consistent thread through the past and present narratives.
There is so much more to this book than simply a murder mystery unraveling. It’s a bit of a slow burn on that front so if you’re looking for a fast-paced thriller with multiple big twists, this isn’t it. But it is a well told story of corruption, survival and culture with a supernatural twist that I’d highly recommend it any of that sounds like your thing.
I had such a good time reading SHUTTER. The story flips back and forth between Rita’s past and present to give the reader a full picture of her life from childhood on a Navajo reservation to her adult life in Albuquerque.
I enjoyed that Navajo beliefs and customs were seamlessly woven into a ghost story / mystery. I also really loved Rita’s journey with photography that led to her current predicament of a real unhappy ghost who vows to ruin her life if she doesn’t figure out whodunit.
The crime scenes held nothing back (dude…that first one for real) and there were a few extra fun ghost-related moments. We also get to see a beautiful bond between Rita and her grandmother that is a consistent thread through the past and present narratives.
There is so much more to this book than simply a murder mystery unraveling. It’s a bit of a slow burn on that front so if you’re looking for a fast-paced thriller with multiple big twists, this isn’t it. But it is a well told story of corruption, survival and culture with a supernatural twist that I’d highly recommend it any of that sounds like your thing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Death, Murder, and Death of parent