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Amanda Cadabra and The Strange Case of Lucy Penlowr

Book Six of the Hilarious Fantasy Mystery Series

Fire on wild Bodmin Moor, murder by impossible means, missing children, star-crossed lovers and a most mysterious family. Covert witch Amanda travels wtih Inspector Trelawney into Cornwall to learn a startling tale and take on a formidable task

Armed with only a wand and her eternally grumpy cat, Tempest, can Amanda survive her most perilous journey yet into the past, and solve the strange case of Lucy Penlowr?

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"Just wow! Brilliantly written!'

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Amanda Cadabra and The Strange Case of Lucy Penlowr

Given Amanda's Cornish roots, it was only a matter of time before the books would take me there for the first book to be set almost entirely in Cornwall. The history of Amanda's nefarious Cardiubarn witch-clan family would inevitably draw her there, a place she had moved from at the age of three with  her loving grandparents. for her own safety.

However, Amanda does not return alone to wild Bodmin Moor and the coastal town of Parhayle (based on Looe). She is armed with her magical if grumpy feline familiar, Tempest, her patent Pocket-wand, occasional encouragement from her ghostly grandparents and the presence of the determinedly normal Detective Inspector Thomas Trelawney. He himself is struggling to come to terms with the new mystical reality impinging uncomfortably on everything thought he knew about the world, if only to do his job.

As I am now a fourth grade graduate and support teacher of the Cornish language, The Strange Case of Lucy Penlowr has a special place in my heart. It is the most personal of all the books I have written. It also begins the story arc that will set every third book in Cornwall, and introduces the strangest family the reader will have ever met in a humorous fantasy mystery!

An irresistible entry in the series for lovers of humorous fantasy mystery, where Harry Potter meets Agatha Christie, in a 'timelessly British' supernatural whodunnit. A mirthful mix of vintage and modern-day fun, suspense and excitement, with a happy ending.

Dive in to join the delightful Amanda, the superior Tempest, the attractive but by-the-book Inspector Trelawney, the aristocratic Senara and the warm-hearted Cornishman Perran, the loveable and wise Trelawney family, the enigmatic Lucy Penlowr and an assemblage of suitably suspicious and villanous characters. Each individual has their own hidden depths to surprise you along the way, as you enter the ancient land of Kernow.

Amanda Cadabra with Tempest in the workshop

The Characters

  • Amanda is a covert witch, reclusive but beloved resident of Sunken Madley, trained by her grandparents in magic and keeping a low profile. But can she do that with a missing body, ghosts and secret tunnels on her hands and a police detective asking too many questions?
  • Tempest is Amanda's grumpy feline reincarnated by grandparents Perran and Senara during Amanda's teens. Regards humans as an inferior species. Will he stay awake long enough to aid his pet human when the crunch comes?
  • Detective Inspector Thomas Trelawney of the Devon and Cornwall Police is assigned to the Cardiubarn Case: a van containing Amanda's family mysteriously went over a cliff when she was 3 years old. Are his suspicions about the three Cadabras justified? 
  • Senara and Perran Cadabra are grandparents and adoptive parents to Amanda. They have lovingly home educated and trained her in furniture restoration, witchcraft and dealing with 'Normals'. But how much are they not telling their granddaughter about their past?

The Plot

  • They say stories have power. But the story of Cal Rake, told by Thomas Trelawney’s one-time boss, Former Chief Inspector Michael Hogarth, is only the beginning. Of course, Amanda’s grumpy feline familiar might pretend to be asleep through it, but he knows the history of Lucy Penlowr and Growan House School is about to change Amanda and Inspector Trelawney’s world.
  • They say the past can come back to haunt you. It’s doing just that for one peculiar family Now it’s haunting Amanda’s sleeping and waking dreams, and leading Thomas to disturbing truths about his own nefarious ancestors. More than that, it’s hanging over one very peculiar but endearing family. Can Amanda risk returning to the perilous night of the fire at Growan House, discover a killer and lay that past to rest for them?
  • They say anything can be used as a weapon. What happened to the artefacts of power kept within the Growan House? Most importantly, who has them today, and could they use them? There’s going to be only one way for Amanda to find out. But even armed with a wand, Tempest, and her courage, nothing will prepare Amanda for the greatest test she has yet faced.
  • Amanda Cadabra and The Strange Case of Lucy Penlowr is a humorous, suspenseful, entertaining tale that draws the reader into a magical world of wild moor and picturesque Cornish coast, unforgettable characters, a cat with attitude, and the most enchanting of urban fantasy mysteries.
Granite manor made into a school on the shore of a lake at dusk. Lonely, strange atmosphere. Lights are on in the house.

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Click for trailer of Amanda Cadabra and The Strange Case of Lucy Penlowr by Holly Bell. Image of a grumpy British Blue cat with a twikle in his eye. Background is a granite manor by a poor at dusk. On the right are the books in ereader and paperback. There are some magical stars coming from the wand in the image. In the top centre is the image of a hooded blonde woman looking out cautiously

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Click to go to video of Holly Bell reading Chapter 1 of Amanda Cadabra and The Strange Case of Lucy Penlowr. Image of Holly Bell in witch hat reading from Amanda Cadabra book while grey British Blue cat looks up at her grumpily from the sofa in a sunny room

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Chapter 1
The Road to kernow

'The pretty mist,' the old woman's voice echoed in Amanda's mind. It was hard to see through the fog that was now borwn, now purple, now mustard yellow ... sickly sweet. She was outside on the Moor. Amanda knew it by the




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The Prequel To
The Amanda Cadabra
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At dead of night Tempest is conjured by witches Senara and Perran, Later that day, he makes his grand entrance to meet Amanda Cadabra. In the hours between, what was the magical familiar-to-be up to?


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What they say


"Well plotted, entertaining and compelling"

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"Splendidly magical and utterly enchanting."

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