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False Rumours: A Belina Lansac Murder Mystery
In August 1483 two boys are inside the Tower of London, shut in there by their uncle, King Richard III, known for his kindness and justice.
Meanwhile, in faraway south-west France, Belina Lansac is selling medallions and statues to pilgrims visiting the cathedral in Condom, unaware that the fate of the two boys is in her hands. Belina’s husband William is the town’s detective and he has just been ordered to investigate the death of a poisoned pilgrim. Belina’s normal life vanishes as her husband leaves home on a secret mission. Now Belina must be the detective and work all alone without the protection of her husband.
She diligently investigates poisonous plants, food and drink but she is a reluctant sleuth. So she welcomes the help and attention of Philippe Barvaux, her new neighbour, unaware that he is an unscrupulous and ambitious lawyer who had been ordered to kill the Princes in the Tower so that false rumours may be spread in England against Richard III.
Will the two princes survive? Will Belina manage to complete her investigation? Can she cope with all the malicious gossip? Will she be strong enough to overcome the hostility and scorn people have for her?
Meanwhile, in faraway south-west France, Belina Lansac is selling medallions and statues to pilgrims visiting the cathedral in Condom, unaware that the fate of the two boys is in her hands. Belina’s husband William is the town’s detective and he has just been ordered to investigate the death of a poisoned pilgrim. Belina’s normal life vanishes as her husband leaves home on a secret mission. Now Belina must be the detective and work all alone without the protection of her husband.
She diligently investigates poisonous plants, food and drink but she is a reluctant sleuth. So she welcomes the help and attention of Philippe Barvaux, her new neighbour, unaware that he is an unscrupulous and ambitious lawyer who had been ordered to kill the Princes in the Tower so that false rumours may be spread in England against Richard III.
Will the two princes survive? Will Belina manage to complete her investigation? Can she cope with all the malicious gossip? Will she be strong enough to overcome the hostility and scorn people have for her?
265 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 5, 2017
1 person is currently reading
16 people want to read
About the author
Danae Penn
4 books7 followers I live in Gascony which is a beautiful part of south-west France. I decided to write historical mystery novels based in Gascony in the 1480s, the same period as that used by a favourite author of mine, Pat McIntosh whose mystery novels are based in Glasgow.
I researched pilgrimages to Compostela and I walked the last part of the Way of St James to Santiago. I spent two years researching Richard III and decided that it was neither in his interest nor in his character to have murdered his nephews, the Princes in the Tower, so I put the Princes in my novel, FALSE RUMOURS, travelling through Condom on their way from Luxembourg to Portugal.
It was very exciting for me when the bones of Richard III were found in Leicester, my home town, but it also meant that the market became flooded by books about him so I decided to concentrate my second novel, A MYSTERY OF BLOOD AND DUST, on the life and death, struggles and achievements in the medieval town of Condom, and especially the differences between incomers and the families who had always lived there.
The third novel will also be about Condom, but with different incomers: a group of sailors who are returning from America, the land they have just discovered, nine years before Columbus reached it.
Until Covid changed our lives, I used to travel a lot, usually solo. Mostly, I went to Latin America and climbed volcanoes - including an active one in Guatemala. I went tubing down a tributary of the Amazon and I nearly fell over an iguana in the Galapagos. But I travelled eastwards too, to Singapore and New Zealand, and later to Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos. Travelling solo there turned out to be highly dangerous because I was in a SUV driven by two smugglers with a live monkey and bags of dead animal parts, negotiating a police road control near the Chinese border. Luckily, we were not stopped. Otherwise, I would have been arrested and imprisoned, an innocent tourist abroad.
My Gascon life is less adventurous. I belong to several history associations. I give lectures in French and English on medieval life, wearing a 'medieval' gown and headdress borrowed from the local amateur dramatic society. I belong to the local walking club. I have season tickets to operas and concerts in Toulouse (all postponed because of Covid). I try to look after my enormous garden, sharing fruit with birds. But for most of my time I read and write books. I love doing that.
I researched pilgrimages to Compostela and I walked the last part of the Way of St James to Santiago. I spent two years researching Richard III and decided that it was neither in his interest nor in his character to have murdered his nephews, the Princes in the Tower, so I put the Princes in my novel, FALSE RUMOURS, travelling through Condom on their way from Luxembourg to Portugal.
It was very exciting for me when the bones of Richard III were found in Leicester, my home town, but it also meant that the market became flooded by books about him so I decided to concentrate my second novel, A MYSTERY OF BLOOD AND DUST, on the life and death, struggles and achievements in the medieval town of Condom, and especially the differences between incomers and the families who had always lived there.
The third novel will also be about Condom, but with different incomers: a group of sailors who are returning from America, the land they have just discovered, nine years before Columbus reached it.
Until Covid changed our lives, I used to travel a lot, usually solo. Mostly, I went to Latin America and climbed volcanoes - including an active one in Guatemala. I went tubing down a tributary of the Amazon and I nearly fell over an iguana in the Galapagos. But I travelled eastwards too, to Singapore and New Zealand, and later to Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos. Travelling solo there turned out to be highly dangerous because I was in a SUV driven by two smugglers with a live monkey and bags of dead animal parts, negotiating a police road control near the Chinese border. Luckily, we were not stopped. Otherwise, I would have been arrested and imprisoned, an innocent tourist abroad.
My Gascon life is less adventurous. I belong to several history associations. I give lectures in French and English on medieval life, wearing a 'medieval' gown and headdress borrowed from the local amateur dramatic society. I belong to the local walking club. I have season tickets to operas and concerts in Toulouse (all postponed because of Covid). I try to look after my enormous garden, sharing fruit with birds. But for most of my time I read and write books. I love doing that.
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February 23, 2022
Book review time!
False Rumours
By Danae Penn
Reviewed February 22, 2022
Note: There is one serious problem with the book if you buy the Kindle edition. I don't know if the problem has been corrected, but when I bought the Kindle version a couple weeks ago, I discovered that text of the e-book is that of the second story in the series. Fortunately, I had a print copy in addition to the Kindle and when I discovered the discrepancy, was able to read the right story.
It is August 1483 in Condom, a town in Gascony on the Pilgrim route to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia.
Guillaume Lansac is the Bishop’s Inquirer, a kind of 15th century detective. Fair haired and in his late 20s, Guillaume is half English. Born near Southampton and christened William, he takes great care to pretend that he is completely bordelaise, born and brought up in Bordeaux. Now that Gascony is administered by France, he feels it prudent to conceal his ancestry, with only his wife knowing the truth.
Guillaume keeps up on political events not only in France, but in England, and has a favorable opinion of the new king, Richard III.
“The Lancastrians thought only of amassing wealth for themselves and cared little for the suffering of the English people or the uncertainties their poor administration caused to business, including the Bordeaux wine trade that Guillaume was so devoted to...”
Belina, the miller’s daughter, is Guillaume’s wife. She sells badges, medallions, and other trinkets for the cathedral to Pilgrims who pass through Condom as they travel to and from Santiago. She is intelligent and educated, and has helped her husband in some of his investigations, but doesn’t like it when he’s called away for days and weeks at a time.
The story begins when pilgrim is found dead and Guillaume is summoned to investigate. It appears he was poisoned but that’s not all that doesn’t seem right. A large number of coins are found sewn into the hem of his cloak, and it’s suspected that the Pilgrim is not really a Pilgrim. Before Guillaume can start his investigation, he’s called away on a special assignment by the Archdeacon to Bordeaux, and so he puts Belina in charge of the investigation.
While Guillaume is away, Belina diligently investigates poisonous plants, food and drink but she’s not really comfortable with this kind of work. When Philippe Barvoux, a handsome Flemmish lawyer, offers to help, she at first agrees, but when Philippe attempts to seduce her, she wants nothing further to do with him, and worries that the wrong kind of stories will spread about her and Barvoux. What she doesn’t know is that Barvoux is an unscrupulous and ambitious lawyer, but soon realizes that there’s much more going on.
Is it possible that the Fleming’s presence and the Pilgrim’s death are connected?
While visiting Sir John, an English knight who suffered a stroke on his way to Santiago de Compostela and who now lives in Condom, Belina overhears a conversation between Barvoux and Rocca, the treasurer sent to Condom by the French king.
Rocca is almost universally despised because of his high taxes and heavy fines, most of which goes to fund covert operations rather than to repair the cathedral doors, and the two men are discussing a plot to kill two young English princes who are traveling from Luxembourg to Portugal, and will soon be passing through Condom. This planned assassination is part of a larger plot to discredit the English King Richard, spreading false rumor about the new king and pave the way for “the English count” – Henry Tudor – who is living in exile in Brittany.
Barvoux admits that he’s already killed two young boys, mistakenly believing they were the princes.
With Guillaume away, what will Belina do?
False Rumours is a well written, well plotted historical mystery about a topic much discussed among Ricardian circles – the fate of Richard’s nephews, the so-called Princes in the Tower, and is filled with interesting characters. There is Henri Senlac, for example, who has “a way of standing very close to women and looking at the cleavage, waiting for ribbons on his codpiece to shake.” And his wife, Jeanne, has a nasty reputation as a poisoner.
Although I know next to nothing about Medieval Gascony, Danae Penn writes about it and Condom in such a way that I feel I’m really there. The author, like her character Guillaume, lives in Condom but was born in England, and is a medieval historian. Her love for her subject comes through in her writing, and now I’m looking forward to reading the sequel, A Mystery of Blood and Dust.
False Rumours
By Danae Penn
Reviewed February 22, 2022
Note: There is one serious problem with the book if you buy the Kindle edition. I don't know if the problem has been corrected, but when I bought the Kindle version a couple weeks ago, I discovered that text of the e-book is that of the second story in the series. Fortunately, I had a print copy in addition to the Kindle and when I discovered the discrepancy, was able to read the right story.
It is August 1483 in Condom, a town in Gascony on the Pilgrim route to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia.
Guillaume Lansac is the Bishop’s Inquirer, a kind of 15th century detective. Fair haired and in his late 20s, Guillaume is half English. Born near Southampton and christened William, he takes great care to pretend that he is completely bordelaise, born and brought up in Bordeaux. Now that Gascony is administered by France, he feels it prudent to conceal his ancestry, with only his wife knowing the truth.
Guillaume keeps up on political events not only in France, but in England, and has a favorable opinion of the new king, Richard III.
“The Lancastrians thought only of amassing wealth for themselves and cared little for the suffering of the English people or the uncertainties their poor administration caused to business, including the Bordeaux wine trade that Guillaume was so devoted to...”
Belina, the miller’s daughter, is Guillaume’s wife. She sells badges, medallions, and other trinkets for the cathedral to Pilgrims who pass through Condom as they travel to and from Santiago. She is intelligent and educated, and has helped her husband in some of his investigations, but doesn’t like it when he’s called away for days and weeks at a time.
The story begins when pilgrim is found dead and Guillaume is summoned to investigate. It appears he was poisoned but that’s not all that doesn’t seem right. A large number of coins are found sewn into the hem of his cloak, and it’s suspected that the Pilgrim is not really a Pilgrim. Before Guillaume can start his investigation, he’s called away on a special assignment by the Archdeacon to Bordeaux, and so he puts Belina in charge of the investigation.
While Guillaume is away, Belina diligently investigates poisonous plants, food and drink but she’s not really comfortable with this kind of work. When Philippe Barvoux, a handsome Flemmish lawyer, offers to help, she at first agrees, but when Philippe attempts to seduce her, she wants nothing further to do with him, and worries that the wrong kind of stories will spread about her and Barvoux. What she doesn’t know is that Barvoux is an unscrupulous and ambitious lawyer, but soon realizes that there’s much more going on.
Is it possible that the Fleming’s presence and the Pilgrim’s death are connected?
While visiting Sir John, an English knight who suffered a stroke on his way to Santiago de Compostela and who now lives in Condom, Belina overhears a conversation between Barvoux and Rocca, the treasurer sent to Condom by the French king.
Rocca is almost universally despised because of his high taxes and heavy fines, most of which goes to fund covert operations rather than to repair the cathedral doors, and the two men are discussing a plot to kill two young English princes who are traveling from Luxembourg to Portugal, and will soon be passing through Condom. This planned assassination is part of a larger plot to discredit the English King Richard, spreading false rumor about the new king and pave the way for “the English count” – Henry Tudor – who is living in exile in Brittany.
Barvoux admits that he’s already killed two young boys, mistakenly believing they were the princes.
With Guillaume away, what will Belina do?
False Rumours is a well written, well plotted historical mystery about a topic much discussed among Ricardian circles – the fate of Richard’s nephews, the so-called Princes in the Tower, and is filled with interesting characters. There is Henri Senlac, for example, who has “a way of standing very close to women and looking at the cleavage, waiting for ribbons on his codpiece to shake.” And his wife, Jeanne, has a nasty reputation as a poisoner.
Although I know next to nothing about Medieval Gascony, Danae Penn writes about it and Condom in such a way that I feel I’m really there. The author, like her character Guillaume, lives in Condom but was born in England, and is a medieval historian. Her love for her subject comes through in her writing, and now I’m looking forward to reading the sequel, A Mystery of Blood and Dust.
February 2, 2023
Guillaume Lansac is the Bishop’s inquirer in Condom, a cathedral town in southwest France on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia. A pilgrim has been found dead, probably poisoned, in a local hospice and it is Guillaume’s job to investigate the suspicious death. Half-English, Guillaume admires its new king, Richard III, who was crowned only a few weeks earlier. Guillaume views Richard as a great champion of justice and fairness, of helping the weak and the poor. Richard’s plans to restrain wealthy landowners from exploiting their tenants does not suit many of those greedy landowners, including Margaret Beaufort, the mother of Henry Tudor. Guillaume is also a secret agent working for the Reconquista of Gascony by England, and knows that Margaret Beaufort and Bishop Morton are leaders in a plot to stir up rebellion to unseat Richard and replace him with Tudor by spreading rumors that he has murdered his nephews, the princes in the tower. When Guillaume learns that the cathedral’s new Paris-appointed treasurer is funneling money and treasure to Henry Tudor in Brittany, he abandons his investigation of the pilgrim’s murder in order to deliver an urgent message to Bordeaux.
In his absence, he delegates the investigation of the pilgrim’s murder to his wife Belina. Belina runs the cathedral shop that sells medallions, statues, and other trinkets and assorted wares to pilgrims, but she is intelligent and trained in her husband’s investigative methods. Belina discovers that the pilgrim’s murder is connected with an attempt to assasinate the English princes who are traveling from Luxembourg to Portugal. An attractive Flemish stranger offers to help Belina, but his real motive may be to hinder rather than help the investigation. The assassination attempt is made when princes arrive in Condom, but, fortunately, Belina and Guillaume (who has arrived back in town in the nick of time) are able to thwart it, the assassin apparently killed and the princes safely sent on their way.
This is a well plotted mystery—not overly complicated—that flowed well. The Lancastrians are portrayed as an evil, money grubbing lot in contrast to the noble Richard. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed reading it, but even I thought the author laid it on a little thick about how bad the former were. I particularly enjoyed that Belina was a different sort of female detective. She was not very worldly, apparently not having traveled beyond the immediate vicinity of Condom. And she was really sort of an innocent who blushed at ribald comments made in her presence—and there were plenty of them. She was very conscious that as a miller’s daughter (a molerota), and a pretty one at that, she had to live down a reputation for being promiscuous. (I guess this was the equivalent of jokes made with winks and smiles that I heard when growing up about the farmer’s daughter and the traveling salesman.) She was always worried during her investigation whether Guillaume would hear about her being accompanied by the handsome Fleming. The author did a particularly good job in populating Condom with an interesting assortment of characters, making this a thoroughly entertaining read.
In his absence, he delegates the investigation of the pilgrim’s murder to his wife Belina. Belina runs the cathedral shop that sells medallions, statues, and other trinkets and assorted wares to pilgrims, but she is intelligent and trained in her husband’s investigative methods. Belina discovers that the pilgrim’s murder is connected with an attempt to assasinate the English princes who are traveling from Luxembourg to Portugal. An attractive Flemish stranger offers to help Belina, but his real motive may be to hinder rather than help the investigation. The assassination attempt is made when princes arrive in Condom, but, fortunately, Belina and Guillaume (who has arrived back in town in the nick of time) are able to thwart it, the assassin apparently killed and the princes safely sent on their way.
This is a well plotted mystery—not overly complicated—that flowed well. The Lancastrians are portrayed as an evil, money grubbing lot in contrast to the noble Richard. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed reading it, but even I thought the author laid it on a little thick about how bad the former were. I particularly enjoyed that Belina was a different sort of female detective. She was not very worldly, apparently not having traveled beyond the immediate vicinity of Condom. And she was really sort of an innocent who blushed at ribald comments made in her presence—and there were plenty of them. She was very conscious that as a miller’s daughter (a molerota), and a pretty one at that, she had to live down a reputation for being promiscuous. (I guess this was the equivalent of jokes made with winks and smiles that I heard when growing up about the farmer’s daughter and the traveling salesman.) She was always worried during her investigation whether Guillaume would hear about her being accompanied by the handsome Fleming. The author did a particularly good job in populating Condom with an interesting assortment of characters, making this a thoroughly entertaining read.
October 2, 2017
The 15th century cathedral town of Condom in Gascony is an important centre for pilgrims walking the Compostela route. Belina Lansac’s husband delegates the task of investigating a suspicious death to his wife. Her efforts to unravel the mystery are complicated by the arrival in town of a handsome Fleming who insists on helping, which, with her husband away in Bordeaux, gives fuel to the town gossips. Things go from bad to worse when Belina discovers a connection to the English princes, presumed to be incarcerated, and perhaps murdered, in the Tower in distant London. The detail of this world is so vividly drawn that the reader steps into medieval kitchens, taverns, stables, and alleyways with Belina, our hearts in our mouths at her temerity in the face of an unknown murderer and the potential danger around every corner. A hugely enjoyable and engrossing story.
May 28, 2018
There's something endlessly fascinating about the disappearance of the two young Plantagenet princes in the tower and there continues to be much speculation surrounding this mystery. The question of just who was responsible has been the subject of rumour, gossip and innuendo for the last 500 years.
False Rumours gives us a refreshingly different look at the mystery and offers a credible explanation for the disappearance of the two young boys.
In the summer of 1483, twenty-two year old Belina Lansac is living in the small French town of Condom, selling medallions and statues in the Cathedral shop to the pilgrims who stop there en route to the shrine of St. James the Apostle at Santiago de Compostela. When Belina’s detective husband is called away on a secret mission, Belina gets involved in a mystery surrounding the death of an unusual pilgrim. Using considerable skill as an investigator, Belina tries to piece together the clues, all of which seems further complicated by the arrival of Phillipe Barvaux, an ambitious and unscrupulous lawyer, who has his own furtive reasons for being in Condom.
Belina is a feisty and determined heroine, filled with a great sense of purpose, and as she gets pulled further and further into the mystery surrounding the death of the pilgrim, so a story starts to emerge which will have far reaching repercussions. The complexity of the investigation is a real challenge for Belina, however, she is more than a match for those unscrupulous individuals who try to thwart her at every opportunity and as she starts to uncover the many layers of the case, so the medieval world of Condom starts to come alive. Every part of story feels wonderfully authentic, from the pilgrims who arrive footsore and weary, to the townsfolk who go about their lives in the shadow of the great Cathedral.
The author writes with skilful observation, bringing all the vibrant atmosphere of the medieval world to glorious life, whilst at the same time keeping the complexities of the mystery right at the heart of the story. I have thoroughly enjoyed spending time with Belina Lansac in the lovely old town of Condom and hope to meet up with her again soon in further murder mystery investigations.
False Rumours gives us a refreshingly different look at the mystery and offers a credible explanation for the disappearance of the two young boys.
In the summer of 1483, twenty-two year old Belina Lansac is living in the small French town of Condom, selling medallions and statues in the Cathedral shop to the pilgrims who stop there en route to the shrine of St. James the Apostle at Santiago de Compostela. When Belina’s detective husband is called away on a secret mission, Belina gets involved in a mystery surrounding the death of an unusual pilgrim. Using considerable skill as an investigator, Belina tries to piece together the clues, all of which seems further complicated by the arrival of Phillipe Barvaux, an ambitious and unscrupulous lawyer, who has his own furtive reasons for being in Condom.
Belina is a feisty and determined heroine, filled with a great sense of purpose, and as she gets pulled further and further into the mystery surrounding the death of the pilgrim, so a story starts to emerge which will have far reaching repercussions. The complexity of the investigation is a real challenge for Belina, however, she is more than a match for those unscrupulous individuals who try to thwart her at every opportunity and as she starts to uncover the many layers of the case, so the medieval world of Condom starts to come alive. Every part of story feels wonderfully authentic, from the pilgrims who arrive footsore and weary, to the townsfolk who go about their lives in the shadow of the great Cathedral.
The author writes with skilful observation, bringing all the vibrant atmosphere of the medieval world to glorious life, whilst at the same time keeping the complexities of the mystery right at the heart of the story. I have thoroughly enjoyed spending time with Belina Lansac in the lovely old town of Condom and hope to meet up with her again soon in further murder mystery investigations.
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August 15, 2017For lovers of history, this book will steep you in the society, politics, culture and environment of the fifteenth century of France and Britain.
Belina Lansac works in the cathedral at Condom, a well-known stop for the pilgrims on the route to Santiago in Northern Spain. When her detective husband is summoned away, he leaves her with a task. Find out who poisoned the pilgrim.
Belina is left to her own wits as she attempts to piece together any information about this atypical 'pilgrim' with precious coins sown into his cloak and suspiciously smooth skin. Her attempts are aided by a foreigner, Philippe Barvaux, a charming and well connected Fleming, whose interest in Belina and her activities are intense.
As her investigations progress, she begins to appreciate how complex the web of connections and political intrigue are and how the trail of influence goes all the way to the top. Powerful men and women are scheming to gain the throne of England and if that means murdering two young princes, so be it. Belina holds their fate in her hands.
A rich, dense story of cunning machinations, set in a fully realised historical setting, brought to vivid life through the eyes of Belina. Every element from weather to architecture feels authentic and vivid, as if you are stepping back in time. Hence the tension of the plot becomes as real as any detective story. One to absorb slowly and enjoy the attention to detail, before emerging stunned and blinking back into reality.
Belina Lansac works in the cathedral at Condom, a well-known stop for the pilgrims on the route to Santiago in Northern Spain. When her detective husband is summoned away, he leaves her with a task. Find out who poisoned the pilgrim.
Belina is left to her own wits as she attempts to piece together any information about this atypical 'pilgrim' with precious coins sown into his cloak and suspiciously smooth skin. Her attempts are aided by a foreigner, Philippe Barvaux, a charming and well connected Fleming, whose interest in Belina and her activities are intense.
As her investigations progress, she begins to appreciate how complex the web of connections and political intrigue are and how the trail of influence goes all the way to the top. Powerful men and women are scheming to gain the throne of England and if that means murdering two young princes, so be it. Belina holds their fate in her hands.
A rich, dense story of cunning machinations, set in a fully realised historical setting, brought to vivid life through the eyes of Belina. Every element from weather to architecture feels authentic and vivid, as if you are stepping back in time. Hence the tension of the plot becomes as real as any detective story. One to absorb slowly and enjoy the attention to detail, before emerging stunned and blinking back into reality.
January 18, 2023
This book is so thoroughly researched I felt transported into 15th Century SW France. Excellent plot and characterisation.
September 10, 2023
Historical fiction with focus on the history- gets a bit in the way of the story
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews