As a Southern California-based mystery writer, I have been genuinely impressed by Martha Lawrence's works. Many people initially react to Ms. Lawrence's psychic detective as a silly gimmick. As created by Ms. Lawrence, Elizabeth Chase is a fully-realized and realistic character. In this fourth outing,PISCES RISING, Elizabeth is mourning the death of her lover, and she becomes involved in investigating homicides that occur on an Indian reservation. Gambling issues play a major part in this novel, as does Native American beliefs. Ms. Lawrence tells a fine tale with a swiftly moving plot and fabulously drawn characters. Another winner for Martha Lawrence.

I just love entering Martha Lawrence's world, and I so hate to leave it! This one is her best yet, and the others are terrific too. ( I'd recommend reading them all chronologically.) I applaud her gutsiness as an author in doing away with appealing characters in situations that realistically might call for that. (I'm reminded of T. Jefferson Parker doing the same with Tim Hess in The Blue Light--a very interesting and appealing character.) ... was a real loss, I felt, but it's clear that she has even better characters up her sleeve.. I'm particularly drawn to the Sequoia character in this book. Wish I knew someone like him.

Her ear for dialogue is unerring...I'm a stickler for fake-sounding conversation and I can't find remember a false note being struck in any of her books. Wish you could write faster, Martha!

I've been a fan of Martha Lawrence ever since her first book, following her psychic detective, Elizabeth Chase, around the zodiac from Murder in Scorpio to the current Pisces Rising. Her gutsy detective, Chase, combining sound detective skills with her psychic gifts, sets out to discover the murderer of casino owner, Dan Aquillo. Along the way she encounters one of Lawrence's most compelling characters, the Native American shaman, Sequoia. Lawrence introduces the reader to some fascinating Native American lore, as she combines a taut, thrilling tale with tantalizing psychic phenomena. Combining suspense with New Age is rare, but fascinating. The only other book I can think of that does that successfully is "The President's Astrologer", which interweaves an exciting political drama with the world of astrology.

I was a little worried by the idea of a psychic detective. I thought the book would be full of channeling and seances. But Dr. Elizabeth Chase is primarily a detective, and she uses common sense and skill as her main tools--her psychic gift is only occasionally helpful. She is a very professional woman, a doctor of psychology, and she commands respect from those she meets. Unfortunately I can't give this book 5 stars, because I guessed who dunnit the moment the character was introduced. But I plan to read more in the series.

Martha C. Lawrence's psychic protagonist, Elizabeth Chase, is a refreshing entry into the genre of mysteries, particularly those engaging the realm of the paranormal. As I'm a professional psychic with over 25 years experience performing readings for my clients, and having personally encountered a barrage of extraordinary paranormal phenomena, I can vouch for the fact that Elizabeth Chase's experiences come across as realistic and credible. She's oftentimes as perplexed by her psychic ability's inconsistency (or rather maybe her occasional inability to decipher its messages) as she is enthralled when accurately aided by it. Not only does Martha C. Lawrence accurately portray the foibles of the paranormal realm in her writings, she has keen insights into human nature and relationships, and her writing is top-notch: fast-paced, consistent, believable and intriguing. Elizabeth Chase comes across as a protagonist you not only can identify with, but that you feel you already know. And the friendship is a delightful one. You don't have to be a fan of the paranormal to enjoy these excellent reads, just a mystery lover who enjoys fresh, exciting writing by an award-nominated author who is sure to continue to make a splash in the field! Enjoy!

I have to admit when I read the first Martha C. Lawrence book(Murder in Scorpio) I was a skeptic about the physic hook. Let me just say I was quickly convinced that I had made a good choice of what to read. Dr. Elizabeth Chase is clever, insightful, funny and oh yeah, she sometimes percieves something before it happens! I found the story to be very believeable as well as thrilling and exciting. The love interest is also good. I am looking foreward to the third in this series.

Ree-view

I completely enjoyed this series so far but, although this one is very readable, it never got off the ground for me. I would have preferred more about the kidnapping and much less about the fires. Kind of a lazy effort, I thought, particularly the ending which had me shaking my head in disappointment. Hope the next one is better.

This was my first Elizabeth Chase PI book. Kidnapping of 4-yr old child from wealthy community plus arson (out of control fires that destroyed communities and took lives) entertwined. Since this is fiction, I would like to have had a little more psychic adventure in the book. Overall, the book was very entertaining and was one of the few that I've read in the last year that I didn't turn to the back to see if the end justified reading the entire book. Martha's characters are on the whole well developed and believable. There was one glaring "technical" error that was well into the book. Was surprised that it got past both the author and publisher. I will make an effort to read more of this series.

Psychic investigator and private eye Elizabeth Chase sets out to find a kidnapped four-year-old boy and nearly loses her own life in a deadly arson wildfire that sweeps through the San Diego neighborhood where the boy's parents - and Chase's own parents - live.

The author, a psychic herself, paints a convincing, if sometimes frustrating, picture of the psychic's skills - chancy, sometimes cryptic and hardly ever available when you need it. Lawrence tells a crisp, fast-paced story, free of New Age philosophizing. Chase is a down-to-earth investigator who relies at least as much on her interviewing and research skills as on less tangible abilities.

The child, Matthew Fielding, is the son of a telecommunications mogul. There's money, of course, and business tensions, a relative who desperately wanted a child, some angry Eco-terrorists, a gung-ho sheriff's deputy who might be a firebug. Chase doesn't hesitate to seek help from the experts - police, arson investigators, even an obnoxious reporter - and her case proceeds along comfortably conventional lines with helpful boosts from energy auras, telepathic advice and fragmentary visions.

There are a few cliched characters (the brilliant and feisty female arson investigator, for one) but Chase is appealing and her talents believable. Fire ratchets up the suspense and the climax pulls out all the stops.

I enjoyed this book. I am new to mysteries and found this one to be compelling, but I was turned off somewhat by her writing styled. It seemed more like a teen-age romance novel in some ways, especially in some of the description. However, I am anxious to read her second attempt to see if the writing has improved. I think she has great potential.

Well crafted girl detective novel with a unique twist. Beautiful, sexy, former parapsychologist with extrasensory gifts and a private investigator's license is hired by, of all improbable people, a hunk of a California cop. Tom McGowan has a gut feeling that the death of a bright, young law student is not the tragic, but routine traffic accident it seems. PI Elizabeth Chase combines detective work with psychic insights to find out whodunit. Author Lawrence's talent is to make you care about her characters while holding your interest with plot twists. Certainly hope this is just the first of many Dr. Elizabeth Chase mysteries.

P.S. If you find a first hardcover edition of this first Dr. Elizabeth Chase novel, hold on to it. It'll be worth big bucks soon.

Enter Elixabeth Chase a sort of Physic Detective, hired by Cop Tom McGowan to investigate the death of Janice Freeman a one time crush of Tom's. Elizabeth is a very likable character full of self doubt and wry sense of humour, she is hired by Tom to look into the car crash that killed Janice Freeman a very lovely girl that worked for Pacific Properties. Was her death an accident or was it premeditated? this is what Elizabeth is hired to find out. We are introduced to quite a range of characters from Alan Katz Janice's Ex boyfriend to Pia who runs a bikini shop. I look forward to reading all the books in this series because Elizabeth is a very likeable character with a lot of scope to find out more about her personality. Do yourself a favour and read this book and you too will want to read more about Ms Chase.

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.

Perfect for mystery addicts who crave variety in their favorite genre. A good leisure read but not a transforming book (in the philosophical sense!) Still, I'd recommend it as a guilty pleasure. Engaging from page one, you will find yourself instantly involved in the life and work of Elizabeth Chase. Chase is a likeable, well developed character who is smart, and generally insightful, without regard to her unusual paranormal abilities. But sometimes the "psychic investigator" is just as bewildered as the rest of us--that's when a "little extra something" kicks in. It is good fantasy (if you don't believe) or comic comeuppance of the bad guys (if you do.) The best of a good mystery series combined with a daydreamy kind of "wouldn't it be nice..." fantasy too. This is a good read for airplane time or at the beach. I would not recommend it at bedtime because you won't want to put it down, and a bleary eyed bedmate may not appreciate it. Oh, yes, this is definitely what my husband calls a "chick" book. I'm not sure what that means... But this chick is looking forward to reading the entire series.

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.

This book was different style than I was used to see, it is mostly based on sections of the body rather than body systems. I guess each style has its own benefits but in this one I missed systems view. You can't see circulation, endocrine, lymph drain.
Case studies were instructive, picture quality is not that great

The text is straigtforward and readable. However, it is not thorough in treating all areas, and there are some inaccuracies. Clinical applications and case studies are helpful.