Celine (Vintage Contemporaries)

Celine is a crusty old lady with a checkered past, an artistic talent with creating grisly artwork out of animal skulls, and a nose for solving cold cases, specifically those that involve tracking down missing persons to reunite them with their families. There are reasons for her passion in taking on these cases, often pro bono, and these are revealed through her backstory that intersects with her latest case, where a young woman, Gabriela, seeks to find closure in the sudden disappearance of her famous photojournalist father, assumed to have died from a bear mauling a decade ago, though his body was never found.An intriguing enough storyline, and Heller does paint a rather convincing picture of hard-nosed and feisty Celine, aided by her husband Pete, the taciturn but resourceful sidekick in her mission. As a presumably standalone novel, however, it felt like Heller was trying to accomplish too much because he needed to flesh out Celine’s character and history, while at the same time, paying attention to the case and the characters involved, which made for quite an information overload. If it had been a series, Heller could have taken time to get into the case while pacing his examination of Celine over the course of the other novels. And yet, by the end of the novel, it felt like there should be more to come, by way of Celine’s personal storyline, while the resolution of the case felt a little uninspiring, for the fact that Gabriela, who had been a major character at the start of the novel, makes her reappearance, but more as a cameo.That said, Heller knows his subject matter well, as well as the terrain of locales like the Yellowstone National Park where Celine and Pete venture into as they encounter mortal danger, and outsmart oppositional forces with wit and candour. This is a vastly different novel from the dystopian thriller “The Dog Stars”, which first introduced me to his writing, and yet his flair with depicting natural landscapes are evident in both works. Not a dud, but not wholly satisfying either.

Quality not as stated, Pages 243 -329 wrinkled and stained along the top edge.

I bought it as a gift. The book is printed on paper of very poor quality. Additionally, sheets of paper are cut unevenly. I am not happy at all.

Peter Heller is one of America's best wilderness thriller writers. Celine is a wonderfully idiosyncratic tale about coming to terms with loss and grief. Readers can only hope that Celine, the Private Invesigator at the centre of the missing-person yarn, returns. She is magnificent.

a detective looking for missing persons. You are travelling with her at her pace however if you know Yellowstone area it helps and if you enjoy American food too !!! It is not scary, good point.

I loved Peter Heller's The Dog Stars. Not only did it have a bewitching plot but it was also firmly rooted in a place, with characters that spoke so clearly and with great love.I only read a couple of sentences of The Painter - not sure why - and so I came to Celine a little bit anxious and a whole lot hopeful. I'm delighted to say that hopeful was the way to go, because this book kept me turning pages late into the night, made me laugh and cry, offered new perspectives on people and places without losing legitimacy, and - most wonderful of all - made me want to be a better person. A more direct and elegant person. A person who doesn't let fear lead the way. And yet, someone deeply capable of living and being loved. Celine, the protagonist, is a knockout combination of brilliant investigating, ace shooting, and sublime care for those she encounters. She knows how to stir it up (and I mean seriously - any senior citizen who wears a Glock under her robe at a campsite is not messing around) but is never anything but the most dignified of ladies. I loved it.The story involves the death (or disappearance?) of a talented photographer who left behind his teen daughter - a young woman who had already lost her mother as a child during a horrific accident at sea. The daughter, now grown, has doubts about the outcome of the case, and takes them to Celine, whom she had read about in their alma mater's magazine. Excellent investigating, car chases, sudden appearances by various wild animals, and a number of shots fired ensue as Celine and her very Maine husband, Pete, head west to unravel the mysteries of the man's death. Heller threads a second set of storylines, about Celine's own losses, throughout the novel, a tactic which can often be distracting but, in this case, actually makes the book richer and more meaningful. Bravo!Heller is an immensely gifted storyteller and artist. I especially appreciate the emotional depths of his characters. No stereotyping or blasé asides here: the characters could easily rise from the page and then walk away. Pete might do it with a whistle.

Excellent writing and rich descriptions go hand in hand as the story moves along at a leisurely pace. I didn't want to put it down, but when I did I had no problem getting right back into the story when I took it up again. I was so impressed, I ordered his two other novels. If they are as good, I will move on to his nonfiction.

schade, the river fand ich ausgezeichnet, figuren, dramaturgie, setting. celine fand ich richtig langweilig. zu viele tolle menschen (figuren) mit schrecklichen verlusten, zu viele kindheitserinnerungen, die mit dem thema nichts zutun haben ausser eben dem bezug auf den verlust wichtiger menschen. die story ist extrem schwach und die auflösung zu plötzlich.