Exposure

Photographer and crime scene specialist Rita Todacheene is back at work after being shot in the first book in Emerson’s series (Shutter). Readers may well wonder why she has returned to work so soon, without being cleared by a psychiatrist, when the first crime scene she works overwhelms her and pits her against the rest of the police department, yet again. Rita, a young Diné woman, wants to leave the corrupt Albuquerque Police Department behind, but the anger of the ghosts surrounding her hinders her journey. Much of this book is taken up with Rita learning to believe and defend herself from the ghosts, but her journey is unclear and fleeting. It neither propels the plot nor develops her character. The other half of the book is the harsh first-person narrative of the villain, a religious man with mental illness. Unfortunately, his story is more developed, more interesting, and better written. Returning secondary characters are either absent for large portions or flat with no real personality, and the new players feel forced and detached.