Rating: 
Summary: Not the Place for Intolerance
Review: This book was written with Lawrence's usual skill, but the attitude given to her detective, Elizateth, was unfortunate at best. There are dishonest and pathological people and relationships everywhere. I, however, am sick of hearing people use that reality and the word "cult" as an excuse to be intolerant of religious and spiritual views that are different from their own or that make them uncomfortable. Lawrence creates a "cult" that is handily devious and pathological. However, she has her detective scoff in a nasty and sarcastic way at religious concepts that have existed for thousands of years in religious traditions that are not her own. I, for one, do not read these books to hear the author espouse attitudes of intolerance. Lawrence has her detective cleaned with burning sage to clear negativity after exposure to the "cult." I needed sage after exposure to the negativity of this book.I found Lawrence's first book wonderful, particularly in its positivity, lightness and humor. I disliked the gratuitous violence in her second book, as I dislike the intolerance in this one. I will try the next one, but if it's a bit like this one, that will be the last one of hers I read. I also agree with an earlier reviewer that the level of melodrama Lawerence uses is unwelcome in this genere.
Rating: 
Summary: Aquarius Descending not too bad
Review: This is an OK mystery. I was interested in the psychic and cult aspects, but I was disappointed that she wasn't more original in incorporating the detective's psychic abilities into the story. It's like any other detective story, just that every once in a while the detective gets a psychic flash ... it comes off as a too-convenient device for solving the case.
Rating: 
Summary: Very interesting reading.
Review: This is the first book I read by this author and when I found out it was a series I went and bought the first two. This is definitely the best of the three. The combination of good characters, well run plot and shocking ending makes this one her best yet.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent read for lovers of P.I. series
Review: This is the first Lawrence book that I have read and now plan to backtrack and read the first two. A sure winner in the investigative field with a real twist as she solves the case using her psychic powers. It has it all: romance, mystery, cults, missing persons, and an atypical ending. What makes the book so great is that Elizabeth has just "enough" psychic powers to make her believable. If you live for a great mystery P.I. character - Lawrence has written a real winner.
Rating:
Summary: A Well-Done Mystery and Great Characters
Review: This mystery is superb. The plotting and idea (without giving anything away) are original and involving, the characters convincing with that "real" sense about them. Nowhere is this truer than in the character of the protagonist/narrator, Elizabeth Chase. I suspect there is more than a bit of Martha Lawrence in Ms. Chase (similar experiences and place of residence), but Ms. Lawrence makes her detective--and her unusual psychic gift--very accessible, human, and true by having her sometimes at a loss in dealing with that very gift, and having a down-to-earth, humorous attitude about the whole thing. This makes it easy for us to do so as well. There is no hocus-pocus here, just a very bright, dedicated detective trying to solve the mystery of a young woman's disappearance in a religious "cult" and encountering mysterious twists and real danger before the end. She gets to use her psychic gifts, but they are never really the focus of the story--it's mystery, not scifi/horror. There's sharp wit and intelligence here as well, and the story is delivered with a precise, involving, straightforward style that never bores. Ms. Lawrence and her detective are terrific! (Can't wait for more.)
Rating:
Summary: Another Superb Lawrence Mystery
Review: When I pick up a Martha Lawrence mystery, I glow with the assurance that I am in the hands of a master story teller, and I'm never disappointed. Her prose has quiet power and confidence, her characters are completely believable, her plots enticing and complex. The psychic side of her sleuth is worked in so deftly and unsensationally that when you hear readers call Elizabeth a "psychic sleuth" that almost creates the wrong impression. She's a sleuth with some psychic powers that really feel more like a very intense form of intuition. And isn't that what cops and PIs use anyway? With Aquarius Descending, prepare to be entertained by a writer who's working at the top of her form. And when Lawrence leaps onto the best seller lists, as Sue Grafton has confidently predicted she will, and friends ask if you've read her, you can proudly feel you joined the Lawrence bandwagon early on.
| 
