Monday, September 14, 2026

#ExclusiveExcerpt ~ Amanda Cadabra and The Hidey-Hole Truth by Holly Bell (September 14-18, 2026) #WitchyCozyMystery #ParanormalCozyMystery #BritishUrbanFantasy #UrbanFantasyMystery @Saphs_Books


About Amanda Cadabra and The Hidey-Hole Truth:


Amanda Cadabra’s life LOOKS perfectly normal...
But looks can be very deceiving.

In the picture-perfect English village of Sunken-Madley, a young covert witch is laying
low. Amanda Cadabra has her reasons.

Orphaned when her family’s van mysteriously plunged over a Cornish cliff many years before, Amanda is keeping herself to herself, quietly working for her grandfather’s furniture restoration company, hoping the world will leave her alone.

However, soon Amanda’s peace is disturbed by the arrival in the village of the inquisitive Inspector Trelawney, dogging her footsteps as he investigates the strange fate of her family. But the persistent detective becomes the least of her problems, as a restoration job at the Tudor manor propels the young witch into a swirl of mystery and intrigue.

Events quickly conspire to drag Amanda into the building’s murky past and its even more dangerous present. Armed only with her wits, her grumpy feline familiar, Tempest, and a wand, Amanda Cadabra is going in.

A body, ghosts, hidden passageways, and a host of unanswered questions soon emerge. Can Amanda dodge the inspector long enough to solve the Manor’s many mysteries and unravel her own past before the scandal of murder engulfs the village?

Exclusive Excerpt:

Excerpt 1 — Senara meets Trelawney

‘Fresh blood,’ observed Mrs Cadabra.
Detective Sergeant Thomas Trelawney looked at her doubtfully. She registered that he was in his late thirties, tall, light-haired, grey-suited and attractive in a manner appropriate to a policeman.
‘Do come in.’
He stepped over the threshold and into the clean, bright hall. She closed the door behind him.
Trelawney’s boss, Chief Inspector Hogarth, was on the verge of retirement and had sent his junior to acquaint himself with a case that had remained open for 28 years.
Mrs Cadabra led the way into the living room, gestured to the sergeant to sit down, then decisively pulled a photo album from one of the stacked bookshelves flanking the brick fireplace. She laid it open on his knees and pointed to a portrait of a power-dressed couple holding a baby.
‘1987. Our darling Amanda, held by my obnoxious daughter,’ she uttered in clipped tones.

Follow the tour to read exclusive excerpts, interviews, and spotlight posts:


Meet the Author:


Cat adorer and chocolate lover, British author Holly Bell’s life changed in a day. A best-
selling author friend convinced Holly that she could write cozy mysteries, after many years
experience with non-fiction, photography and video making.

Holly devoured all of the Agatha Christie books long before she knew that Miss Marple was
the godmother of the Cozy Mystery. Her love of JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings meant that
her first literary creation in this area would have to be a cosy paranormal. Since then, the
series has grown to include the genre of urban fantasy mystery.

Having derived immense delight from the adventure of writing Amanda Cadabra and The
Hidey-Hole Truth, its 8 sequels and 1 prequel to date, Holly has more in the pipeline, with
the 10 th book in the series now in the making. The third in the series Amanda Cadabra and
The Flawless Plan has just come out on Audible in audiobook format, joining the first two
books. The World of Amanda Cadabra shop for bookish gifts on Redbubble has just begun
rolling out its Sunken Madley School collection.

Holly lives in London, somewhere near the place that inspired her quaint, peculiar but
apparently perfectly normal fictional village. Readers will know better.

Her favourite feline is a black cat called Bobby. He is black. Like her favourite hat. Purely
coincidental.

Holly loves to hear from readers. Find her on the contact page of the amandacadabra.com
website, or on Facebook as Holly Bell Author. She always responds in person.

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