Sacré Bleu

In 1890, Vincent van Gogh appeared before a doctor suffering from a gunshot wound to his chest. Van Gogh’s subsequent death established him as the art world’s most famous suicide. But in this rollicking adventure set in late-19th-century France, Van Gogh’s friend Lucien Lessard receives a letter written in the painter’s final hours that prompts him to investigate further. Lessard soon discovers a mystery revolving around the Colorman, a merchant selling mixed pigments to artists, in particular a rare ultramarine called the Sacred Blue. Joined by the ribald Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, Lucien resolves to discover the truth. Narrator Euan Morton delivers an entertaining performance that brings Moore’s novel to life. He shifts easily from the refined accents of Monet, Renoir, and Gauguin to the bombast of Toulouse-Lautrec and the Yankee accent of Whistler. With its comic blend of art history, murder mystery, and doomed romance, listeners will be laughing and guessing until the audiobook’s conclusion. A William Morrow hardcover. (Apr.)