- Date Published:
2022 - Length:
312 pages—Listening Time: 8 hr 55 minutes - Genre:
Fiction, Mystery, Horror - Setting:
Present day, Albequerque, New Mexico - Awards:
National Book Award Longlist Fiction 2022; Edgar Award Nominee First Novel 2023; Anthony Award Nominee First Novel 2023; Macavity Award Nominee First Mystery 2023;Barry Award Nominee First Novel 2023; Lefty Award Winner Debut Mystery 2023; RUSA CODES Reading List 2024; PEN/Hemingway Award Finalist 2023; The Strand Critics Award Nominee Best Debut Mystery 2023; Southwest Books of the Year 2023; PEN Open Book Award Shortlist 2023; NPR: Books We Love 2022; Boston Globe Best Book Fiction 2022; Great Reads from Great Places New Mexico, Adults 2023; LibraryReads Monthly Pick Top Ten August 2022; New York Public Library Best Books: For Adults Top Ten Mystery, Thriller & Suspense 2022; Library Journal Best Books Crime 2022; NPR Best Book - Languages:
English - Sensitive Aspects:
Murder (including of a child and baby), gore, violence, racism against Native Americans, drug and alcohol use, stalking, explicit descriptions of death and blood, disfigurement, themes of trauma and psychological distress, abusive behavior and social isolation, discussion of abuses, and supernatural terror - Movie:
As of October 2025, there is no public information about a film adaptation deal for Ramona Emerson's novel, Shutter. However, the author is an established filmmaker with her own production company, Reel Indian Pictures, and her work has been recognized by several grants and festivals. - Recommended for Book Club:
Yes. Would be a great scary read for October.
I read Shutter by Ramona Emerson when it was first published several years ago, and even now, the memory of that reading experience feels vivid, almost cinematic. From the opening pages, it was clear this was no tentative debut. Emerson writes with the confidence and precision of someone who has been telling stories for decades, her prose steeped in grit, grace, and deep humanity.
The premise alone is powerful enough to stop you in your tracks: Rita Todacheene, a forensic photographer in Albuquerque, has an unflinching eye for the dead—and the dead, quite literally, look back at her. Combining the stark realities of crime scene work with the haunting presence of restless spirits, Emerson delivers a narrative that is equal parts mystery, cultural portrait, and supernatural exploration. It’s a premise that could easily tip into sensationalism in a lesser novelist’s hands, but here it becomes an intricate meditation on grief, justice, and the weight of carrying stories that demand to be told.
Revisiting Shutter now, I’m struck again by how assured it feels—how each chapter carries the punch of a photograph rightly composed. This is a novel that stays with you, not just for what it shows, but for what it refuses to let you forget.
It's a great "ghost" read for October!
Shutter follows Rita Todacheene, a sharp-eyed forensic photographer with the Albuquerque police whose camera catches what others miss because the dead won’t stop talking to her. When a young woman is found after a supposed suicide from a highway overpass, the victim’s furious spirit latches onto Rita, insisting it was murder and refusing to let go until the truth is exposed. As Rita is pushed from the margins of the crime scene into the heart of the investigation, she’s dragged into a dangerous tangle of cartel violence and institutional rot, where every clue she uncovers sharpens the risk to her own life.
Emerson balances grit with haunting intimacy, tracing Rita’s childhood on the Navajo reservation and the isolating burden of a gift that violates cultural taboos and erodes her sleep, health, and relationships. The ghosts’ demands are relentless, turning Rita’s talent into a curse that complicates her role as an objective documentarian and forces impossible choices between justice and survival. Set against the deserts and highways of New Mexico, the novel blends procedural detail with supernatural tension, immersing readers in a voicey, propulsive debut that earned wide critical attention for its precision and heart.
Shutter stands as the opening entry in a female sleuth arc centered on Rita, whose perspective, part investigator, part unwilling medium, promises a series where the living and the dead intersect in startling, deeply human ways. It’s a gripping, atmospheric start that keeps the focus on stakes over spoilers, letting the dread build frame by frame until the final shot lands.
Here are compelling reasons I think you might enjoy Shutter by Ramona Emerson:
A genre-blending thrill ride
The novel deftly fuses crime procedural, supernatural horror, and coming-of-age elements, creating propulsive momentum without sacrificing character depth. The interplay between a gritty investigation and the eerie presence of ghosts keeps tension high while broadening the story’s emotional and thematic range.
A singular heroine with a haunting gift
Rita Todacheene, a Navajo forensic photographer who sees and speaks with the dead, is both formidable and vulnerable, navigating an ability that is as corrosive as it is useful. Her encounters with victims’ spirits illuminate the costs of bearing witness, turning each case into a moral crucible rather than a mere plot engine.
Vivid Southwestern setting and Diné perspective
Set in and around Albuquerque and rooted in Navajo Nation experience, the book grounds its supernatural premise in real cultural textures and landscape. The result is atmosphere that feels lived-in and specific, with Diné family ties and beliefs shaping Rita’s choices and the story’s stakes.
Forensic photography as story and metaphor
Emerson uses cameras, image-making, and scene documentation to explore truth, memory, and what’s left behind after violence. The forensic lens becomes a moral one, asking what it means to capture evidence, hold on to it, and still remain human.
High-stakes plot with emotional ballast
From a mysterious overpass death to cartel danger, the external threats are relentless, but the novel never loses sight of Rita’s inner life. Flashbacks to her childhood and her relationship with her grandmother add tenderness and resilience, balancing the book’s darkest moments.
Cinematic pacing with literary texture
The action sequences are crisp and visual, yet the prose lingers on sensation, place, and psychological nuance. Readers who want momentum and atmosphere will find both, with chapters that invite a binge yet reward close attention.
Thoughtful use of the supernatural
Ghosts here are not shortcuts; they complicate investigations, ethics, and sanity, pressing at the boundary between justice and obsession. The spectral encounters feel consequential and embodied, underscoring trauma’s persistence rather than offering easy answers.
Unflinching, controlled depiction of violence
The book opens with graphic crime-scene detail, signaling its commitment to the realities of forensic work, then modulates intensity to keep the narrative readable. This honesty serves the story’s moral weight, showing costs without indulging in spectacle.
A strong debut with series potential
As the first entry in Rita Todacheene’s arc, Shutter lays character and thematic groundwork that promises rich continuations. Readers invested in voice-driven crime with a supernatural edge will find plenty to return for in future installments.
Resonant themes of isolation and belonging
Rita’s secret isolates her, even as duty pulls her back toward community and family memory, creating a compelling push-pull. The novel ultimately asks how to live with a truth that others won’t see—and what one owes to the dead, the living, and oneself.
Get Ramona Emerson Books
A taut blend of crime and the supernatural, Ramona Emerson’s novels follow Navajo forensic photographer Rita Todacheene as she harnesses an unsettling gift—seeing the dead—to confront brutal truths, reckon with cultural taboos, and hunt killers across the New Mexico desert.
If you enjoyed Shutter by Ramona Emerson, which blends crime, the supernatural, and Indigenous perspectives, there are several atmospheric novels offering a similar mix of mystery and haunting themes.
- Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden
A gritty crime thriller set on the Rosebud Indian Reservation, “Winter Counts” follows vigilante Virgil Wounded Horse as he seeks justice that tribal and federal authorities can’t or won’t provide. The book delves into Native American identity, generational trauma, and the costs of vengeance. - The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
Four Native American friends are stalked by a malevolent spirit bent on revenge after a disturbing event during their youth. The novel weaves horror, Indigenous culture, and the question of how the past refuses to stay buried. - Murder on the Red River by Marcie R. Rendon
In 1970s Minnesota, Cash Blackbear, a young Ojibwe woman with intuitive gifts, helps the local sheriff solve crimes after the discovery of a mysterious body. The investigative plot explores Native American life and resilience with atmospheric storytelling. - The Round House by Louise Erdrich
After an attack on the Ojibwe reservation, a teenage boy sets out to find justice for his mother, uncovering complex truths about violence, law, and community. The novel combines coming-of-age, suspense, and a deep sense of place and heritage. - Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline
Joan’s search for her missing husband in rural Canada leads her into a world of shape-shifters and Métis folklore, where myth and reality entwine. This literary thriller blends Indigenous tradition, family loyalty, and elements of the supernatural. - Where They Wait by Scott Carson
A down-on-his-luck journalist finds himself plagued by haunting phenomena while investigating a mysterious wellness app. The novel builds psychological and supernatural tension, perfect for fans who liked the eerie undertones of Shutter.
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