Pawsitively Poisonous

By: Melissa Erin Jackson

Narrated by: Victoria Villarreal

Length: 6 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's Summary

Every town has its secrets, but no one has a secret like hers.

Amber Blackwood, lifelong resident of Edgehill, Oregon, has earned a reputation for being a semi-reclusive odd duck. Her store, The Quirky Whisker, is full of curiosities. It has everything from extremely potent sleepy teas and ever-burning candles to kids’ toys that seem to run endlessly without the aid of batteries. 

The people of Edgehill think of the Quirky Whisker as an integral part of their feline-obsessed town, but most give Amber herself a wide berth. Amber prefers it that way; it keeps her secret safe. But that secret is thrown into jeopardy when Amber’s friend Melanie is found dead, a vial of headache tonic from Amber’s store clutched in her hand. 

Edgehill’s newest police chief has had it out for Amber since he arrived three years before. He can’t possibly know she’s a witch, but his suspicions about her odd store and even odder behavior have shot her to the top of his suspect list. 

When the Edgehill rumor mill finds out Melanie was poisoned, it’s not only the police chief who looks at Amber differently. Determined to both find justice for her friend and to clear her own name, Amber must use her unique gifts to help track down Melanie’s real killer. A quest that threatens much more than her secret...

©2019 Melissa Erin Jackson (P)2019 Melissa Erin Jackson

Such fun!

This is the first book in a fun cozy mystery series complete with a cat-obsessed town, enchanted toys and now, a murder. The story is fast-paced and exciting and the performance is first-rate. Don't miss this one. I look forward to the others in this series.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Fun small town cozy!

Amber was a great character and her magic was unique. I loved the idea of a magical toy shop and wanted my own entrancing toy! The small town feel is perfectly captured and I loved every that setting.

The mystery is thorough and kept me engrossed. Sometimes with cozies the story is half mystery and half sweet/small town fiction, but thankfully not in this case. I also didn’t guess the perpetrator, and the unfurling of the mystery was well written.

Great setting, three dimensional characters, unexpected and fun!

*I was given this book for free in exchange for a review*

A good start to the series...

There are a lot of cozy witchy mysteries out there so it's difficult to find one that really stands out in the crowd. This one has potential to do this.

One, Amber is a witch who uses her witchcraft daily, and she doesn't have any qualms about it as long as nobody knows she's a witch.... Sometimes I even feel she uses her magic too easily and manipulates people too often for me to like her as much as I think I should, as otherwise she's an amiable person:)
And two, finally there's a police officer (the newest police chief) who is not head over heels in love with our protagonist - on the contrary, he seems to be determined to catch her red-handed, put her into jail and throw away the keys:) It gives their relationship an additional flare and makes their repartees even more interesting...

The plot itself is very well done; the investigation into Melanie's death is full of twists and turns, with quite a few good red herrings taking us in the wrong directions, and the conclusion is logical and emotionally convincing.

Narration by Ms Villarreal is very good. She does voices well, the pace of her reading is just right (no need to speed it up:)) and she interpretes all the emotions very well. I really liked it.

DISCLAIMER: I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

A Great Witchy Mystery!

I'm a big fan of cute witchy girls in a small themed town. That being said this is one of my favorites,
I got this book for free and my review is honest and true.

I put this series right next to the adorable "Magical Cures" Series as well as "butter witch". Its a cute quirky story of a witchy girl living in a town themed by cats which is fitting since Amber the witch is a very curious one. She manages to get in a little trouble which doesn't help her the more she digs, digs, digs. For me my early guess was correct but i enjoyed the journey it took me to get there, but its hard for me to be shocked by who was guilty by being an Agatha Christie fan a a very, very, very, young age.

Overall its a cute little story and it caused me to buy the second book right after finishing the first book i enjoyed it so much. I can't wait to see what other little things Amber get herself into.

Pawsitively Purrfect Cozy Mystery

Amber is a young witch living in a cat crazy town who runs a magical toy and herb shop. A friend of hers dies, she is a suspect, and she investigates the murder.

This little book was a real pleasure to listen to. The story was well constructed with enough twists and turns to the mystery to keep the listener interested. I enjoyed the characters and there was enough set up throughout the story, and a small cliffhanger at the end, for future books in the series. I liked the world building and am eager to return to Edgehill and its somewhat wacky inhabitants again. I was invested in both the characters and the story and actually found extra listening time to complete the book (I usually only listen in the car while commuting).

The witch premise is fairly popular today, but Amber's role as toymaker of magically animated toys is creative and unique. Being a cat lover, I loved the slightly "over the top" cat-ness of the town...I hopefully see a role for the town's cat's in future mysteries??? The writing was well done. The narrator was easy to listen to and did a great job giving life to each character.

Overall a thoroughly enjoyable read. I mean really, this book has it all....witches, cats, murder....who could ask for more??

I am eagerly looking forward to the next book in the series.

**I was given a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for my own unbiased review.

Cat Town USA

There were things I liked about this book and things I didn't. I did like that the criminal wasn't the one everyone thought it was. I liked that the town was full of cats but seriously the names of all the places gets old quickly. I liked that Amber was a witch but she seems very lonely not being able to tell anyone. I think the biggest thing I didn't like was the narrator. I felt that she didn't do the characters justice and seemed to give most of them southern accents even though they are in Oregon. I wonder if I read this book and not had the audio if I would have liked this book better.

Quirky mystery

Great listen... with the witchyness coming through at just the right places without being over the top. I liked the way the spells and potions was used to solve the mystery which makes me think it would be a eeal handy gift in real life too

Absolutely loved it

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Loved everything about this book and the narrator is amazing.

Pawsitively great

This is the first book by this author that I have read or listened to but I really enjoyed it and I will definitely be looking out for more books in this series. I really liked the mystery and the sprinkling of magic made the story fun. If magic is not your thing then I think you should still give it a go because there was no cauldron casting spells, it more a suggestion of magic and just a few spoken words to tell the truth and not all of the spells worked as it should. The characters were fun but I did think at least one of the cats in the town would have given a helping hand or should I say paw. There was a good number of suspects and a few twists keeping it interesting.
Ambers best friend is sick and wanting to help her friend feel better, she gives her a headache tonic. The same visual of headache tonic is found gripped tightly in her cold dead hand. The police chief has never trusted Amber because strange things happen around her and now he had a very good reason to investigate her himself. Using her secret gift Amber learns that Melanie was poisoned and with everyone looking at her she decides she has to do something to find out what happened to her friend. The friend she is quickly learning that she didn't really know. Things begin to look up for Amber when she is provided with an alibi but the Chief with no other suspects asks Amber if with her psychic powers she could lend a hand. Can Amber get to the bottom of the murder before the police chief learns her real powers?
I liked the narrator and even though a few of the voices were a bit high I thought she did a good job bringing the story to life.
I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.