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Elizabeth Chase #4
Pisces Rising
Elizabeth Chase is a psychic detective whose hunches and visions have helped the authorities solve a number of baffling crimes. But by the time of her fourth outing in Lawrence's increasingly popular series (The Cold Heart of Capricorn, Murder in Scorpio, Aquarius Descending), Chase is a reluctant sleuth. Her lover has been killed in a showdown between cult leaders and the FBI, and she no longer trusts her own extrasensory gifts.
But when an old friend asks for help in solving the murder and scalping of a casino owner at Mystic Mesa on the Temecu Indian reservation in the California desert, Elizabeth is persuaded to get involved. She soon finds herself drawn to a charismatic--and strangely familiar--Native American shaman whose strange gifts awaken and energize her own.
Bill Hurston, a doctor with a gambling problem, is the chief suspect in the murder of his closest friend, Dan Aquillo. Aquillo's mutilated body was found with the comatose Hurston after his unsuccessful suicide attempt. It seems like an open-and-shut case, until Hurston's former wife is also killed and Aquillo's scalp is found hanging in the tree under which her body was buried. Is there a connection between the two murders and a campaign to limit Indian gaming instigated by Las Vegas gambling interests? Could Aquillo's hotheaded young nephew, who also opposes reservation gambling and hates what it has done to his tribe, be responsible for the scalping--and for the attack on Elizabeth? And is there a connection between Sequoia, the shaman who rescues Elizabeth, and her dead lover? Lawrence spins a taut, dramatic tale, aided by a sympathetic and likable protagonist; it doesn't take tea leaves or crystal balls to predict that this psychic detective will turn up again. --Jane Adams
240 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2000
About the author
Martha C. Lawrence
13 books21 followersMartha C. Lawrence has worked as a book editor, a professional astrologer, and a business writer. She is the creator of 'Dr. Elizabeth Chase', P.I. and parapsychologist in San Diego, California.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 31, 2022
2.5 stars
April 19, 2015
It was fun to read this mystery / paranormal / PI novel. This is book 4 of 5 in the Elizabeth Chase series. I understand that the author abandoned the series after book 5 ... or at least took a long hiatus from fiction and co-authored a book with Ken Blanchard in the meantime. I plan to read more of her books if I get an opportunity to do so.
June 28, 2021
If you like %v_array_gen[0]% and %v_array_gen[1]%, then you will like this book.
May 12, 2010
Elizabeth Chase is a psychic detective whose hunches and visions have helped the authorities solve a number of baffling crimes. But by the time of her fourth outing in Lawrence's increasingly popular series (The Cold Heart of Capricorn, Murder in Scorpio, Aquarius Descending), Chase is a reluctant sleuth. Her lover has been killed in a showdown between cult leaders and the FBI, and she no longer trusts her own extrasensory gifts.
But when an old friend asks for help in solving the murder and scalping of a casino owner at Mystic Mesa on the Temecu Indian reservation in the California desert, Elizabeth is persuaded to get involved. She soon finds herself drawn to a charismatic--and strangely familiar--Native American shaman whose strange gifts awaken and energize her own.
Bill Hurston, a doctor with a gambling problem, is the chief suspect in the murder of his closest friend, Dan Aquillo. Aquillo's mutilated body was found with the comatose Hurston after his unsuccessful suicide attempt. It seems like an open-and-shut case, until Hurston's former wife is also killed and Aquillo's scalp is found hanging in the tree under which her body was buried. Is there a connection between the two murders and a campaign to limit Indian gaming instigated by Las Vegas gambling interests? Could Aquillo's hotheaded young nephew, who also opposes reservation gambling and hates what it has done to his tribe, be responsible for the scalping--and for the attack on Elizabeth? And is there a connection between Sequoia, the shaman who rescues Elizabeth, and her dead lover? Lawrence spins a taut, dramatic tale, aided by a sympathetic and likable protagonist; it doesn't take tea leaves or crystal balls to predict that this psychic detective will turn up again. --Jane Adams
But when an old friend asks for help in solving the murder and scalping of a casino owner at Mystic Mesa on the Temecu Indian reservation in the California desert, Elizabeth is persuaded to get involved. She soon finds herself drawn to a charismatic--and strangely familiar--Native American shaman whose strange gifts awaken and energize her own.
Bill Hurston, a doctor with a gambling problem, is the chief suspect in the murder of his closest friend, Dan Aquillo. Aquillo's mutilated body was found with the comatose Hurston after his unsuccessful suicide attempt. It seems like an open-and-shut case, until Hurston's former wife is also killed and Aquillo's scalp is found hanging in the tree under which her body was buried. Is there a connection between the two murders and a campaign to limit Indian gaming instigated by Las Vegas gambling interests? Could Aquillo's hotheaded young nephew, who also opposes reservation gambling and hates what it has done to his tribe, be responsible for the scalping--and for the attack on Elizabeth? And is there a connection between Sequoia, the shaman who rescues Elizabeth, and her dead lover? Lawrence spins a taut, dramatic tale, aided by a sympathetic and likable protagonist; it doesn't take tea leaves or crystal balls to predict that this psychic detective will turn up again. --Jane Adams
November 11, 2013
I thought this was the last book in the series, but it's not. After the Big Twist at the end of the last book, I really read this because I had to figure out how Lawrence was going to carry on after killing a main character.
Well, carry on she does, but it's still kind of a bummer of a book, in spite of her attempts to introduce a potential new love interest or two.
Against her better judgement, Elizabeth hires on to assist a defense attorney prove his client's innocence in a nasty murder at a casino. The victim was scalped, which is bad enough, but since the casino is on a reservation, and the alleged killer is white and the victim is Native American, there are (ahem) subtexts.
In the course of the investigation, Elizabeth gets some help from a shaman--the cousin of her best friend--and a former FBI agent, as well as her usual undependable psychic skills. In the end, the killer is discovered but can't be brought to trial. She also turns youth mediator and manages to stop the downward course of a young man's misguided attempt to save his father from his uncle.
I guess I need to read the next book in the series. Hopefully, it will answer lots of the hanging questions left at the end of this one: Hawk medicine? Shapeshifting? She hired Joanne? I want to see the rest of the story....
Well, carry on she does, but it's still kind of a bummer of a book, in spite of her attempts to introduce a potential new love interest or two.
Against her better judgement, Elizabeth hires on to assist a defense attorney prove his client's innocence in a nasty murder at a casino. The victim was scalped, which is bad enough, but since the casino is on a reservation, and the alleged killer is white and the victim is Native American, there are (ahem) subtexts.
In the course of the investigation, Elizabeth gets some help from a shaman--the cousin of her best friend--and a former FBI agent, as well as her usual undependable psychic skills. In the end, the killer is discovered but can't be brought to trial. She also turns youth mediator and manages to stop the downward course of a young man's misguided attempt to save his father from his uncle.
I guess I need to read the next book in the series. Hopefully, it will answer lots of the hanging questions left at the end of this one: Hawk medicine? Shapeshifting? She hired Joanne? I want to see the rest of the story....
March 19, 2017
In number four of the mystery series, psychic investigator Elizabeth Chase has to deal with murder on the Temecu reservation near San Diego, and takes a dip into animal medicine and shamanism. The title Pisces Rising will be evocative for those who've gazed into the stars long enough...
February 1, 2010
A psychic PI... need I say more. Perfect!!
September 4, 2012
Kind of a JA Jance sort of book. Quick "one afternoon in the shade" then finish in bed sort of book. Summertime is great!
September 15, 2013
Liked this book
April 13, 2014
This is a very quick paced enjoyable mystery/suspense series. It's helpful to read the books in sequence, which I didn't do.
Read
June 26, 2016Good book as usual but not the best of the series
August 23, 2022
Third time through. Really enjoyed it. I love Elizabeth Chase and there was a shaman character in this one that was just fantastic. Great mystery, lots of twists but never confusing.
January 30, 2008
this is a fun mystery series-california psychic.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews