I Sense A Series In This One!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                    My reaction to "Celine" was exactly opposite that of "Elmet."  I practically devoured this one in a single sitting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                      My readers know how much I like the TV series, "Cold Case."  Lord knows, it has been written about enough on here.  Well, "Celine" takes a different approach to the "Cold Case" concept.

                                        Where the TV show focused on past homicides, Celine Watkins, the title character specializes in finding missing persons, and uniting them to their birth families.  She has a passion for helping people, and the skill for doing this.  But she is fueled by her own personal torment--finding the daughter she was forced to give up for adoption, back when she was still a teen.

                                          Celine Watkins is sixty-eight years old, so forget Kathryn Morris.  I picture Margo Martindale, in the dramatization.  She is aided by her husband, Pete, himself a senior citizen.

                                           Celine is a professional Private Investigator.

                                             Into their lives come Gabriela, the daughter of a famous photographer, Paul Lamont.  Gabriela has a young son, named Hank, who gets involved in things, too.

                                              Celine comes from a wealthy family, and graduated from Sarah Lawrence, so this is detailed.  That it does not get lost along with the mystery of finding Gabriela's father, Paul Lamont, says much about Heller's narrative skill.  The sad story of Gabriela's childhood is clearly spelled out--her and her father's heartbreak.  Aided by that bitch he remarries, Danette.  At one point, I thought she was behind the whole thing.

                                                Gabriela was told her father was killed, on assignment in Yellowstone National Park, by a bear.  She has never believed that, thinks her father is still alive, and, through the alumni magazine (both Celine and Gabriela are Sarah Lawrence grads) contacts Celine for help.

                                                   The journey takes the reader from bohemian Brooklyn (the DUMBO area) to the mountains of Montana and Wyoming.  The pace is like a non-stop roller coaster ride. Who would have thought a missing person's case could be so exciting.

                                                    Not only do I want to read some of Heller's other books, I have a feeling he is not yet done with Celine Watkins.

                                                    If a series is in the works, I am on board!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!