It is the color of the Virgin Mary's cloak, a dazzling pigment desired by artists, an exquisite hue infused with danger, adventure, and perhaps even the supernatural. It is . . .Sacre Bleu — In July 1890, Vincent van Gogh went into a cornfield and shot himself. Or did he? Why would an artist at the height of his creative powers attempt to take his own life . . . and then walk a mile to a doctor's house for help? Who was the crooked little "color man" Vincent had claimed was stalking him across France? And why had the painter recently become deathly afraid of a certain shade of blue?

These are just a few of the questions confronting Vincent's friends -- baker-turned-painter Lucien Lessard and bon vivant Henri Toulouse-Lautrec -- who vow to discover the truth about van Gogh's untimely death. Their quest will lead them on a surreal odyssey and brothel-crawl deep into the art world of late nineteenth-century Paris.

Oh la la, quelle surprise, and zut alors! A delectable confection of intrigue, passion, and art history -- with cancan girls, baguettes, and fine French cognac thrown in for good measure -- Sacre Bleu is another masterpiece of wit and wonder from the one, the only, Christopher Moore.