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j_squaredd's review against another edition
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
hcumbie's review against another edition
Too gory, too scary for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, and Murder
just_one_more_paige's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I don't usually read thrillers, a trend that is probably pretty obvious if you even cursorily follow my reviews, but I was intrigued by this one that made the National Book Award longlist. It's not really that common, at least in my recreational following of the award, for a book categorized as a "thriller" to make the list. (Side note: shout out to libro.fm for the advanced listerner's copy!) And so, here we are.
Rita Todacheene works for the Albuquerque Police Department as a forensic photographer. She's loved cameras and taking photos since she was a child, and this was one of the only options she could find that provided her a stable income and the chance to take photos. It is, perhaps, just inconvenient (or is it more like fate) that she is also secretly able to see ghosts. In her job, they sometimes point her to clues that others have overlooked. In her personal life, it caused quite a bit of strife, as her superstitious Navajo reservation community treated her differently, isolated (with the exception of her grandmother, who raised her), once they found out about her taboo ability. Rita has figured out a way to, for the most part, shut out the ghosts, but the victim of a recent case she photographed just will not leave her alone...and the ghost's push for vengeance will lead Rita into a dangerous cartel inside-man/cover-up situation.
Well, I can see what made this particular thriller special, a literary sort of mystery, that could get it added to the NBA longlist. The writing is...incredibly evocative. I literally made the note "shit, this opening descriptive monologue is visceral" after the first couple pages. And then it never let up. It's intense, I can't lie. The specifics and particulars of the crime scenes Rita photographs are not for the faint-hearted. Seriously, it's an onslaught of gruesome murder scenes and details. Please be ready: all the content warnings for death and violent death and blood and disfigurement, etc. But the use of the photographs and the perspective of the photographer as a narrative device works really well. It adds so much to the tangibility of the narrative. This is just writing that sticks to your bones. And I enjoyed the way the ending took “making peace with death” to a whole new/different level.
Rita's personal development throughout the novel was kept me interested. The story is told in dual storylines. One of the past, as Rita grows up and realizes both that she has the "gift" of seeing ghosts, as well as the turbulent home life that she was thrust into off the reservation as a result of the visions of ghosts and communication with the dead that people’s superstitions made it too hard to live alongside. One in the present, as Rita struggles to help her victim's ghost get answers, and revenge, while trying to balance her own relationships and jobs and normal life stressors. It took me longer to get into the “past” storyline, but about halfway through it got more compelling for me, and the way it built from there, alongside their mystery in the present, balanced well. I loved Rita's relationship with her grandmother, it was an overall highlight, for me, as it was nuanced and genuine in both its flaws and its fullness. Tied in with that, the thread of Navajo culture/traditions/beliefs and contemporary history interspersed lightly, but thoroughly, throughout was phenomenal. It was beautifully tender and esteemed, while Emerson showed great insight into the complexities of the advantages and disadvantages of being raised solely on the reservation versus in combination with off-reservation life (both the involuntary, like the residential schools, and the self-determined).
Interestingly, I feel like the literary side of this novel overshadowed the mystery/thriller aspects a little too much. Like, I felt a weirdly low amount of tension while reading, considering the intensity and high-stakes of the plot and the life-threatening situations Rita finds herself in. Also, there was some plot stuff that either didn't feel right or wasn't my cup of tea. First, and this is my thing with thrillers, something always happens that feels too convenient or easy (in this case, the party photos) and, really, information she gets from a “retired” detective seemed like it came too easy (like, is he not afraid of backlash or whatever?!). Also, unrelated to most of the rest of the plot, she had a one-night stand with a guy who then never came back...and he was supposed to? It felt like both an unnecessary plot point that then turned into a loose/hanging thread by the end and I felt we could have done without that half-hearted attempt to highlight that Rita "also has a personal life/life outside work." Her friends felt similarly "iffy" as far as their development and role(s) in the greater plot - more convenient that worth being developed in their own right.
Overall, I just don't know about this one. I realize that I might be biased because it's not my typical genre. And there were parts that were great - the writing was a real highlight and the cultural aspects were phenomenal. I also thought the concept was so cool, the idea of ghosts helping a forensic photographer find evidence to capture is wonderful in theory and vision. But the plot and development left something to be desired. And the combination of literary fiction and thriller wasn't enough of either/both together. So, in the end, this maybe was just...not enough...for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Blood, Gun violence, Gore, Violence, Murder, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Abandonment, Drug use, Racism, Alcohol, Death of parent, Grief, Child death, and Trafficking
Minor: Sexual content, Stalking, and Pregnancy
sjanke2's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
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? It's complicated
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Death, Violence, Abandonment, Bullying, Colonisation, Drug use, Murder, Physical abuse, Body horror, Grief, Gun violence, and Police brutality
maregred's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, and Child death
Moderate: Racism and Grief
Minor: Addiction, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Blood, Dementia, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, and Fire/Fire injury
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