Aquarius Descending (Elizabeth Chase Mysteries) [Mass Market Paperback]

Martha C. Lawrence (Author)

Book Description

Series: Elizabeth Chase Mysteries | Publication Date: January 15, 2000

Martha C. Lawrence's original and appealing heroine, Elizabeth Chase, is a licensed P.I. and parapsychologist who combines her psychic insight with old-fashioned detective work. Reluctantly persuaded to look into the disappearence of her boyfriend's ex-fiance into a cult, Elizabeth goes undercover to investigate. But have her unique powers finally met their match?

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

San Diego's psychic private investigator Elizabeth Chase must infiltrate a deadly cult in order to find a missing woman in this third, stylish outing (after The Cold Heart of Capricorn). When her significant other, FBI agent Tom McGowen, asks her to find Jen Shaffer, who's his former fiancee, Elizabeth is initially reluctant, but she changes her mind when she meets the woman's father?and the $25,000 check he has in his hand. Apparently, right after Jen and Tom decided not to marry, Jen had joined the Church of the Risen Lord, later known as the Bliss Project, and cut all ties with family and friends. Now her father has received a package containing Jen's Medic Alert bracelet. He thinks his daughter is in trouble?or dead. Using a fake identity, Elizabeth joins the cult. Before she goes to an initiation retreat, however, she visits a reclusive former member who tells her about a man the group murdered and whose public identity was subsequently erased. He warns Elizabeth that the same fate will befall her if the cult finds out who she really is. As in the series' previous novels, Lawrence writes a gripping, believable story, distinguished by a wise and sensitive narrative voice, that even those skeptical of psychics will enjoy. Agent, Gina Maccoby.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Private investigator and parapsychologist Elizabeth Chase (The Cold Heart of Capricorn, LJ 1/97) approaches her third case with apprehension, then with zeal. As she searches for the missing ex-fiancee of longtime boyfriend Tom McGowan, now an FBI agent, Elizabeth infiltrates a secretive and potentially dangerous California religious cult known as the Bliss Project. With her relationship at stake and her psychic powers at best undependable, Elizabeth almost becomes a victim herself. A believable plot, well-developed characters, and a heroine with an interesting edge.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; First Edition edition (January 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312972849
• ISBN-13: 978-0312972844
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #676,032 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A tense, exciting and wonderfully written book., February 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Aquarius Descending (Elizabeth Chase Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Elizabeth Chase is a psychic PI, but don't let the occult element turn you off. Elizabeth is NOT a flake, but a very real and very centered person who realizes her gift is not something that she can control at will. In the third installment of this remarkable series, Elizabeth goes undercover to find a woman who became embroiled in a cult. The missing woman was the college girl friend of Elizabeth's FBI agent lover. Once inside the Bliss Project, Elizabeth must use all her strength of character as well as some methods that might be described as paranormal to keep her own sanity--and to remain alive. Almost unbearably tense as Elizabeth comes closer and closer to the truth, this is a not-to-be-missed novel. It is probably not necessary to read the first two in the series, but if you pick this one up, you'll immediately want the other two titles. And I don't have to be psychic to know that.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The dawning of the age of psychic detective Elizabeth Chase, December 12, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Aquarius Descending (Elizabeth Chase Mysteries) (Hardcover)

FBI agent Tom McGowen fails to convince his girlfriend, psychic detective Elizabeth Chase, to search for his missing former fiancee, Jen Shaffer. However, Tom persuades Elizabeth to meet with Jen's father, who offers her $25,000 to find his missing daughter. The sweetener induces a still reluctant Elizabeth to accept the case.

Elizabeth learns that Jen joined a cult, the Church of the Risen Lord, immediately following her break-up with Tom. Not too long after becoming a member, Jen ended all communication with her family. Recently, her father received Jen's medical alert bracelet. This leads him into believing she is in trouble if not already dead. Elizabeth joins the cult, knowing full well that if they uncover her true identify, they will eradicate her.

The third Chase tale, AQUARIUS DESCENDING, continues the classy tradition of the first two novels (MURDER IN SCORPIO and THE COLD HEART OF CAPRICORN). Elizabeth remains a fabulous and unique sleuth and her support cast (recurring and new) adds much dimension to an already deep story line. Do not let the psychic hot-line fool the reader into thinking this novel is babble. Instead, the book is a well-designed, very plausible, and extremely suspense-laden tale that shows that the dawning of the age of Martha C. Lawrence is upon us.

Harriet Klausner

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing Compared to First Two Books, June 24, 2000

By 

G. Stever (Rochester, NY (USA)) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Aquarius Descending (Elizabeth Chase Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

It will be hard to review this book without giving away major plot points (but I won't--promise!). Suffice it to say that while in the previous books, the heroine is intelligent and makes good decisions, in this book from the very beginning she makes very bad decisions. As if that isn't bad enough, the authorities around her also make bad decisions and the cost at the end is more than would be worth paying if this were "real life."

I like to read mysteries where the protagonist shows some skill in solving the mystery and where their good decisions (whether intuitive or otherwise) result in the solution. From the beginning, in this book, the heroine knows that bad things are going to happen and yet she keeps going anyway. What's the point of being psychic if you're not going to follow your intuition?

I was stunned and disappointed when I finished this one. I guess if you're a fan of this series you ought to read it anyway (and I still plan on reading the next one). But this is clearly the weakest of the three so far.