Elizabeth's significant other, FBI agent Tom McGowan, asks Elizabeth to take on a missing person's case. The missing person, his former fiancée, joined a religious cult several years ago. But recent disturbing messages sent to her father indicate she is being held against her will.

Elizabeth's hometown is the location of the infamous Heaven's Gate suicide and she is naturally reluctant to take on such a case. Her instincts also tell her not to take on a case in which a loved one is involved. But the worried father dangles a finders fee of $25,000 in front of Elizabeth and she gives in.

Which is one of the reasons Elizabeth Chase books are so interesting. She is a brilliant, Stanford educated, double Ph.D. parapsychologist from a wealthy family, but she is also as human as any of us and can't resist the lure of a new Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Elizabeth soon realizes that her only option is to infiltrate the cult, and she assumes her special skills and resources will make her resistant to their coercive tactics. But she has greatly underestimated their techniques and the powers of the cult's own psychic leader. Soon, she is in grave danger.

Martha C. Lawrence's characters elevate this familiar storyline to a recommended read. Elizabeth's father, a conventional medical doctor who wanted Elizabeth to follow in his footsteps, is skeptical of anything he terms New Age (he rhymes it with sewage) yet is slowly accepting her career choice. Her mother is a social butterfly, yet a financial genius. Her boyfriend, Tom, treats her as a fellow professional, respectful of her talents. Even the villains in Aquarius Descending are above average. I was disappointed there was no mention of Elizabeth's brave friend Thomasina, after they became so close in the previous book, The Cold Heart of Capricorn.

But this is Elizabeth Chase's book and this strong, smart and charming character carries it well. I only wish I knew what she looked like – after three books I need more of a description than "beautiful."

Fast-paced and suspenseful right up to the rather disturbing conclusion, Aquarius Descending delivers a punch. If you haven't yet met Elizabeth Chase, I think you'd like her.

--Dede Anderson