Colour of Madness

By Graham Diamond

Not so much painting as summoning a creature that should have remained distant, hidden, and most absolutely forbidden. For a moment I wished with all my heart I could shred the grim image to atoms.

The Yellow House, Arles: Vincent van Gogh paints works of transcendent genius, while in London a killer launches a reign of terror.

Nidabi is attacked by her sadistic master but is rescued just in time by saintly Pastor Hux, a man who befriended Van Gogh many years ago. On a mission to help those most in need Hux is relentless in his attempts to save the souls of those he rescues.

In Arles, Van Gogh is helped by prostitute Ty and they quickly form a special relationship. Both are outsiders and she struggles to protect the artist as his passion to create threatens to shatter his mind.

But why are these two men haunted by the spectre of failure? How can loyalty endure in the face of evil? Soon a deadly momentum will draw two old friends back together – into a withering storm painted in madness, fear and death…

Previously published as The Midnight Man in 2008.

Praise for Simon Clark:

‘A master of eerie thrills’- Richard Laymon

‘Simon Clark is not an author to let you down – the blood doesn’t flow through his text so much as pump arterially into the reader’s face’ – SFX

‘To say that Simon Clark is the best novelist to emerge this decade is self-evident. Simon has simply outgrown genre restrictions’ – Andrew Darlington

‘The hottest new purveyor of horrific thrills currently working on these shores’ – Big Issue

Born in 1958, Simon Clark lives in Doncaster, South Yorkshire. His short stories have appeared in several magazines and anthologies, including Darklands 2, Dark Voices 5 and The Year’s Best Horror Stories. He has published a collection of short stories, Blood and Grit, and he has also written prose material for the internationally famous rock band U2. His other works with Venture Press include Vampyrrhic, On Deadly Ground and Sherlock’s Demon.