BOOK REVIEW

Aquarius Descending
by Martha C. Lawrence

Reviewed by Jason Starr

If you are looking for a fast-paced, engaging mystery novel, Aquarius Descending, the third installment in Martha C. Lawrence's popular parapsychological detective series, should be at the top of your list. Lawrence's psychic detective heroine, Dr. Elizabeth Chase, is hired to locate a young woman who has disappeared into a mysterious Southern California cult. Other PI's have failed on the case, but Elizabeth agrees to enter the cult under "deep cover" to try to find her. If this sounds like the basis for an up-to-the-minute, Heaven's gate rip-off novel, rest assured, Aquarius Descending is anything but. Lawrence has researched her subject well - I wouldn't be surprised if she has spent time in a cult herself - and there is real insight here into the inner-workings of a cult, including some truly vivid, memorable accounts of the bizarre initiation processes and frightening mind control games that these groups undoubtedly employ. Unlike other psychics in popular fiction, Elizabeth Chase is no Shirley MacLaine. On the contrary, she views her sporadic psychic visions as an underdeveloped sixth sense which she has no control over, and her visions and hunches merely supplement traditional detective work. In addition, Elizabeth is very aware of the limitations of her "powers," which helps keep the series feeling grounded and real. Through the course of Elizabeth's investigation - peppered with hit-or-miss psychic insight - she uncovers a murder at the cult and winds up in serious danger herself.

But it is Lawrence's skillful prose and the engaging voice of her refreshingly down-to-earth psychic protagonist that really keeps the pages turning. Via Elizabeth's thoughts and intuitions, the reader vicariously enters a mysterious, new world populated with well-drawn characters, including one particularly memorable villain. The prose alternates between tough and hilarious - think Sue Grafton meets Sparkle Hayter - and there are several exciting suspense sequences, the on-going saga of Elizabeth's relationship with her FBI-agent boyfriend, and a truly surprising, believable ending.

Lawrence's first novel in the series, Murder in Scorpio, was nominated for Edgar, Agatha, and Anthony awards in the United States. Aquarius Descending, the third book in the series, deserves at least equal accolades.

US Edition: BarnesandNoble.com