Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

Shutter by Ramona Emerson

24 reviews

careinthelibrary's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

4.0

I really enjoyed this! Fast-paced but also lots of reminisces of the character's past. Lots of mystery and excitement and tension. It kept me occupied and invested to the end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Chronic illness, Gore, Gun violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Pregnancy

jhbandcats's review

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious 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? Yes

4.5

This is an exceptionally gory and gritty mystery narrated by a Navajo crime scene photographer who converses with the ghosts of the dead. She has seen ghosts her whole life but now they pester her incessantly to solve their murders. 

Outside of the violence, it’s a beautiful portrayal of Navajo connections between family and friends, describing the community, history, and culture. We see the insular life on the reservation and the casual discrimination of the cities. 

Rita is a sympathetic character, plagued by the ghosts, struggling to find a balance between staying with her beloved grandma on the reservation and the necessary work she does in Albuquerque. 

Two very small quibbles: I wasn’t convinced that she’d have that much influence as a civilian working for the police, and I found Erma’s aggression extreme. But I’ve never seen ghosts so I don’t really know what I’m talking about. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racism, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

winifara's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Death

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

adelinebal4's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

5.0

This was such a beautifully written, gripping story. I think this might be the one that convinced me I actually do enjoy character-driven books.  I loved it even though it was on the slower side of pacing, which isn’t common for me. This is a standout book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gore and Gun violence

cjrayl's review against another edition

adventurous 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? No

4.0

A mystery, fantasy/ghost driven, story with a strong background of native americans. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Deadnaming, Drug use, Gun violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Acephobia/Arophobia

zias's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

I enjoyed reading this book. I felt the pacing was enough to keep me interested and I loved reading about the cultural inclusion with the main character being a Navajo woman. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gore, Blood, Grief, and Murder

Minor: Gun violence and Suicide

cemetereality's review against another edition

dark funny informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Every moment spent between Rita and her Grandmother are so deeply moving that you can put aside how rushed the other portions are. The details of the crime scenes and original story start off so clear and compelling. It gets jumbled and we end without feeling finished or getting answers. I highly recommend reading Shutter, because the moments of familial joy and pain are palpable. It’s a beautiful and moving story

the moments with her grandfather’s ghost radiating warm light around her room… I could cry thinking about their relationship. Rita and her grandmother going through the trunk of painful memories was heartbreaking, but also a beautiful moment of understanding between them.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Abandonment

katiecentabar's review against another edition

medium-paced

2.75

I wanted to like this more than I actually did

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Police brutality, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

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!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Car accident, and Murder