The Signare of Gorée, Excerpt by Laura Rahme

1846. In the heat of West Africa, the French navy uncovers the corpses of two French soldiers. Inspector Maurice Leroux arrives at the island of Gorée. It seems death has come to this small colonial outpost off the Senegal coast, home to the prosperous mixed-blood women known as the signares.

The navy suspects that the Bambara people, emboldened by approaching emancipation, may be out for blood. While confronted by the locals’ strange magical beliefs, Maurice remains skeptical. Does malevolence play a part, or are these deaths accidental, brought upon by the brutality of nature in an island known as the white man’s grave?

But when murder strikes, it becomes clear that a killer is stalking Gorée.

Swept by a mystery unlike any he has known, Maurice meets Signare Angélique Aussenac. The proud métis, deserted by her wealthy Bordeaux lover, casts her spell upon Maurice. But beyond the throbbing sounds of the tam-tams and the glittering signare soirées, danger lurks. Someone is watching. And the deaths go on. Could the killer be one of the rich Bordeaux merchants? Or are they hiding among the powerful signares?

A historical mystery spanning France and Senegal, THE SIGNARE OF GORÉE explores a world of magic, murder, and passion.

Excerpt

Left alone, Maurice looked up, incredulous at the Provence-styled house. It might have been fashioned in Sicily, yet here it stood on this tropical island. On either side of the courtyard were two stone staircases in a horseshoe shape that met upstairs. On the upper floor was a long balcony graced with a colonnade.

Smoke billowed near the far-right column where talon-like fingers held a wooden pipe. Anna Colas Pépin’s lips pinched at the stem and let out another puff as her eyes settled on Maurice.

“Ah, madam. I am pleased to meet you,” called out Maurice as he began scaling the stairs to greet her. “I hear my trunk is already on its way here, how generous of you.” His voice echoed along the corridor where she stood. He reached the top floor and paused to catch his breath.

He understood why he had not heard his host until now. She wore upturned leather slippers that made not a sound. Anna Colas Pépin neared sixty years but she did not look her age. Her dark complexion was even, and few lines marked her face. Her coquettish demeanor even at this ripe age belied the years she had lived. Decked out in swathes of indigo blue with a madras shawl over her shoulder, she stood, pipe in hand, the elbow of her other arm over the balustrade. She let out another redolent puff and smiled invitingly as Maurice neared her.

“Look at you, sickly looking man coming to my home,” she all but hummed. “They send you here at a time like this. Tut tut. The shame. Decadence. Decadence is all around us.” She belonged to that generation of signares that had grown up under the English occupation of Gorée and preferred to express herself in the English tongue, encouraging the same in her household.

“Madame. Thank you for your hospitality,” began Maurice. “I will gladly rest awhile before my appointment with Mayor Laporte. But what decadence do you speak of? I have witnessed only gracefulness since my arrival.”

“You are too kind. This house was once glorious. Nothing is the same now.” Then she added in an ominous tone, “Our days are numbered. I am afraid you have come at the wrong time.”

Was Anna Colas pining for the days when her family headed a lucrative trade? Maurice wondered what she meant and what this house had seen.

He changed the subject. “There is never a suitable time for murders, madam. If I am here at all, it is because two French naval officers have met a gruesome end.”

She studied him in silence. There was a stoic coldness to her.

“Oh yes, I remember,” she said dryly. “You are here to solve those murders. I know all about that. Come, come. I’ll show you to your room, monsieur. I’ll show you myself.”

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Meet Laura Rahme

Laura Rahme is the author of seven historical novels. Born in Dakar, Senegal where she spent her early childhood, she moved to Australia at the age of ten. A graduate of two Honors degrees in Aerospace Engineering and Psychology, she has worked over two decades as an IT professional. Her greatest joy comes from travel, researching history, and penning historical mysteries. She now lives in France with her screenwriting husband.