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The Grange Trilogy - The Philip Rayke Mysteries

A Prequel to the Amanda Cadabra Urban Fantasy Mystery Series

The three most venerable senior residents of the most prestigious dwelling in Sunken Madley, home in the present to covert witch Amanda Cadabra and her feline familiar, are old hands at dealing with the unusual. But what were they like in their youth? How did they first encounter the world of magic? What did they make of it?

Scroll back to post-war London of the 1950s. Gwendolen. Moffat. Cynthia. Three lives. Three secrets. Three murders. 

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Reviews for the Amanda Cadabra series

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"Delightful! Fun and funny!"

international review of books

"Kept me guessing until the end"

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"I want to savor each word and page"

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EXPLORE

The Grange Trilogy - The Philip Rayke Mysteries

The Grange Trilogy grew from a story that was never intended for publication, for no eyes but my own and those of Ann, the friend who suggested it. Gwendolen, the first book, grew in a rough patch of ground in my life when Ann planted the seed of an idea: the backstory of one of the minor characters in the Amanda Cadabra series, written just for myself, for fun, as a little diversion.

Within hours, that seed germinated. I knew which character it was going to be, and the idea of the plot began to show the first leaves. Within a week, it was fully grown. I edited it and sent it to Ann. But within half an hour, I had begun the second story, Moffat. It has already arrived in my head. I was on a joyous creative journey, the wind filling my sails for every moment. Even before it was finished, I knew the title of the third book could only be Cynthia, and the narrative was forming. The stories simply flowed and connected with one another.

Given where all three main characters reside in the Amanda Cadabra series, the title could only be The Grange Trilogy. From opening words to final polish, it took just three months, and it was sheer delight from first to last. I hope that reading it gives you just as much pleasure.

Image of quietly attractive slightly smiling man in his mid to late 20s looking watchfully off to the right. 1950s London street. He is wearing a suit and tie and hat. Black and white, Silhouette of shapely woman walking away down the street carrying a briefcase, over his right shoulder

The Characters

  • Gwendolen is a quiet, averagely pretty young woman who has grown up in an unconventional bohemian home filled with a love of Russian culture. University is a culture shock for her. Even more of a surprise is the attention of college heart-throb Duncan Attvane. How did that magic moment of his marriage proposal turn into a murder investigation?
  • Moffat, irresistibly attractive but dedicated to his job as assistant estate manager of The Grange, is always circumspect. He has no idea that a night of passion with the Honourable Patricia Vastings will place him in compromising circumstances. Can he unravel the truth of the death that occurred during those hours of darkness without delving into the world of magic?
  • Cynthia, level-headed daughter of a waywardly spendthrift family, is attempting to hold the body and soul of the ancestral estate together with the aid of Moffat and his father. Who could have foreseen that her reluctant attendance at a country house costume party would end with Cynthia as prime suspect in a violent death?
  • Philip Rayke leads a quiet life behind a desk running a certain unpopular department in the offices of MI6, investigating the mystical together with his wife, Marion. Thrown into the deep end as consultant on a case involving a powerful family, can Philip’s talent for unearthing the extraordinary solve three cases where only magic could be the murder weapon?

The Plot

  • They say the rich have it all. A grand ancestral home, landscaped grounds, staff, and luxury. The best possible life. Nevertheless, who knows what goes on behind closed gates? When it comes to murder, however, the truth has to be unearthed. But what if the truth is something no one wants to acknowledge?
  • They say that magic is a lot of mumbo jumbo; it’s all in the mind. Philip and Marion Rayke’s department in the MI6 Broadway Building in Westminster is the object of quiet ridicule by their fellow employees. Fortunately, the people at the top know that it has its uses. But not the ones Philip is expecting.
  • They say the 50s was a golden age. The cars, the music, the clothes. New buildings, new business, a break from the past. The best of times for young people. If only they knew ….
  • The Grange Trilogy is a suspenseful, entertaining, humorous series of connected tales that draw the reader back to the 1950s, to the foggy streets of London, the opulence of stately homes, the glamour of a country house party, remote Cornwall and the shadowy world of magic, in a trio of whodunits. You will never look at the present-day inhabitants of The Grange in the Amanda Cadabra series in the same way again.
Gates of a stately home. Sign on wrought iron gates: The Grange, the path leading to the house and the house can be seen though the gates.

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Trailer link. Book of The Grange Trilogy - The Philip Rayke Mysteries by Holly Bell on a pedestal in a gallery with 1950s chairs in the background with a hand a ball and a pool showing through like ghosts. Click to go to the video of the trailer

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reflection in a lake of a stately home under a tree, grass in the foreground. Eerie late afternoon feeling. Text: Chapter 1 from The Grange Trilogy. Holly Bell wearing black top and witch hat with purple band, gloves and skirt, on the right reading from a book.

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Chapter 1
Niggling

Th Honourable Patricia Vastings rolled over and, still half asleep, reached out an arm to find nothing but bedclothes. She opened her eyes. He was already up and dressing.

'Hmm, going so soon?' she  




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The Prequel To
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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 about Amanda Cadabra and The Nightstairs


"I was enchanted--a very fitting emotion for a quaint and often hilarious journey with a lovable witch and her even more lovable familiar"

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"Lots of good stories woven together"

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