Review: The Signare of Goree by Laura Rahme

Synopsis: 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?

~ ~ ~

I finally started this a couple of days ago and finished it today (20 Sept 2024). I would have completed it in one sitting but was rudely interrupted by life.

In the 18th and 19th century, Gorée was home to a Franco-African Creole, or Métis, community of merchants. Métis women, called signares, were descendants of African women and European traders, were especially important to the city's business life. The signares owned ships and property and commanded male clerks. They were also famous for cultivating fashion and entertainment. As the trade in slaves declined in the late eighteenth century, Gorée converted to legitimate commerce. In 1872, Goree became a French commune with an elected mayor and a municipal council.  However, our story is set in the 1840s.

The Signare of Goree is a compelling mystery, dripping in ancient culture and superstitions, the land of Goree and its people sweep evocatively across the pages, as Laura Rahme demonstrates her mastery of story-telling. Without giving too much away, the reader, like Leroux, is beguiled and bewitched by Goree, succumbing to the rhythmic tam-tams and its ancient magic, a distraction from the task at hand - finding a killer that may not be human.

Highly recommended.