Happiness
Costs Five
Euros
An eccentric grandfather. A past full of secrets. And a young man whose memories may not tell the whole truth.
Sometimes discovering who you are means questioning everything you thought you knew.
English edition availableThe Price of the Truth
Jean lives in Ducey, Normandy, with his grandfather Mathieu, a sixty-five-year-old man with a fondness for Cognac, Gauloises cigarettes, and a cannabis-growing operation known to half the village.
Their life is absurd, chaotic and, in its own peculiar way, happy.
Until something begins to change.
Memories that refuse to return. Questions about Marseille. A childhood Jean can no longer piece together.
And above all, Mathieu, who seems to know far more than he is willing to reveal.
What begins as a journey soon becomes a far more dangerous search.
Men and women bound together by old secrets. Events buried for decades. A mysterious inheritance. And a truth capable of calling into question everything Jean believes he knows about himself.
Why has Mathieu lied to him? Who is Michel, really? And how much of Jean’s life has been decided by somebody else?
Between sharp humour, unsettling memories, family secrets and a long journey across France, Happiness Costs Five Euros explores identity, manipulation and the fragile boundary between love and betrayal.
Because sooner or later, discovering the truth is no longer enough.
You have to decide what to do with it.
“The most dangerous lies are the ones that taught us who we are.”
The Novel in English
Happiness Costs Five Euros is now available in English, bringing Jean and Mathieu’s extraordinary story to international readers.
A psychological thriller set in France, blending family secrets, dark humour, mystery and memory into a story about identity and uncomfortable truths.
Title: Happiness Costs Five Euros
Language: English
Publication date: 17 October 2026
Revised edition: 2026
Genre: Psychological Thriller / Mystery / Contemporary Fiction
Format: Ebook
Ebook ISBN: 9791224743569
Independently published
A Story That Began in 2017
Jean and Mathieu’s story began long before its English-language publication.
The novel was first published in Italian in 2017 under the title Monsieur Mathieu e il segreto delle magiche erbe, using the pen name J.L. Defoe.
In 2026, Gianluca De Falco released a revised edition under his real name, with the new Italian title La felicità costa cinque euro.
The novel subsequently reached English-speaking readers as Happiness Costs Five Euros, preserving its blend of psychological suspense, dark comedy and deeply imperfect characters.
Availability of printed editions may vary depending on the retailer and country of distribution.
English-language edition · 2026The English translation was prepared with the assistance of artificial intelligence tools and subsequently reviewed by the author.