This boxset contains the first three books in this series; Pawsitively poisonous; Pawsitively Cursed; and Pawsitively Secretive and is a paranormal cozy mystery series. The main character is Amber Blackwood who owns a shop called The Quirky Whisker, full of curiosities, in the town of Edgehill, Oregon. The town has lots of secrets, but none quite as big as hers. Other than potent teas and ever-burning candles, her main draw is the toys she sells that run forever and never seem to need batteries. A bit of magic keeps them running long enough, until most kids are bored of them, never realising that anything is strange about the toys. The only one who seems to have a questioning gaze on her during her frequent toy demonstrations, is Owen Brown, the local police chief. He was used to big cities like Portland, before moving to Edgehill with his family some three years before. Edgehill is well known for its feline companions ad is obsessed with anything to do with cats.
Amber is visited in her shop by her good friend and patron Melanie Cole, who has been fighting some sort of persistent illness for some weeks. Even one of Amber’s own remedies doesn’t seem to be helping. She gives her another vial to help with her headache and that is the last time she sees her friend alive. The headache tonic vial is found clutched in her hand, making Amber an immediate suspect. Owen has always thought something was odd about Amber, but now the rest of the town is looking at her very differently. Yes, they thought she was odd, but now they are believing that she is responsible for poisoning her own good friend. She has to find out who killed her friend and also work to clear her name, but without having her secret revealed to all!
The second book deals with Amber’s past and the fire that killed both of her parents some fourteen years before. She believes the fire was deliberately set by another witch, from a cursed clan who disappeared as soon as her parents died. Amber’s aunt Gretchen tries to get her to ignore her investigation and to stop looking for anyone to blame for events that happened so long ago. The old family house is finally being rebuilt and Amber wants to finally put her parent’s death behind her. The supposed sudden return of the Penhallow clan is unexpected and her aunt is hiding something. She knows more about what happened and about this clan than she is willing to reveal to Amber. All she tells Amber is that they are targeting her, and Amber is left to work out what the Penhallows are seeking, before the same force ends her own life.
The third book in the boxset sees Amber having to help look for a missing teen, Chloe, daughter of the town’s mayor. Chloe had just confided in Amber about an older boy she had started chatting to online and wanted to meet, but her father had forbidden her from dating anyone. Amber told her to tell her father about this boy, but next thing you know, Chloe has disappeared and Amber works with the police chief to look for her. She had been looking forward to a break before the annual Here and Meow Festival, but with someone she knows missing and Amber finding Chloe’s car deserted, with her purse left behind, means she is even more determined to find her. Amber uses her magic to figure out what happened to Chloe, but this brings about lots of secrets about the mayor’s own past. A suspicious death in his past and a bad temper doesn’t help. Questions start getting asked by others poking their noses into the search, including and out of town private investigator, a nosy reporter and the town population who are wondering why she is suddenly spending so much time with the married police chief!
A great set of three cozy mysteries, with a witch for the main character, who is trying to keep the fact she can do magic, a secret from those in the town. Unfortunately, a few are getting very suspicious of her actions and especially of her toys that she magically enhances for the local children. The usual interactions of a small town, the gossip that many like to spread, some really odd characters and memorable ones as well. Amber has gone from a relationship of suspicion from the police chief in her shop and with her toys, to now a good working relationship and even a friendship, which she now has to hide as the town gossips start up. The location and characters bring a quirky feel to the read and if you like cats, you will definitely want to read this series. Amber hides her true identity as a witch by pretending to be a psychic and has to deal with curses, missing teens, friends being poisoned and more. All of it adds up to enjoyable reads and fun stories. I had already bought the first book in this series and will now e looking out for more to read in this series. I received an ARC copy of this boxset from BookSprout and I have freely given my own opinion of this boxset above.