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Amanda Cadabra and The Hanging Tree

Book Seven of the Hilarious Fantasy Mystery Series

A body discovered in the worst possible place. A day to solve the crime. Detective Inspector Trelawney is compromised, and now his career hangs on the line. Someone is plotting against him … but who?

Only covert witch Amanda Cadabra and her grumpy feline familiar can uncover the truth, but she must strike a deadly bargain, and travel back in time to dig up the past. But this time will the risk be too great and will The Hanging Tree claim her as its next victim?

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"A mix of murder, mystery and magic!'

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"Wonderful magical ideas intertwined with everyday life"

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"So much fun to read, so cleverly written”

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EXPLORE

Amanda Cadabra and The Hanging Tree

I knew from the very beginning that trees were going to be involved. After all, the book, was going to be set at The Elms, one of the principal grand houses in the village of Sunken Madley.

We’d had action at The Manor and The Grange. Now, with Detective Inspector Thomas Trelawney establishing a base there, it was only a matter of time before dark and nefarious deeds would be committed at the establishment named after some trees. And, of course, only covert witch Amanda and her irascible familiar Tempest would be able to get at the truth of what happened. That much about the sequel, the seed, if you will, of the seventh in the Amanda Cadabra series was planted long before the ‘official’ writing of the book began.

As I learned about the various species, the notion grew of including a Cornish elm because Sunken Madley does have a strange connection with that magical dutchy in the southwest of mainland Britain. And so the action will be taking us to Cornwall and back.

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, 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 that trees can talk to each other. The avenue in the garden where Amanda finds the victim seems to be the only witness. If only they’d let her in on what happened that day.
  • They say that trees are the oldest living being present on this earth. What was it they witnessed 400 years ago when the legend of the Hanging Tree was born? There had to be a clue to the present-day murder in there somewhere. Inspector Trelawney is doing his best with ‘normal methods’, but a killer is still at large in the village.
  • They say if trees could talk … would one particular Cornish Oak talk to a Cornish witch? If only there were a way. The one person who just might know will draw Amanda, Tempest The Cat, and Inspector Trelawney into a mysterious road trip on a hunt for the truth before the murderer or The Hanging Tree claims their next victim.
  • Amanda Cadabra and The Hanging Tree is a humorous, suspenseful, entertaining tale that draws the reader into a magical world, from a quaint English village to remote Cornwall, with unforgettable characters, a cat with attitude, and the most enchanting of urban fantasy mysteries.
Looking up through the branches of a Davey oak. Mysterious atmosphere

Want To Know More?


Click for trailer of Amanda Cadabra and The Hanging Tree by Holly Bell. Image of a grumpy British Blue cat sitting on a called tree trunk looking at the viewer. On the left on the log is the book in in ereader and paperback. The back ground is an avenue of elms in the fog
Chapter 1
Amanda''s unusual Talent

'It was difficult to make out what it was. The smoke was being compounded by a nearby garden bonfire. Amanda ventured closer.Oh ...  just a sack of old leaves, wasn't it? Probably from last autumn. Strange though. It




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The Prequel To
The Amanda Cadabra
series

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


"Holly Bell has created a magical world and peopled it with folks worth getting to know"

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"Timeless"

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